A career scientist and advocate for women in politics and STEM, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) McGregor, has been selected to the Order of Canada. McGregor was chosen as a member for her promotion of women in science and for her promise to foster Canada’s next generation of leaders. Betsy was born and raised in Peterborough.
McGregor is a former fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Medical School, where she organized an international working group on science and ethics and worked as a member of Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board. She also served as a director of studies for the gender working group leading into the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women at the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
Furthermore, the Order of Canada was created in 1967. Since then it became one of the highest honors to identify people whose service forms a society, whose innovations stimulate imaginations, and whose sympathy joins communities. The career of McGregor has centered around public policy on science, ethics, and gender and has included fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School.
Additionally, she graduated from McMaster University and got the honor of teaching geography and physical education at St. Peter’s High School in Peterborough before getting her master’s degree in geography. Moreover, she was being transferred for two years in Indonesia with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
McGregor disclosed that she is honored to be recognized for her contributions to promoting women in science. She has also been recognized for her commitment to nurturing Canada’s next generation of leaders.