Female voices heard around CIQS Board table T
his year, three women sit on the national CIQS Board – Wendy Hobbs, President of CIQS Prairies & Northwest Territories, Angela Lai, PQS, President of CIQS British Columbia, and Sheri Thompson, PQS, President of CIQS Ontario – ending the dearth of female representation on the Board that has lasted for more than 20 years. “We haven’t had a woman on the Board since the early 1990s when Linn Marron Marshall of Ontario served as CIQS President,” recalled Wendy Hobbs. “This year, we have three women on the Board and three women serving as Presidents of their respective affiliates. That’s progress.” The women of the CIQS offer a rich array of skills and talents to the organization and to the industry. Consider the following excerpts from the History of the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, CIQS 50 Years 1959 - 2009, published in 2009. The first three PQS ladies in our institution, all pioneers, all still active and very successful: • Lesley S. Wilson, British Columbia – 1972. Born in Scotland, Lesley was educated at the B.C. Institute of
Technology, the only woman in her class. After extensive experience in Canada and the United States, she founded Concost Consultants Inc. Lesley is President of Concost Consultants Inc., part of the Concosts Group. • Linn Marron Marshall, Ontario – 1983. Born in Ireland, Linn first trained as a registered nurse. The same year she graduated, she immigrated to Canada and decided to change her career. Linn enrolled in the Construction Engineering Technology program at Fanshawe College, with campuses located in various Ontario communities, and graduated in 1982. That same year, she formed her own company, Marshall & Murray Inc., which has grown to include offices in London, Toronto and Ottawa. She continues to serve as President of Marshall & Murray Inc. Linn became active in CIQS in 1983, serving as the London Chapter representative. She worked her way up the ladder, becoming the first female OIQS President in 1989. She was elected the first female CIQS President in 1990. Linn was awarded CIQS Fellowship in
Wendy Hobbs
Angela Lai
Sheri Thompson
2000 and the prestigious CIQS Award of Merit in 2002. • Leslie Yott, Ontario – 1989. Canadianborn Leslie got her taste for the profession from being a member of a construction family. She and Linn Marron Marshall attended the same course at Fanshawe College, and also graduated in 1982. Leslie worked at Ellis Don during her eightmonth co-op and joined the firm full time in the estimating department, becoming Chief Estimator for the Southwestern Ontario Region. Leslie continues to serve in that capacity. A quick scan of the number of female CIQS members over the history of the Institute underlines the encouraging trend toward greater gender equity. Before 1990, there were only five female members. In the 1990s, that number rose to 21. Since 2000, CIQS has attracted 219 women, 10 times the number attracted only a decade earlier. Submitted by: Wendy Campbell, ABC, Editor, Cost Connections newsletter CIQS Prairies & Northwest Territories
Now available The CIQS is pleased to announce the release of the 6th edition of Canadian Building Law. This sixth edition expands upon and updates the content of the previous edition and is presented by the seven contributing authors as a practical guide for all persons involved in the construction industry. Owners, contractors, sub-contractors, developers, quantity surveyors, architects, specification writers, lawyers and others will find this text useful as a reference and will benefit from the valuable information contained in this book.
Universities and colleges will also find the text useful in the classroom as instructional material as will students studying towards the Institute’s examinations. The text covers a broad range of topics including: • Forms of Contracts • Tendering and Contract Execution • General Conditions of a Construction Contract • Construction Specifications • Sub-contracting • Mechanic’s and Builder’s Liens • National Building Code; Description and Applications • Arbitration
26 | CONSTRUCTION ECONOMIST | www.ciqs.org | Winter 2015
• Mediation • Expert Witness This comprehensive look at the construction industry is presented in a non-legal framework and is not intended to provide legal advice on any specific issue. ISBN # 978-1-896606-29-6 Members: $60.00 Non-Members: $90.00 Order your copy now Important: You must login to get the member’s price.
