Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Representation in the Trades

True representation celebrates diversity, amplifies voices, and destroys stereotypes, creating better workplaces for everyone

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We understand our environments and each other through seeing a variety of groups represented in different roles and mediums. The demand for appropriate representation, especially in the media, is getting louder; and rightfully so. People of all genders, ages, skin colours, cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, and more deserve to authentically find, recognize, and celebrate themselves and share this with the world around them.

This year, reality show Big Brother Canada made it a priority to increase the representation of racialized groups on the show, and achieved their promise when nine of the fourteen houseguests were people of colour, and five houseguests were part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Season 9 winner, and the first ever black person to win the Canadian reality show, Tychon Carter-Newman beautifully pointed out that, “It’s powerful to see people who look like you on TV or people who look like you doing lots of different things; and not just seeing somebody black as a rapper or as a basketball player. I think it’s so impactful for there to be five black houseguests on this show. For any young, black kid seeing that, I think it really opens their eyes to a different kind of world than what we’ve seen before.” Watch the full conversation here.

Representation matters because it shapes how groups of people are viewed by society, as well as how people view themselves. So how can we apply this transition in the media to our own workplaces? While many organizations are working toward attracting underrepresented groups to a career in the skilled trades, the implementation of proper representation still tends to fall short.

For example, organizations are working to attract women to the skilled trades by promising better opportunities, better funding, or better pay, but this pledge to support diversity rarely extends beyond the recruitment strategy. Limiting diversity or inclusion strategies to hiring alone often results in tokenism, which is when the inclusion of underrepresented groups is no more than a symbolic effort to make an environment seem more diverse.

Hiring practices have improved significantly for many groups, but we desperately need authentic representation on the jobsite and in the classroom. When asked about her trade, first year welding apprentice, Kennedy Vanderhoek said, “One thing I really wish was that I had more female mentors in the trade. Not just to have another female around, but to feel the empowerment and support of other women in an already male-dominated environment.”

Negative representation has obvious harming effects on both individuals and society, but no representation at all leaves each of us with little exposure to those outside our own communities, further isolating underrepresented groups. By intentionally including instructors, role models, and supervisors from these communities, we are ensuring that all Canadian apprentices have access to strong role models throughout their career. It’s not just about having someone similar to look up to or finding someone to culturally relate to; it’s about creating meaningful and authentic changes to the stereotypes we all hold regarding someone’s value or position in the workplace.

True representation celebrates diversity, amplifies voices, and destroys stereotypes, creating better workplaces for everyone.

Representation in the Trades

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