Monday, January 20, 2025

More Than Just Capable

An innovative new program aims to not only address obstacles women still face in the skilled trades but to empower them to be leaders in their field

Guide Magazine

By Jessie Clark, Administrative Assistant, CLAC Training, Ontario

OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, great strides have been made to reduce the impact of the labour shortage in Canada’s construction industry, as well as to help improve work equality and culture on work sites. With progress in both these areas, the construction industry has seen a considerable increase in the number of women seeking work in the skilled trades.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, 7.4 percent of workers in the trades nationally are women. This is up by a third from five percent in 2010.

While increased participation of women in the construction industry is a step in the right direction, it has also opened the door to new barriers and challenges for women to overcome. Only 12 percent of apprenticeship registrations nationally are women—with even fewer who complete their training and become certified journeypersons in their trade.

“As a woman, you pretty much have to prove to yourself that you know just as much as the others on site,” says Abby Hayes, a Local 52 member who is a labourer and lead hand employed by LTS Build Services Ltd. “Unfortunately, you can’t just show up—you need to prove that you’re capable.”

SO, WHAT IS IT ABOUT the trades in Canada that prevents women from being successful, and what can we do to better support them?

Since January 2024, it has been CLAC Training’s aim to find out just that. Three cohorts of tradeswomen have taken part in the union’s new Empowering Women to Lead program, which is a specialized version of the Supervisor Micro-Certification Program. The aim of this innovative women’s leadership program is to determine how we can best support and uplift women in the skilled trades on sites all across Canada.

Participants in the program learn skills that will help them grow in their capabilities as leaders. The program also provides them with a supportive network to help them tackle any challenge that comes their way. As women, they experience unique challenges every day, but they are hopeful for the future.

“Being a woman in the trades right now is both challenging and rewarding,” says Elizabeth Manriquez Cota, a program participant who is a Local 68 member and journeyperson carpenter employed by PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. “While there has been significant progress in terms of acceptance and opportunities, women still face various obstacles such as gender bias, underrepresentation, and sometimes a lack of support or mentorship. However, many women find the work fulfilling and take pride in breaking stereotypes and contributing to the industry.”

MANY MORE PARTICIPANTS IN THE Empowering Women to Lead program shared this sentiment. They say that it’s better to be a woman in the trades now than it was when they started.

Participants identified five positive changes that have taken place in the construction industry:

increased awareness and initiatives for diversity and inclusion,
more women taking leadership roles,
increased availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) that’s made specifically for women,
increased accessibility to bathroom facilities, and
more people who are willing to listen to their needs.

Jessie Cook, who is a Local 68 member and heavy equipment operator in BC, is a strong advocate for women in the trades. She says that a largely impactful change for her has been the role of men who have stepped up to be a “dad-like” figure to her on site. These are the men who step up to be role models, protecting women on site, and ensuring that they feel seen and heard as equals.

Those that take on the dad role “really take on that protective stance, but also really take on mentorship and make it a priority to teach me,” says McKenna Goodwin, a Red Seal carpenter from Ottawa, career coach, and a panelist for the Recruit & Retain Webinar series. McKenna goes on to say that she has worked on sites where there were a lot of people who didn’t want to teach her. She often felt like she had to push herself to be better and do better than most of the others on site to be successful.

“At the end of the first week, my new supervisor pulled me aside and said, ‘I see what you’re doing, and I know why you’re doing that, but you don’t have to do that here. I’m watching you do more than your coworkers, and I see that, but you don’t have to do that for me. I’m not holding you to that standard. I’m holding you to the same standard that I hold every single other person here to.’”

McKenna says that this was huge for her. “No one had ever said you don’t have to work harder; you’re good enough.”

“These are all great changes that have been made to improve working conditions for women,” says Nicole Haspeck, a Local 63 member and journeyperson insulator employed by Brand Energy Solutions (Canada) Ltd. who has been in the trades for 10 years now. “These changes are going in the right direction, but they are still not even close to where they should be.”

