THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

Transcription

1 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA Fuded by the Govermet of Caada s Sector Coucil Program

2 About the CSC The Costructio Sector Coucil (CSC) a partership betwee labour, busiess ad govermet is a atioal ot-for-profit orgaizatio committed to the developmet of a highly skilled workforce that will support the future eeds of Caada s costructio idustry. Like may idustries, the costructio idustry faces a umber of huma resource challeges. These iclude the eed to accurately forecast labour demad ad supply, to icrease the mobility of workers, to make the most of ew techologies, ad to cope with a agig workforce. This report is part of the CSC s Labour Market Iformatio program. It is available i both official laguages ad ca be obtaied electroically at For more iformatio or additioal copies, cotact: The Costructio Sector Coucil 220 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 1150 Ottawa, Otario, K1P 5Z9 Phoe: Fax: [email protected] February 2010

3 TAble of cotets Executive summary... 2 Wome s participatio i costructio....2 Career decisios ad iterest i careers i costructio...3 Educatioal ad career pathways...4 Good practices to icrease wome s participatio i costructio Itroductio Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Educatioal preparatio Represetatio of wome i appreticeships Labour force participatio Occupatioal distributio of wome i costructio Represetatio of wome i costructio maagemet Iteratioal comparisos Critical mass theory The tippig poit Expected outcomes What the evidece suggests Coclusio Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Backgroud literature: career choices of girls ad wome Secodary data aalysis: pathways to careers i costructio Methodology Survey istrumet Recruitmet Survey sample Data aalysis Survey results Educatio Employmet ad icome Factors that ifluece career choices Iterest ad employmet i costructio trades/maagemet Key fidigs Respodets iterested i the skilled trades ad costructio Educatio Employmet ad icome Factors that ifluece career decisio makig Attitudes to work i costructio Coclusio Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry Barriers to wome s participatio i costructio Recruitmet Educatio ad traiig Employmet Workplace...68

4 TAble of cotets 4.2 Iitiatives to icrease wome s participatio i costructio Recruitmet Educatio ad traiig Employmet Workplace Idustry practices to support recruitmet Idustry practices to support wome s employmet Idustry practices to support workplace chage Coclusios Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Research methods Recruitmet Sample compositio Data collectio Perspectives of idustry: employers, associatios ad labour Represetatio of wome i costructio trades/maagemet Why wome s participatio i costructio has ot icreased more sigificatly Chages itroduced to icrease the participatio of wome Other recommeded chages Needed supports for chage Key fidigs: iterviews with idustry iformats Wome s represetatio i skilled trades ad costructio maagemet Limited supply Limited demad Workplace coditios ad retetio Supports for chage Perspectives of wome workig i costructio Number of wome i costructio Why wome s participatio is ot icreasig more sigificatly Necessary chages Key fidigs: focus groups with wome i costructio Limited supply Limited demad Work coditios ad retetio Coclusios Supply Demad Retetio Good practices Refereces THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

5 TAble of cotets Appedix A: Research questios ad methods of data collectio Appedix B: Proportio of female appreticeship registratios i Caada, Appedix C: Proportio of female appreticeship completios i Caada, Appedix D: Female labour force participatio by idustry sector (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Appedix E: Female labour force participatio by occupatioal category (Caada Labour Force Survey, ) Appedix F: Female participatio i major trades groups ad atural scieces (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Appedix G: Proportio of female labour force participatio by occupatio (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Appedix H: New Zealad Huma Rights Commissio recommedatios Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey Appedix K: Characteristics of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet Appedix L: Characteristics of respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio Appedix M: Characteristics of respodets likely to cosider careers i costructio i the future Appedix N: Attitudes of those iterested i careers i costructio trades/maagemet Appedix O: Associatios ad orgaizatios supportig Caadia wome i costructio Appedix P: Excerpts from Free to Choose: Tacklig geder barriers to better jobs (EOC, 2005a) Appedix Q: Excerpts from Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig (EOC, 2005b) Appedix R: Wome i Leadership Foudatio Actio Pla Appedix S: Iformatio letters used i recruitmet of participats Appedix T: Estimated rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades ad osite maagemet: idustry employers Appedix U: Estimated rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades ad osite maagemet: idustry associatios ad labour uios

