“So they said pack your bags and leave, you can no longer come to school. I was an A-plus student who very much-loved school and was devastated," she says.
For a time, Mehrnoosh and others were educated in Baha’i homes. When her father was fired from his accounting job at a steel company for his faith and her sister was not allowed to go to
high school, the family decided to flee to Pakistan, where they stayed for a year before immigrating to Canada and settling in Cornwall, Ont.
Mehrnoosh always dreamed of being an engineer and even though it was a male-dominated field, nothing would derail her. She had to learn a new language and culture and when she went to university, she was among just a handful of women in her classes.
If she ever struggled with an assignment, some professors would suggest she should choose a different career. That only strengthened her resolve. “They had no idea what I had been through,” she says.
“Having gone through all that I have, gave me a lot of perspective, and built my character. I grew up very quickly and matured early in my mindset of what I wanted. I worked very hard throughout my schooling to reach my goal.”
In More Women in Steel by Karin J. Lund, Mehrnoosh talks about how the teachings of her faith ground her and give her perspective in work and in life.
She remembers being a young woman in meetings at ArcelorMittal Dofasco surrounded by men 20, 30 or 40 years her senior.
“I was very intimidated. But again, I always reach down to my roots. We are all human beings with diverse backgrounds, and we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. I had to earn my stripes.”
When her abilities were questioned, she tried to understand where the person was coming from and build relationships rather than grudges. “I always enjoyed working with different people, sharing ideas, and learning so much. Our strength is truly people, and I am so fortunate to call my colleagues at Dofasco my work fam,” she says.
“When it comes to working in a very much male-dominated environment, I never looked at this as us versus them. I never thought that I have to compromise who I am. I'm just comfortable in my own skin. I don't have to become somebody else.”
Jane, who retired from ArcelorMittal Dofasco after 35 years, says she appreciated the opportunity to talk about the challenges and opportunities of her career in steel.
“My motivation for participating was to share my experience with others, such that they could understand what took place at that time and realize that the current climate is much more open and welcoming of women in the workplace with fewer barriers and more opportunities to embrace.”