To mark our 50th Anniversary, we looked back through Council archives to trace the history of our bursaries.
In 1980, the earliest reference we found to the Council’s bursaries was a Guardian advertisement for $100 post-secondary bursaries to UPEI and Holland College.
What began as small $100 awards in the early 1980s has grown into meaningful support for women across diverse educational paths. Our bursaries are named and awarded to honour the women and communities who have shaped our work.
Over time, the PEI Status of Women bursary amounts, number of awards, and criteria have changed. What started as $100 in the 1980s grew to $250, then $300, then $500, and today the bursaries are $750 each.
Following the death of Vice-Chairperson Inge Blackett in 2002, who was the last Holocaust survivor on PEI, the Inge Blackett Memorial Refugee Bursary was created in her memory. Inge’s compassion for others was reflected in her tireless volunteer work in the community.
This bursary is for a woman-identifying PEI resident who entered Canada as a refugee and is pursuing further education.
In 2015, the Council changed the bursary program to offer fewer bursaries of higher value to better assist with continuing training and education. The combined post-secondary bursary was renamed in memory of Diane Kays, becoming the Diane Kays Memorial Post-Secondary Bursary. The bursary remembers past Council Chairperson Diane Kays, who was a strong voice for vulnerable women and families on PEI.
In 2022, Council introduced a new bursary, the Migrant Worker Rights Bursary, for a woman-identifying PEI resident who is or has been classified as a “temporary foreign worker” in Canada and is pursuing further education. In 2025, this bursary was renamed in memory of well-known social justice activist Maureen Larkin and is now the Maureen Larkin Memorial Migrant Worker Rights Bursary.
Additionally, in 1995, in honour of the 20th Anniversary of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Premier Catherine Callbeck established the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women Engineering Bursary. This bursary is awarded to women studying Engineering at UPEI and recognizes women pursuing non-traditional fields. It is awarded to a woman entering third year who maintains a passing average and demonstrates financial need. The bursary supports the Council’s work to encourage young women to choose careers in math and science fields and also pays tribute to the fourteen women engineering students who were murdered at l’Ecole Polytechnique in 1989. It is administered directly through UPEI, with an October 1 deadline.
We have made a concerted effort in recent years to promote our bursaries more widely, including developing a poster to support that outreach.
Bursaries Available Each Year with an October 15 deadline are:
Maureen Larkin Memorial Migrant Worker Rights Bursary
For a woman-identifying resident of PEI who is or has been classified as a “temporary foreign worker” in Canada and is pursuing further education. Value: $750.
Diane Kays Memorial Post-Secondary Bursary
Available to a woman-identifying student who is a PEI resident and registered full-time at UPEI, Holland College, or Collège de l’Île. Value: $750.
Inge Blackett Memorial Refugee Bursary
For a woman-identifying PEI resident who entered Canada as a refugee and is pursuing further education. Value: $750.
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Our 2025 bursary winners are:
- Lindsay Myers – Diane Kays Memorial Post-Secondary Bursary
- Gladys Alombro – Maureen Larkin Memorial Migrant Worker Rights Bursary
- Shukri Hussein – Inge Blackett Memorial Refugee Bursary
Links to past recipients:
- 2025 Bursary recipients
- 2024 Bursary recipients
- 2023 Bursary recipients
- 2022 Bursary recipients
- 2021 Bursary recipients
- 2020 Bursary recipients
- 2019 Bursary recipients
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The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women Engineering Bursary for Women is awarded to women studying Engineering at UPEI, in recognition and support of women pursuing non-traditional fields. The bursary was established in 1995 by the Government of PEI on the Twentieth Anniversary of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. This bursary has an October 1 deadline and is administered through the UPEI Scholarships and Awards department.