6 Executive summary I idustrialized coutries worldwide, it is predicted that idustry i geeral, ad the costructio idustry i particular, will face a serious shortfall of skilled workers i the ext decade. Global competitio for skilled workers will itesify as a result. The projected declies i skilled labour will be drive by demographic treds ad atioal up-skillig strategies that promote uiversity educatio over other educatioal pathways to prepare for global competitio i the kowledge ecoomy. I respose, the Caadia costructio idustry is takig steps to expad the domestic labour pool by improvig access to idustry careers by older workers, Aborigial peoples, immigrats ad wome. Despite successful iitiatives to icrease the umbers of wome i the costructio idustry, the rate of their participatio, particularly i the trades ad osite costructio maagemet, has ot grow sigificatly over time. To address this problem, questios about the challeges ad barriers wome face must be reopeed. This research examies the barriers, as well as good practices that could be implemeted to overcome them. The Costructio Sector Coucil coducted this research betwee 2008 ad 2009 usig literature review, secodary data aalysis, a survey, iterviews ad focus groups. The purpose of the research was to guide idustry i establishig bechmarks for chage ad to documet the good practices eeded to achieve it. Wome s participatio i costructio The absolute umber of wome employed i costructio has icreased over time. Wome costituted 12.6% of the Caadia costructio idustry workforce i 2006, but the rate of their employmet (4%) i the costructio trades was smaller. Although there were slight icreases betwee 2001 ad 2006 i wome s participatio rate i some trades (isulators, cabietmakers, paiters/decorators, tilesetters ad floor coverig istallers), there was little or o growth i may other occupatios, ad i may trades the represetatio of wome was still less tha 2%. I registered appreticeships, the umber of wome more tha tripled betwee 1996 ad 2007, but growth as a proportio of total appreticeship registratios (7.5% i 1996 ad 10.6% i 2007) was limited. Female appreticeship completios as a proportio of total completios were extremely low (1.8%) i 2007 ad this has bee costat sice Low rates of appreticeship completio are a well-recogized problem globally, ad oe that applies both to me ad wome appretices. Due to a agig workforce ad the impedig retiremet of skilled joureypersos, low appreticeship completio rates sigal a potetial crisis i idustry s ability to prepare ad trai future geeratios. I comparisos based o iteratioal data, the rate of wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry appears to resemble those i other idustrialized atios. The exceptio is Germay, where the percetage of both me ad wome employed i the idustry is markedly higher tha i other coutries. Caada s performace appears to be o par with, if ot somewhat superior to the performace of two coutries the Uited States ad Australia. Comparisos with Uited States ad Australia Cesus 2006 data showed that i all three coutries wome were represeted at a rate of less tha 3% i trades such as plumbig, carpetry, bricklayig, cocrete fiishig, roofig, electrical ad crae operatio. I other occupatios such as lad surveyor, costructio ispector, ad health ad safety ispector, Caada appeared to outperform these two coutries, with wome costitutig 15.8% of lad surveyors, 12.8% of costructio ispectors ad 30.1% of health ad safety ispectors. I key iformat iterviews with represetatives of employers, owers, uios, labour orgaizatios ad costructio associatios, may employers idicated that wome have aptitudes ad abilities that suit them best to professios such as egieerig, to the lighter costructio trades, ad to occupatios that ivolve customer relatios, huma relatios, commuicatio, ad orgaizatioal skills such as project maagemet, site ispectio, ad health ad safety. This may cotribute to higher levels of wome employed i costructio egieerig, ispectio, ad health ad safety ispectio. 2 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

7 The literature reviewed for this research showed repeatedly that high school girls see them selves as lackig the itelligece ad ability for sciece, trades ad techology careers. The 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey supported this fidig. I the survey, the large majority (more tha 80%) of respodets who were likely to cosider careers i costructio reported that they believed they had the skills or aptitude for such work, compared to less tha 20% of those who were most ulikely to cosider these careers. The problem of girls ucertaity about their abilities is addressed i some schools i Austria, where it is compulsory for both high school girls ad boys to sample courses i the trades i order to be exposed to these skills areas. Caadia studets do ot receive systematic exposure to these areas of work. Career decisios ad iterest i careers i costructio The growig body of iteratioal research literature related to the career choices of girls ad wome reflects efforts to expad domestic labour pools by opeig the costructio idustry to more wome. Recet research emphasizes the iterplay of factors i the career decisios girls ad wome make, a fidig also supported i this research. Secodary aalysis of Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio (MSF) Survey of Secodary Studets 1 data idicated that persoal iterests, havig a work-related talet or ability, ejoyig a course at school, program etrace requiremets, ad the likelihood of fiacial rewards were the most ifluetial factors after paretal ifluece o female studets decisios about educatio ad career. Amog female appretices surveyed by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum (CAF) Survey of Appretices, 2 the reasos most ofte cited for eterig a appreticeship were the expectatio of steady work or good pay, iterest i a trade, the eed for a job, ad a desire to ow their ow busiess. Give the importace of salary to the career decisios of girls ad wome, it should be oted that those surveyed by the 2008 Wome i Costructio Survey 3 were ot well iformed about the salaries that wome ear i costructio trades/maagemet. Oly a quarter (25%) of the respodets believed that wome ear good salaries i costructio, aother 20% disagreed with this, ad 55% idicated that they did ot kow. Furthermore, half of the youg wome aged 18 to 34 surveyed by the Costructio Sector Coucil had ever received iformatio about careers i costructio trades/maagemet. Of those who idicated that they might cosider such occupatios, more had received iformatio about ad ecouragemet to eter them, but it is ot kow whether these supports had bee passively received or actively sought. Seve percet (7%) of the wome surveyed by the Costructio Sector Coucil were employed i costructio trades/maagemet. Of those, 11% held a appreticeship certificatio. Thirtee percet (13%) of survey respodets ot employed i costructio were still at least slightly likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades i future (5% were fairly or very likely to cosider it), while about a fifth (19%) were slightly likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet (9% were fairly or very likely). Whe these respodets were combied, 23% of those ot employed i costructio at the time of the survey idicated they were at least slightly likely (18% were fairly or very likely) to cosider a career i trades or maagemet, with more expressig a iterest i maagemet. This is a very promisig statistic cosiderig that half of the wome surveyed had 1 Secodary aalyses of Milleium Scholarship Foudatio (MSF) Survey of Secodary School Studets data were coducted for this research. The MSF Survey of Secodary School Studets surveyed 14,329 Caadia Grade 9 to Grade 12 studets i Half of the studets surveyed were female. 2 Secodary aalyses of Caadia Appreticeship Forum (CAF) Survey of Appretices data were coducted for this research. The CAF Survey of Appretices surveyed 2,224 studets, 11% of whom were female. 3 The 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey was admiistered to 1,290 youg Caadia wome respodets aged 28 to 34 years. 3

