Carrie Matilda Derick, was born January 14, 1862, and died November 10, 1941. In 1912 she became the first woman professor at a university in Canada. She was a botanist and geneticist, who founded the Genetics Department at McGill University in Montreal. In 1896 Derick received her M.A. in Botany and went on to complete the requirements for her PhD, but in 1901 the university did not grant women PhD’s. She taught and lectured at McGill University for seven years assisting the Chair of Biology, David Penhallow, while never receiving a promotion or pay increase. Her yearly salary was $1,250 while her male colleagues received $3,000 per year. In 1905 Derick wrote to Principal Peterson and was finally promoted to assistant professor. Today, women comprise only 30% of the professors at Canadian universities and make a salary which is $13,000 less than their male counterpart on average.
Additional information about Carrie Matilda Derick can be found at the following websites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Derick
http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/CarrieMatildaDerick-QuebecHistory.htm
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/honouring-carrie-derrick-canadas-first-female-professor-on-international-womens-day