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO to continue this momentum? What can we do to continue supporting women who are pushing themselves every day to prove that they are just as good as everyone else on site?

Here are four practical things we can implement:

Signage – Update terms on site to be more inclusive of women.
Training – Take part in leadership courses and supervisor training.
Technology – Have tools on site that are more accessible for women.
Hygiene – Provide access to women’s hygiene products, things that women require that they wouldn’t necessarily have with them (even hair ties, for example).

Jacqueline Myers, who was a participant in the first cohort of women in the Empowering Women to Lead program, says that we can work toward a better future for women in the trades by “changing the views and mindsets of the employers and workers out there to see that women can do any job a man does with the same amount of competency, diligence, and skill that a man can.”

Jacqueline, who is a Local 52 member and network technician employed by North Frontenac Telephone Haliburton Corp., says that “by changing the minds of the leaders in the workplace, this will create a ripple effect in the workforce under them. With more acknowledgment and appreciation, we may enter a time where there are no hesitations as to whether it’s a male or female doing the job.

“At the end of the day, the person responsible to make those changes is everyone in the workplace. It begins at the top of the chain. With proper protocols and policies, we can eliminate the tolerance of any harassment or controversial thoughts and issues toward women in the workplace.

“There will always be that person who disagrees with women doing ‘a man’s job.’ But by taking the proper action toward those individuals, we can change the overall outcome of the situation.”

Empowering Women to Lead

CLAC Training’s Empowering Women to Lead program aims to equip participants with essential skills to excel in their roles and foster positive change within their workplaces. It is being offered in partnership with the CLAC Apprenticeship Support Program (CASP) and CLAC’s Supporting Women in the Trades (SWiT) Committee.

Program Summary

Participants will have the opportunity to delve into various aspects of leadership, including creating safer and more inclusive work environments, enhancing communication skills, mitigating disruptive conflicts, boosting productivity, and serving as mentors to advocate for other women in the skilled trades.

Program Overview

The program is comprised of four elements, totaling 30 to 35 hours over four months. Participants should expect to dedicate approximately half a day of virtual, instructor-led training every two weeks.

• Element 1 – Leadership Training (20 hours): Complete CLAC’s Supervisor Micro-Certification Program (SMCP)

• Element 2 – Self-Awareness and Personal Development Assessment and Coaching (two to three hours)

• Element 3 – Supporting Psychologically Safe Workplaces (8 to 10 hours – Mental Health First Aid [MHFA] virtual/blended)

• Element 4 – Program Mentorship and Capstone Leadership Development Exercise (approximately three hours)

Program Outcomes

Upon completing all elements, participants will receive the following:

• SMCP certification

• MHFA certification

• Personalized assessment report and access to an online coaching platform

• CCA Gold Seal Education Credits

Who Should Take This Program?

• New or experienced construction supervisors, forepersons, and lead hands

• Women displaying strong leadership potential

• Union stewards

• Health and safety representatives

• Apprentice trainers and mentors

How to Register

Interested individuals, particularly women or gender-diverse individuals, are encouraged to apply for the program with the approval and support of their employer, including arrangements for time off work and wage support. Due to high demand, interested parties are invited to submit expressions of interest for consideration. Interested members can visit clac.ca/empoweringwomen for more information and to request registration.

Course Dates

Cohorts are scheduled throughout the year. Please register and we will provide you with more details on your next cohort!

Course Cost

• CLAC members – free for members working in the skilled trades

• Public – $1,450

4D Scanner Aims to Improve PPE

Canada’s first 4D body scanner will be used to revolutionize personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers in the skilled trades, particularly women. The scanner is located at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario, in its STRIDE lab. It will allow researchers to capture both static and dynamic measurements of workers in real-world work scenarios.

The data, which will be shared with manufacturers, is crucial for designing more inclusive tools, equipment, and PPE for diverse body types. The result will be a reduction in barriers to entry into the skilled trades and enhanced safety for all workers.

Source: thesafetymag.com