8 Executive summary ever received iformatio about these careers ad that the pool of wome who could be targeted for costructio careers is larger tha the 18 to 34 age group. The 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Survey replicated ad built upo the fidigs of iteratioal research. It also makes a ew cotributio to the global coversatio about girls ad youg wome s career decisio makig ad suggests directios for cotiuig research. I doig so, it itroduces ew fidigs about the frequecy with which youg wome cosider careers i costructio trades/maagemet, ad explores the attitudes of these youg wome toward costructio careers. Educatioal ad career pathways Efforts to boost the participatio of wome i costructio careers deped o effective educatioal ad career pathways, particularly i the costructio trades where female participatio is lowest. Secodary aalysis of data from the 2005 Survey of Secodary School Studets cofirmed what has bee established i other research: amely, that about two-thirds of girls i high school plaed to atted uiversity, ad very few (4% of girls ad 12% of boys) expected that their highest educatioal attaimet would be a appreticeship. The low levels of youth iterest i the trades highlight the supply problem the costructio idustry faces i Caada ad elsewhere. It is a issue may believe has bee made worse by closig high school shops i may Caadia provices. Evidece to support this observatio was provided by a fidig from the Caadia Appreticeship Forum Survey of Appretices, showig that for may appretices, high school trades courses, high school co-op ad work experiece are highly ifluetial i career decisio makig. This fidig supports the case for cotiuig to build ad stregthe high school trades appreticeship programs sice they are key feeder programs to the trades. Several studies have reported that girls are systematically streamed away from sciece, trades ad techology careers by the very educatioal pathways iteded to expose them to opportuities i these sectors. Studies have foud that geder stereotypes are reproduced i high schools i studets iteractios with teachers ad career cousellors who ted to steer female high school studets toward uiversity rather tha other forms of educatio. It is believed that sice teachers ad cousellors usually have a uiversity educatio, they are positively biased toward this recommedatio. The accumulated evidece poits to the eed to rebuild broke educatioal pathways, or develop completely ew oes, or both. The Caadia Appreticeship Forum Survey of Appretices produced fidigs that may be used to help recruit more wome to costructio. For example, the survey foud that trades appreticeships were ot the first career choice for most female (70%) ad male (60%) appretices. Almost three-quarters of female appretices left high school five or more years before completig the survey. About two-fifths worked right after high school, a third atteded college, ad a fifth atteded uiversity (fidigs were similar for male appretices). A quarter of female appretices had completed a college certificate or diploma or a applied degree before eterig a trades appreticeship. May youg wome ad me choose to eter a trades appreticeship as a secod or third career choice, after workig or pursuig higher educatio. Idustry key iformats who promote costructio careers to college-level wome reported i this research that these wome respod with strog iterest. More systematic ad vigorous recruitmet of female (ad male) appretices from this pool of cadidates is suggested. 4 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

9 Good practices to icrease wome s participatio i costructio Literature review, key iformat iterviews ad focus group fidigs cofirmed that barriers to wome s access to idustry careers persist i recruitmet, appreticeship traiig ad educatio, hirig/employmet, ad the workplace. Programs to address barriers to the skilled trades are documeted by the Caadia literature, but there is a gap i the literature documetig the idustry s good practices i recruitmet, hirig ad workplace retetio. Iterviews with idustry iformats were used to address that gap ad ivestigate why the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet has ot icreased more sigificatly. Key iformat iterviews showed that more large costructio compaies (with 100 employees or more) are makig iroads i hirig wome tha smaller compaies. Far fewer small employers (with less tha 100 employees) employed wome i these occupatios, but those that did reported that this was workig well. Most of the medium- ad large-size employers (100 or more employees) employed some tradeswome (the rage was 1% to 10%), with the highest rates i medium-size compaies. Large compaies more ofte employed wome i osite costructio maagemet (the rage was 1% to 30%). The iterviews ad focus groups suggest several reasos to explai why the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet has ot icreased more sigificatly. The first is the problem of supply. May employers i idustry maitaied that supply was the mai factor, ot the eed for the idustry to make workplaces more welcomig to wome. Employers ad associatio represetatives focused primarily o the eed to promote idustry careers by improvig the image of idustry ad workig agaist geder stereotypes. Some idustry iformats also recommeded icreasig pre-appreticeship programmig to prepare more wome to eter the trades, expose them to costructio workplaces before career traiig, ad provide work-hardeig experieces to prepare wome to be more fully equipped to succeed i geder-segregated costructio workplaces. The success of the Alberta Wome Buildig Futures program is attributed to the fact that the program provides rigorous screeig ad workhardeig as part of pre-appreticeship traiig, ad also provides support after wome are hired. A umber of programs offer examples of good practices. For example, employers ad idustry associatio represetatives actively promote careers i costructio by givig presetatios at high schools, colleges, ad trades fairs. Programs to expose girls to work i trades ad techology iclude the Saskatchewa Girls Explorig Trades ad Techology camps ad, i Toroto, the Discover Egieerig program. Employers ad idustry associatios provide scholarships for wome eterig or advacig i careers i costructio. Pre-appreticeship programs, such as the British Columbia Istitute of Techology Trades Discovery program, provide traiig to prepare wome to eter the costructio trades. I Alberta, employers have partered with commuity orgaizatios to fud the preparatio of wome for the skilled trades. Examples iclude the Wome Buildig Futures program ad the Vermilio/YWCA Skills Traiig Cetre. 5

