New Miss Canada aims to raise women’s profile in STEM

Ashley Borzellino recently traded her hardhat for a tiara when she was crowned Miss Canada 2023.

The development inspector/operator for the City of Brantford’s engineering department achieved the win on an unconventional platform for a beauty pageant – elevating women’s profile in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).

A lot has changed since 1946, when the first Miss Canada pageant was held in Hamilton as a parade in swimsuits.

“I just felt frozen for a bit,” said Borzellino of the moment she heard her name called as the pageant winner. “Then I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it was real. I was surprised and so happy. And my intentions are genuine. I’m not doing it for a shiny crown – I can go out and buy one of those.”

Now billed as a contest focused on “authenticity, respect, confidence and congeniality,” the pageant asks winners to advocate for causes that define them.

“I had to think about what I do that’s different from anybody else,” said Borzellino “Then I thought, it’s what I do every day. I’m always the only girl on the site.”

Borzellino, who attended high school in Hamilton, said she wasn’t sure what to do when she graduated. It was a school guidance counselor who suggested that with her high math marks she consider the civil engineering technology program at Mohawk College.

“The first semester there were about 150 students in the program, less than 20 of them were female,” said Borzellino.

She now has four years of experience — one year with the City of Brantford — inspecting construction, mainly for new development projects, including subdivisions and stores.

When asked by the Miss Canada judges what her biggest obstacle has been in life and how she overcame it, Borzellino thought of her male-dominated job.

“My co-workers are great but I’ve had some pretty negative comments from people outside of that,” she said, adding that it could be a combination of her gender, her age – she’s 25 – and frustration felt by those whose work she’s inspecting. “There is sometimes a feeling that I don’t belong here, that I don’t fit.”

But Borzellino said she loves the work and wants to encourage other young women to consider non-traditional careers. In Canada, about 20 per cent of employees in STEM fields are female and only about five per cent work onsite.

Borzellino spent a week in Montreal prior to the May 21 Miss Canada pageant where contestants were judged on their “participation, attitude, spirit of good companionship and spirit of team.”

During the pageant gala, contestants earned points based on public presentation, ease on stage, posture and walk, and personality.

Borzellino thinks she was the first contestant to win the crown in a purple gown – hers was an open-back mermaid-style number.

Among her responsibilities as Miss Canada, she will be speaking to girls about jobs in construction. She has already established a social media platform where she posts details of her day-to-day work life. She’s also planning some talks in high schools.

“I really look forward to sharing my experiencing to inspire others to step outside their comfort zone and consider opportunities and roles that transcend gender norms and societal boundaries.

“This is serious. Girls look up to you.”