The Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists is proud to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of women in optometry on International Women’s Day 2022 by featuring the stories of two trailblazing Saskatchewan optometrists.

Dr. Diana Monea has been a practicing optometrist for more than 40 years. She is the longest-serving female member in the Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists. When she graduated from the University of Waterloo, she said her class was mostly men entering the field.

When she applied for a bank loan to start her clinic in Saskatchewan, Dr. Monea said she was told her father had to co-sign for her. None of her male colleagues were faced with the same issue.

Dr. Monea said that’s when she knew she would be facing “a rocky road” to establishing herself as an optometrist.

“Women were taken as a liability, and not an asset,” she said. “There weren’t many women to pave the way ahead of us.”

Throughout her career, Dr. Monea has let her love of her work push her forward. Between successful clinics in Saskatchewan and Alberta, becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 2017, and the establishment of a charity for vision care named after her mother – Anna’s Vision — Dr. Monea certainly found her success.

According to the University of Waterloo Optometry & Vision Science website, about two-thirds of first-year students in the optometry program for each of the last four years have identified as female — a significant change from when Dr. Monea was in school.

Going forward, Dr. Monea said she hoped to see more women in charge of their own practices.

“There’s no reason why a woman can’t run her own practice… I think women have the capability to run their own practice, and could easily do it,” she said.

Dr. Dorothy Barrie, who graduated in 1990 in a class she called “about 50-50” men and women, said she was excited seeing more women entering into optometry.

“I love it,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful career for both men and women… optometry was great because I loved the science of it.”

Barrie, who was also the first female President of the Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists, said the goal to finding success as a new optometrist was to “become indispensable.”

Whether that means learning to code, acquiring business skills, or simply working hard to excel at the more “day-to-day” aspects of eye exams and diagnoses, Dr. Barrie stressed that she could never be complacent and still succeed.

“Whatever you choose you want to do, do it to the best of your ability,” she said.

When Dr. Barrie was becoming the president of the SAO, she was doing so as a single mother. As a self-described feminist, Dr. Barrie said putting family first was crucial to her success – and having a family didn’t mean you couldn’t achieve your goals.

In addition to her medical education, Dr. Barrie earned an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan — and Dr. Monea is in the midst of earning a Master of Human Resource Management from the University of Regina.

“To be successful, you have to be a lifelong learner, because everything is changing,” Dr. Barrie said.

Both Dr. Monea and Dr. Barrie said finding a mentor or a support group is important, whether that be family or colleagues. They also both stressed the importance of family to their successes, and that they both wanted to be able to be mentors for new optometrists following in their footsteps.

“Look for mentors, look for support, a team,” Dr. Barrie said. “You have to join and become a part of groups, so you can hear other perspectives and you learn so much from other people.”

“Get yourself a mentor in the field who has the time to talk to you about various things,” Dr. Monea said. “If I were starting out again, I wouldn’t do it alone.”

On International Women’s Day, the SAO is proud and excited to draw attention to the incredible work of women in the optometric field in the province and throughout the world, as well as those who work as optometric assistants, office managers, and all other positions that support optometrists and the optometric industry.