10 Executive summary The secod reaso that wome s participatio i costructio has ot icreased more sigificatly is the lack of demad. Some employers argued that a recruitmet ad hirig strategy is eeded, while may others argued that they do ot believe it is their job to recruit wome to the costructio idustry. There was disagreemet about the desirability of hirig quotas. Costructio owers suggested that they are i a positio to take leadership by itroducig quotas i biddig ad cotract requiremets. Most idustry iformats believed that more wome could be hired if employers had greater fiacial icetives, but some idustry experts wared that icetives could be abused, ad that the real idicator of improved hirig is the retetio of wome, ot just more hires. Good hirig ad employmet practices iclude pre-appreticeship programs that provide support for wome appretices beyod traiig through to hirig ad retetio. The Wome Buildig Futures program i Alberta, the Wome Ulimited project i Nova Scotia ad the Parters Buildig Futures pilot project i New Bruswick are all examples of this. Aother approach is the Skilled Trades Employmet Program (STEP) for Wome i British Columbia. Iitiated by the British Columbia Costructio Associatio with fudig by the provicial govermet, this program provides metorship, work placemet ad ogoig employmet support. The third reaso that the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet has ot icreased more sigificatly is the problem of retetio. Key iformats reported that most wome do ot stay i the trades loger tha five years. May leave to start families ad the are uable to retur because of iflexible work policies that make it difficult to fulfill paretig resposibilities. May idustry iformats did ot see problems of geder-based harassmet ad bullyig o job sites as cotributig factors, but tradeswome i the focus groups described icidets of harassmet ad bullyig, usafe workig coditios o the job, ad lack of workplace policies ad maagemet support. Tradeswome who participated i focus groups offered recommedatios that were echoed by idustry iformats. These icluded calls for: workplace safety; workplace respect ad family-friedly policies; stroger leadership by employers ad maagemet; good hirig ad HR practices to assure that wome are ot hired o the basis of geder oly; careful educatio of all employees i ew policies ad practices; ad, moitorig to esure that policies make a meaigful differece. Local costructio associatios, alog with provicial associatios, could also act as distributio systems, allowig iformatio about good practices to reach small- ad medium-size employers. Multi-stakeholder parterships already play a growig role i supportig the developmet of good practices ad may also prove useful i this effort. Good practices to icrease retetio could iclude the toolkits available via the Iteret that support the spread of good idustry practices ad stadards. Two examples are the Costructio Ower s Associatio of Alberta (COAA) Respect i the Workplace toolkit (a stadardized policy that eables compaies to assess work sites, promote awareess, traiig, ad commuicatio, ad develop mechaisms to address bullyig, harassmet ad violece) ad the huma resources toolkit beig developed i Saskatchewa to improve the hirig ad retetio of wome employees. 6 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

11 Two issues were emphasized i the research: 1. It is very importat to take a geeric approach to workplace chage to avoid targetig wome ad prevet backlash agaist them. Cosistet with this approach is the recommedatio that a busiess case for diversity be developed to drive idustry-wide chage. 2. To successfully build ad maitai wome s participatio, multiple programs to improve recruitmet, traiig, educatio, hirig, employmet ad retetio must work together. With respect to the claims of critical mass theory, the research suggests that although icreased recruitmet may icrease the umbers of wome i previously segregated occupatios, retetio of wome requires more. The ecoomic ad legal research of Scott Moss (2004) suggested that the percetage of wome i the workplace ca be see as a proxy for employers treatmet of wome. These argumets are cosistet with the fidigs of the 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey, which idicates that for youg wome i Caada, beig treated equally at work, equal represetatio, ad havig opportuities for advacemet ad flexible work hours are all highly ifluetial cosideratios i their career decisios. Cosequetly, this research cocludes that the chages recommeded by idustry iformats ad tradeswome i the focus groups be implemeted across Caada, ad must also address capacity-related challeges for smaller employers, which could limit their buy-i. 7

12 01 Itroductio XX TITLE HERE I Caada, costructio is a multi-billio dollar idustry, which produces almost 12% of the atioal gross domestic product (Coferece Board of Caada, 2005). By 2020 it is estimated that Caada will face a shortfall of over oe millio skilled workers i key idustry sectors, icludig costructio (Costructio Sector Coucil, 2004a, 2004b; Coferece Board of Caada, 2007; Browarski, 2007; MacDoald, 2006). It is expected that a umber of factors will combie to produce shortages of skilled workers i costructio ad other sectors. Caada ad most of the idustrialized world is experiecig a perfect storm of demographic ad labour shifts due to decliig birth rates, loger life expectacy, ad retiremet of the frot-ed of the baby boom (Sauders, 2006; Pereira, Shiewald, Wise, Yates, ad Youg, 2007; Braudy, 2002). Although labour shortages are ot yet widespread, i some sectors ad regios the skills gap is already beig felt. This situatio has may i govermet ad idustry callig for reewed efforts to build the labour force ad address loomig labour shortages (Sauders, 2006; MacDoald, 2006; Coferece Board of Caada, 2007; Browarski, 2007; Costructio Sector Coucil, 2009). The eed to expad the Caadia labour pool is drivig iitiatives to improve access to members of uder-represeted groups. As a result, sectors icludig costructio, older workers, Aborigial peoples ad wome are beig targeted for labour force recruitmet ad traiig (Costructio Sector Coucil, 2004). I most idustrialized coutries, male-female rates of participatio i the costructio idustry remai uequal. More success has bee observed i professios such as medicie ad law, but i egieerig, a disciplie that prepares some workers for careers i costructio maagemet, much less has bee achieved. Caadia wome are uder-represeted i costructio trades/ maagemet. Despite overall icreases i the rate of wome traiig i appreticeships, their share of appreticeships i the costructio sector has ot icreased sigificatly. Similarly, despite the success of various programs i overcomig the historical barriers to the recruitmet ad traiig of girls ad wome, overall participatio levels remai low. Sice costructio work is highly gedered, may me ad wome regard it as me s work. A shift i metality amog employers, the curret mostly male workforce, ad potetial workers ca take geeratios. I additio, it is uclear how to defie success i attractig wome ito costructio trades ad costructio maagemet occupatios whe there are such persistet barriers. With these issues i mid, the Costructio Sector Coucil udertook this research to ivestigate the state of wome i costructio ad aswer the followig questios: What is the curret status of wome i costructio ad costructio-related trades appreticeships? Which factors ifluece youg wome s career choices, icludig their attitudes toward careers i costructio? Why do youg wome eter ad leave the costructio trades ad appreticeships? What is the threshold for wome s participatio to achieve sustaiable chage? 8 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

