In honour of our International Women’s History special issue, The McGill Daily has highlighted six influential McGill alumnae who I have flourished in their respective fields.
Sciences/Applied Sciences: Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons
Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canadian Space Agency (CA) astronaut Jennifer, “Jenni” Sidey-Gibbons graduated from McGill with honours in mechanical engineering with the class of 2011. She went on to earn a PhD in engineering from the University of Cambridge where she then became an assistant professor. Subsequently, she was selected by the CA as the third-ever woman to join the ranks of their astronaut candidates, completing her training in 2020. Currently, she is a backup crew member on the Artemis II lunar flyby mission. Gibbons has also acted as ground communicator on a number of International Space Station spacewalks and has mentored astronaut candidates.
Fine Arts: Sheree Spencer
Born in Toronto to parents of Barbadian descent, stage director and producer Sheree Spencer, attended McGill’s Schulich School of Music with a minor in Drama Performance from the Faculty of Arts. After graduating with her BA in 2012, she freelanced as a stage performer, featured in productions at the Vancouver Opera and the Toronto Fringe Festival. She also went on to earn accolades such as TD Emerging Producer of Toronto Fringe 2016 as well as international recognition for her direction of the opera Plaything: Spencer has since relocated to New York to take up the position of a Mellon Producing Fellow with Beth Morrison Projects, where she continues to produce and direct new works.
Politics & Activism: Emmanuella Lambropoulos
Sitting one row from the back and four seats in from the aisle in the House of Commons chamber, Emmanuella Lambropoulos has represented the constituency of Saint-Laurent since 2017. Growing up in Saint-Laurent’s Greek community, she graduated from McGill University in 2013 and was president of the university’s Hellenic Students’ Association. She then moved on to a short career in education, working in the local Saint-Laurent school district. Having volunteered with Stephane Dion, who represented Saint-Laurent from 1996 to 2017, Lambropoulos reported that she’s always been interested in politics. After canvassing door-to-door every day for weeks, she won the Liberal nomination and ultimately a seat in an upset over a seasoned provincial politician, Yolande James.
Sports: Sylvia Sweeney
An induction to the McGill Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021 is only the latest accolade in Sylvia Sweeney’s decorated basketball career: Not only playing for McGill, Concordia, and Laurentian, she joined the Canadian national team in 1974 and played in two Olympic games. As a native Montrealer, she studied classical piano performance at McGill University from 1973 to 1975. In 2017, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honour a civilian can receive. In 1994, Sweeney was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. Every year since then, the Hall recognizes a female university player with the Sylvia Sweeney award for outstanding achievement on and off the court. After her time in basketball, she began a second career in television, commenting on sports and current affairs and then moving into production. Passionate across disciplines, Sweeney also founded the international ArtsGames competition to celebrate the arts.
Media: Allya Davidson
Amidst an ever-evolving media landscape, Emmy-winning journalist and producer Allya Davidson, an alumna of The McGill Daily, still believes in the power of investigative reporting. Graduating from McGill in 2009 with a degree in cultural studies and world religions, the Mississauga-born Davidson earned a master’s in broadcast journalism from the City St George’s, University of London. She went on to produce documentaries for global networks such as VICE, PBS Frontline, and ABC Australia. Davidson is now the first Black executive producer of CBC’s The Fifth Estate, a weekly program that airs investigative documentaries on Canadian and international issues. Davidson also mentors young BIPOC journalists through the Canadian Association of Journalists. Trail-blazing and accomplished, Davidson points to her time at McGill as foundational: “At McGill I learned to live, work with and understand people who were from all over the world, from different backgrounds and religions. I had always been a nerd interested in the world around me, and McGill proved that there were and are thousands of people like me.”
Business: Ritika Dutt
Recognized by Forbes in their 2020 30 Under 30 list for Law & Policy, Ritika Dutt co-founded Botler AI in 2017 to help victims of sexual harassment better understand their rights. Born in India and raised in Hong Kong and Singapore, Dutt moved to Montreal to attend McGill and graduated in 2013. Soon after, an experience with a stalker left her scared and confused. “The more I researched about sexual harassment,” Dutt told McGill News, “I realized there were many women, and men, like me, who didn’t know their legal rights in these situations.” Partly inspired by her circumstances and the rise of the #MeToo movement, Dutt co-created Botler AI, which analyzes user reports for free and predicts whether they constitute sexual harassment. It also indicates which laws may have been broken and generates a report that can be sent to the respective authorities. In 2021, the Canadian government invested in Botler to help produce the Pan-Canadian Triage System for Sexual Harassment, Misconduct & Violence. Relaying her belief to CTV News that there is an “urgent, vital need for an easy, accessible solution that empowers individuals to seek justice on their own terms,” Dutt continues to lead Botler as its CEO.