13 What barriers limit improvemet i the rate of wome s participatio i costructio? Which good practices i recruitmet, educatio, hirig, ad the workplace support chage or are successfully ecouragig wome to pursue careers i costructio? To address these questios (Appedix A), the study coducted a review of literature, aalyzed secodary data ad surveyed youg wome i Caada about career choices. I the fial stage of the research, iterviews were coducted with idustry iformats to idetify the chages eeded to icrease wome s participatio i the idustry, the barriers to chage, ad specific idustry practices with the potetial to overcome those barriers. Focus groups were held with wome i trades ad employed i osite costructio maagemet to lear about their experieces, ad hear their recommedatios for improvig recruitmet, hirig ad retetio. This report draws from academic literature, grey literature ad secodary data sources, icludig: Costructio Sector Coucil (labour market iformatio) Statistics Caada Cesus ad Labour Force Survey data Registered Appreticeship Iformatio System (RAIS) data Iteratioal Labour Orgaizatio data Australia Cesus data Uited States Departmet of Labour data Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio (CMSF) Secodary School Survey data Caadia Appreticeship Forum (CAF) Survey data The report is orgaized as follows: Sectio 2 discusses ad presets for compariso Caadia statistics o the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry. It also presets data that show the rate of wome s participatio i ad completio of registered appreticeship traiig. Sectio 3 reviews literature related to the career choices of girls ad youg wome. I additio, it presets secodary data aalysis from two surveys about studets ad appretices career choices as backgroud to a discussio of results from a 2008 Costructio Sectio Coucil survey ivestigatig the career choices of youg Caadia wome ad their iterest i careers i the costructio idustry. Sectio 4 presets iformatio about the barriers to wome s participatio i costructio occupatios i Caada. I additio, it describes Caadia programs ad iitiatives itroduced to overcome these barriers ad attract ad retai more wome i the idustry. Sectio 5 presets the results of idustry iformat iterviews ad focus groups with wome employed i the costructio trades ad osite maagemet. These results documet the work beig doe by idustry to overcome the barriers ad recommeds ways to icrease the supply, demad ad retetio of wome i costructio workplaces. The Caadia costructio idustry employs workers i two key groups: 1. maagers ad professioals, who pla, orgaize, provide advice o specialist fuctios or field activities, direct ad coordiate all activities ad resources ivolved with costructio operatios; ad, 2. costructio tradespersos, who costruct, istall, fiish, maitai ad repair iteral ad exteral structures i residetial, commercial/istitutioal, idustrial ad civil costructio. Where iformatio is available, this paper discusses wome s participatio i both the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet occupatios. 9

14 02 Wome s XX TITLE HERE participatio i the costructio idustry Oe of the strategies beig proposed i Caada ad iteratioally to respod to the retiremet of large umbers of skilled costructio workers withi the ext decade is to icrease the participatio rates of those who have historically bee uder-represeted i the idustry. There is a uderstadig that the icreased participatio of wome, Aborigial peoples, ewcomers, ad mature workers i the trades ad i osite maagemet would help repleish Caada s skilled costructio workforce. This sectio presets Caadia ad iteratioal statistics that depict the rate of wome s labour force participatio across idustries, i appreticeships ad costructio occupatios. It also presets critical mass theory, which is frequetly referred to i discussios about the percetage of wome that idustry could target to icrease participatio rates i the trades ad osite maagemet. 2.1 Educatioal preparatio Slightly more youg Caadia females appear to be obtaiig educatio i the costructio field tha those i older age categories, although the differeces are small. I 2006, 2.4% of Caadia females i the labour force aged 15 to 24 had completed a certificate or diploma i costructio, compared with 1.4% of females i the labour force aged 25 to 34, ad 1% of those aged 35 to 54 years. Wome who hold costructio maagemet positios such as project maagers, supervisors, maagers ad estimators ofte hold professioal degrees i egieerig or architecture. Completio of post-secodary educatio is ecessary for etry ito some costructio maagemet occupatios. While wome ow comprise the majority of full-time erolmets i may uiversity programs, they still accout for much smaller shares of full-time erolmet i mathematics ad sciece faculties. Still, the proportio of wome i techical areas of study has icreased over the last 30 years. Growth has bee observed i egieerig, although the field remais male-domiated (Aderso ad Gilbride, 2003). I , wome represeted 24% of studets i egieerig ad applied scieces, up from oly 3% i (Statistics Caada, 2006). Icreases i wome s erolmets i egieerig cotiued after this, but the by 2005 dropped off slightly (Caadia Coucil of Egieers, 2006). Today, less tha 20% of egieerig studets i Caada are wome (Caadia Coucil of Egieers, 2006). 2.2 Represetatio of wome i appreticeships The status of wome i appreticeships has bee ivestigated i a umber of recet Caadia studies, icludig: the Caadia Appreticeship Forum (2004) report o the barriers experieced by wome i accessig ad completig appreticeship traiig; the Newfoudlad Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (2002) report o wome i appreticeship; 10 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

15 a report o wome i the trades i British Columbia ad the Yuko (2007); ad, several reports o pre-trades traiig, trades occupatios, ad trades appreticeships i the Yuko, Northwest Territories ad Nuavut (Tompkis ad Associates, Ltd., 2005, 2006, 2008). Similar work is beig doe iteratioally, such as a report published by the Uited Kigdom Equal Opportuities Commissio (Miller, Pollard, Neathey, Hill, ad Ritchie, 2005), called Geder Segregatio i Appreticeships. I Caada, total appreticeship registratios for me ad wome doubled betwee 1996 ad 2007, risig from 165,325 to 358,555 for all major trades groups combied. The umber of males i registered trades appreticeships more tha doubled (from 152,845 to 320,485), while the umber of females more tha tripled (from 12,480 to 38,070) i this period. I 2007, of the 358,555 Caadias i registered trades appreticeships i Caada, about a teth (10.6%) were wome, compared to 7.5% i 1996 (Table 2-1). Although the absolute umber of wome registerig i trades appreticeship has icreased several-fold, the icrease is much smaller i the proportio of wome i all trades groups combied ad i the o-traditioal trades. Of the total umber of wome i registered appreticeships (28,070) i 2007, more tha half (55%) were registered trades appretices i the food services sectors; 8% were appretices i buildig costructio trades; 5% worked i electrical, electroics, or related trades; 6% were i metal fabricatig trades; 5% were i motor vehicle ad heavy equipmet trades; ad, oly 1% worked i idustrial ad related mechaical trades. Aother 21% of female registered appretices were foud i other trades. I the trades sectors cosidered to be traditioally female areas, wome made up at least half the workforce. I the food services sector, wome comprised 65% of registered appretices i 2007, while i all of the o-traditioal trades groups wome made up less tha 4% of registered appretices. I 2007 i o-traditioal trades groups, the proportio of registered appretices who were wome raged from 1.9% i idustrial ad related mechaical trades to 3.7% i the buildig costructio trades. Data from 2007 are preseted i Table 2-1, showig the umber ad proportio of wome i registered trades appreticeships ad completed appreticeships for all the major trades groups. 11

16 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Table 2-1: Proportio of wome i registered ad completed appreticeships i 2007 Trades groups Appreticeship registratios (% wome) Appreticeship completios (% wome) Total major trades groups Buildig costructio trades Electrical, electroics ad related trades Metal fabricatig trades Motor vehicle ad heavy equipmet trades Idustrial ad related mechaical trades Other trades Food services Source: Statistics Caada (Registered Appreticeship Survey); see appedices B ad C Although the umber of wome i registered appreticeship i the o-traditioal trades doubled, tripled ad quadrupled i some sectors betwee 1996 ad 2007, the absolute umber of wome i these trades remaied small ad the proportio of wome i registered appreticeships i the o-traditioal trades did ot chage sigificatly. For example, i the buildig costructios trades, the represetatio of wome i appreticeships icreased from 2.6% i 1996 to 2.9% i 2002 ad the to 3.7% i 2007, although their umbers tripled, icreasig from 860 i 1996 to 2,950 i I the electrical trades, wome s represetatio i appreticeships rose from 1.9% i 1996 to 2.5% i 2002 ad the to 3.0% i 2007, although the umbers of wome more tha tripled, from 540 to 1,770 i 2007 (Table 2-2). Table 2-2: Wome i registered appreticeships, 1996 to 2007 Appreticeship registratios Number of wome % Number of wome % Number of wome % Total major trades groups 12, , , Buildig costructio trades , , Electrical, electroics ad related trades , , Metal fabricatig trades , Motor vehicle ad heavy equipmet trades Idustrial ad related mechaical trades , Other trades , , Food services 9, , , Source: Statistics Caada (Registered Appreticeship Survey); see Appedix B 12 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

17 Similar to the represetatio of wome i registered appreticeships, about a teth (11.3%) of total appreticeship completios were by wome i 2007, compared to 12.1% i I 2007, wome represeted more tha three-quarters (79.1%) of completed trades appreticeships i the food services sector. I the o-traditioal trades, the proportio of appreticeships completed by wome raged from 0.9% i the idustrial ad related mechaical trades to as may as 1.8% i the buildig costructio trades. I percetage terms, this is very similar to the proportio of females i registered appreticeships i o-traditioal trades sectors (1.9% i idustrial ad related mechaical trades, 3.7% i the buildig costructio trades). Further iformatio for the period betwee 1996 ad 2007 is provided i appedices C ad D. It is well kow that from 1996 to 2007, icreases i registered appreticeship completios i Caada did ot keep pace with the explosive growth of registratios. Although female appreticeship completios i the o-traditioal trades doubled betwee 1996 ad 2007, their real umbers remaied small. For example, i the costructio buildig trades, there were 40 female registered appreticeship completios i 1996 ad 70 completios i I the electrical, electroic ad related trades, female appreticeship completios doubled (icreasig from 35 i 1996 to 70 i 2007), ad i the metal fabricatig trades, completios tripled (icreasig from 25 to 85 betwee 1996 ad 2007). This well-kow patter affects both me ad wome i registered appreticeships i Caada ad aroud the globe. 2.3 Labour force participatio I 2007, wome accouted for 47% of the total Caadia labour force. Despite steady icreases that have brought their participatio to this level, geder parity has ot bee achieved i all occupatios (Statistics Caada, 2006). The rate of wome s participatio i the labour force varies widely across sectors. Occupatioal segregatio refers to the uequal represetatio of wome ad me i differet employmet sectors ad idustries (horizotal segregatio) ad at differet levels i orgaizatios (vertical segregatio). Aother dimesio of geder-based occupatioal segregatio is the fact that wome are cocetrated i low-payig occupatioal categories ad experiece a sigificat wage gap (A Commitmet to Traiig ad Employmet for Wome (ACTEW), 2007; Caadia Labour Cogress, 2008). Caadia wome i the workforce are cocetrated i public ad social services; the majority works i the fairly low-payig clerical, sales, ad service occupatios that are cosidered traditioal areas of employmet for wome, with very few employed i trades occupatios (Caadia Labour Cogress, 2008). Wome accouted for just 22% of professioals i the atural scieces, egieerig ad mathematics i 2006 (Caadia Coucil of Egieers, 2006). I sectors of employmet that are cosidered traditioal areas of work for wome, wome represet the majority of the labour force. Wome represet 82% of workers employed i the area of health care ad social assistace ad 67% of workers i educatio. I some other sectors, such as retail, fiace ad isurace, real estate, retal ad leasig, ad professioal, scietific ad techical services, the rate of wome s participatio is 45% or more (Table 2-3). Appedices E, F, ad G provide further iformatio about the rate of wome s participatio i the idustry from 2001 to No-traditioal occupatios are defied as areas of employmet where less tha 45% of jobs are held by wome. I these occupatios, the participatio levels of Caadia wome have remaied persistetly low over time (Isightrix Research Ic., 2007). I o-traditioal idustry sectors, icludig agriculture, forestry, fishig ad hutig, miig ad oil ad gas extractio, utilities, costructio, maufacturig, ad trasportatio ad warehousig, wome s participatio has historically bee close to 30% or lower. There has bee almost o chage i the participatio rate of wome i the maufacturig ad primary sectors over the past decade (Statistics Caada, 2006). Wome accout for oe-third (33%) of workers i the wholesale trade, 29% of workers i 13

18 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry maufacturig, 25% of those i trasportatio ad warehousig, 18% of those employed i miig ad oil ad gas extractio, ad 12% of those employed i the costructio sector. The overall rate of wome s participatio i the trades, trasport ad equipmet operatio, ad related occupatios was 6.9% i 2006 ad Withi this sector, wome represeted as may as 10% of trasportatio equipmet operators ad related workers (Statistics Caada, Cesus 2006). The highest represetatio of wome is foud i the Other Trades category, which icludes upholsterers, tailors, dressmakers, furriers ad milliers, shoe repairers ad shoemakers, jewelers, watch repairers ad related occupatios. 4 Table 2-3: Female labour force participatio by idustry i 2006 Idustry 5 Wome (%) Agriculture, forestry, fishig ad hutig 29.6 Miig ad oil ad gas extractio 18.3 Utilities 24.7 Costructio 12.2 Maufacturig 29.1 Wholesale trade 33.1 Retail trade 55.2 Trasportatio ad warehousig 25.0 Iformatio ad cultural idustries 46.0 Fiace ad isurace 63.2 Real estate, ad retal ad leasig 45.4 Professioal, scietific ad techical services 44.6 Maagemet of compaies ad eterprises 49.3 Admiistrative ad support, waste maagemet ad remediatio services 44.6 Educatioal services 67.0 Health care ad social assistace 82.1 Arts, etertaimet ad recreatio 48.7 Accommodatio ad food services 60.4 Other services (except public admiistratio) 53.2 Public admiistratio 47.2 Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2006; see Appedix D Wome s participatio appears to be lower i the costructio sector tha i other idustries, as show i Table 2-3. Wome represeted 12.2% of costructio idustry workers i 2006, with may i clerical ad secretarial areas (Fielde, Davidso, Gale, ad Davey, 2000). By far the smallest represetatio of wome i ay occupatioal category is foud i the traditioal trades ad major trades groups (Table 2-3 ad appedices E, F ad G). Wome s participatio i costructio, 4 The 2006 Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio for Statistics (NOC-S) cocordace ca be accessed olie at 5 Categories based o North America Idustry Classificatio System 14 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

19 statioary egieerig, electrical, machiig, metal, ad mechaics trades is lower tha the average for the major trades groups combied Occupatioal distributio of wome i costructio I 2006, wome represeted 4% of tradespersos i costructio (Table 2-4), a small icrease over the Caada 2001 Cesus, whe wome represeted 3.2% of tradespersos i that sector. Secodary data from the Caada Labour Force Survey produced a similar fidig, amely that the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades icreased from 2.8% i 2000 to 4% i Although the chage is small, the patter oetheless suggests a very gradual icrease i the wome s participatio rate, albeit oe that has take place durig a period of sigificat growth i the idustry overall. Cesus 2001 ad Cesus 2006 occupatioal data were compared to determie the patter of wome s represetatio i costructio occupatios ad the extet of chage i that period. Wome represeted 4% of those i the costructio trades i 2006 (Statistics Caada, Cesus 2006), with less tha 2% represetatio i plumbig, pipefittig, gas fittig, carpetry, bricklayig, cocrete fiishig, electrical, costructio millwright, air coditioig ad refrigeratio, ad crae operatio. Wome were the most strogly represeted i the followig trades i 2006: cabietmakig (7.6%), isulatig (7.0%) ad tilesettig (5.3%). Wome also represeted 7.3% of costructio labourers ad 8.5% of other trades helpers ad labourers. There were sizeable icreases i percetage terms i the costructio trades for example, wome s represetatio as tilesetters ad plasterers/ drywallers/fiishers, isulators, iroworkers, ad drill blasters grew more tha 50% i percetage terms, although these icreases are very small i absolute terms. Table 2-4: Proportio of female labour force participatio by costructio trade (Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Occupatioal category ad occupatios 2001 (%) Wome s participatio 2006 (%) Icrease or decrease (%) Costructio trades H111 Plumbers H112 Steamfitters, pipefitters, sprikler system istallers H113 Gasfitters H121 Carpeters H122 Cabietmakers H131 Bricklayers H132 Cocrete fiishers H133 Tilesetters H134 Plasterers, drywall istallers ad fiishers, ad lathers H141 Roofers ad shiglers H142 Glaziers Cotiued o ext page 6 The results of secodary aalysis of Caada Cesus ad Labour Force Survey data are similar but ot equal, likely due to differeces i samplig (for example, the Caada Labour Force Survey excludes the territories of Caada). 15

20 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Table 2-4: Proportio of female labour force participatio by costructio trade (Cesus 2001 ad 2006) (cotiued) Occupatioal category ad occupatios 2001 (%) Wome s participatio 2006 (%) Icrease or decrease (%) H143 Isulators H144 Paiters ad decorators H145 Floor coverig istallers H211 Electricias (except idustrial ad power system) H212 Idustrial electricias H311 Machiists, ad machiig ad toolig ispectors H312 Tool ad die makers H321 Sheet metal workers H322 Boilermakers H323 Structural metal ad platework fabricators ad fitters H324 Iroworkers H325 Blacksmiths ad die setters H326 Welders ad related machie operators H411 Costructio millwrights ad idustrial mechaics (except textile) H412 Heavy-duty equipmet mechaics H413 Refrigeratio ad air coditioig mechaics H421 Automotive service techicias, truck mechaics ad mechaical repairers H611 Heavy equipmet operators (except crae) H621 Crae operators H622 Drillers ad blasters surface miig, quarryig ad costructio H821 Costructio trades helpers ad labourers H822 Other trades helpers ad labourers Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2001 ad Cesus THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

21 2.3.2 Represetatio of wome i costructio maagemet Wome accout for oly 9% of Caada s registered professioal egieers (Caadia Coucil of Egieers, 2006). Geder segregatio i the professio has bee the focus of ogoig research i this coutry (Aderso, Gilbride, ad Stewart, 2006, 2004, 2003; Zywo, Gilbride, ad Gudz, 2000). Efforts to attract girls ad wome to egieerig educatio have show some limited success. More referece to this work is made i Sectio 4 of the report, which focuses o good practices i Caada. Wome represeted 6.5% overall of cotractors/supervisors i trades ad trasportatio i 2006 (Statistics Caada, Cesus 2006). Wome accouted for 7.9% of costructio maagers, 6.4% of residetial homebuilders ad reovators, 10.5% of estimators, 15.8% of survey techologists ad techicias, 33.6% of mappig ad related techologists ad techicias, 20.3% of egieerig ispectors ad regulatory officers, 34.6% of health ad occupatioal safety ispectors, ad 12.3% of costructio ispectors. Table 2-5: Proportio of female labour force participatio by maagemet occupatio (Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Occupatioal category ad occupatios Costructio maagemet positios 2001 (%) Wome s participatio 2006 (%) Icrease or decrease (%) A371 Costructio maagers A372 Residetial home builders ad reovators C134 Costructio estimators C154 Lad survey techologists ad techicias C155 Mappig ad related techologists ad techicias C162 Egieerig ispectors ad regulatory officers C163 Ispectors i public ad evirometal health ad occupatioal health ad safety C164 Costructio ispectors H011 Supervisors, machiists ad related occupatios H012 Cotractors ad supervisors, electrical trades ad telecommuicatios occupatios H013 Cotractors ad supervisors, pipefittig trades H014 Cotractors ad supervisors, metal formig, shapig ad erectig trades Cotiued o ext page 17

22 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Table 2-5: Proportio of female labour force participatio by maagemet occupatio (Cesus 2001 ad 2006) (cotiued) Wome s participatio Occupatioal category ad occupatios H015 Cotractors ad supervisors, carpetry trades H016 Cotractors ad supervisors, mechaic trades H017 Cotractors ad supervisors, heavy costructio equipmet crews H019 Cotractors ad supervisors, other costructio trades, istallers, repairers ad servicers 2001 (%) 2006 (%) Icrease or decrease (%) Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2001 ad Cesus 2006 Betwee 2001 ad 2006, there were sizable icreases (76%) i wome costructio ispectors (from 7.0% to 12.3%) ad egieerig ispectors (16.1% to 20.3%). However, decreases were observed i wome s represetatio as electrical trades cotractors ad supervisors, pipefittig cotractors ad supervisors, metal formig, shapig ad erectig trades cotractors ad supervisors, ad heavy costructio equipmet crew cotactors ad supervisors betwee 2001 ad 2006 (Table 2-5). 2.4 Iteratioal comparisos The rate of female participatio i the costructio idustry i Caada compares well with rates of female participatio i other idustrialized coutries, icludig Australia, Demark, Germay, Netherlads, New Zealad, Uited Kigdom ad Uited States. I these coutries, the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry raged from 8.8% (Netherlads) to 13.1% (Australia) i 2005, ad from 8.2% (Demark) to 12.6% (Australia) i I Caada, wome comprised 10.6% of the costructio labour force i 2005 ad 10.5% i Female ad male costructio idustry participatio rates for these coutries i 2000 ad 2005 are illustrated i Figure THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

23 Figure 2-1: Wome i costructio: comparative iteratioal participatio rates (2000 ad 2005) 2005 male 2000 male 2005 female 2000 female Level of iteratioal participatio Uited States Uited Kigdom New Zealad Netherlads Germay Demark Australia Caada Percetage employmet i costructio (all occupatios) Source: Iteratioal Labour Orgaizatio Departmet of Statistics (UNdata) 100 I examiatios of 2006 Caadia Cesus data with 2006 Australia Cesus data ad 2006 U.S. Cesus data (Table 2-6 ad Table 2-7), Caada compared well o the represetatio of wome i costructio occupatios. It outstripped Australia slightly i the costructio trades overall (4.0% compared to 2.4%) ad i may idividual costructio trades, but most of these differeces were small i absolute terms ad may ot be meaigful. Caada outdid Australia i wome cabietmakers (7.6% compared to 2.3%) ad isulators (7.0% compared to 2.7%). There were also small differeces betwee Caada ad Australia amog glaziers (4.0% compared to 1.3%), structural metal workers (4.4% compared to 0.8%) ad welders (4.2% compared to 0.7%). 19

24 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Table 2-6: Participatio of wome i costructio by occupatio i Caada ad Australia Caada* Wome (%) Australia** Wome (%) A371 Costructio maagers 7.9 Costructio maagers 5.6 C031 Civil egieers 12.2 Civil egieerig professioals 9.4 H1 Costructio trades 4.0 Costructio trades workers 2.4 H111 Plumbers 1.9 Plumbers 1.1 H121 Carpeters 1.8 Carpeters ad joiers 0.8 H122 Cabietmakers 7.6 Cabietmakers 2.3 H131 Bricklayers 1.1 Bricklayers ad stoemasos 1.2 H132 Cocrete fiishers 1.2 Cocreters 1.3 H141 Roofers ad shiglers 2.1 Roof tilers 1.2 H142 Glaziers 4.0 Glaziers 1.3 H143 Isulators 7.0 Isulatio ad home improvemet istallers 2.7 H145 Floor coverig istallers 4.5 Floor fiishers 3.1 H211 Electricias (except idustrial ad power system) 1.6 Electricias 1.2 H321 Sheet metal workers 3.1 Sheet metal trades workers 0.9 H323 Structural metal ad platework fabricators ad fitters 4.4 Structural steel costructio workers 0.8 H326 Welders ad related machie operators 4.2 Structural steel ad weldig trades workers H621 Crae operators 1.8 Crae, hoist ad lift operators 2.5 H622 Drillers ad blasters surface miig, quarryig ad costructio H821 Costructio trades helpers ad labourers C163 Ispectors i public ad evirometal health ad occupatioal health ad safety * Caada Cesus 2006 ** 2006 Cesus of Populatio ad Housig, Australia 2.8 Drillers, miers ad shot firers Labourers Safety ispectors Caada outperformed the Uited States i wome lad surveyors (15.8% compared to 9.9%) ad costructio ispectors (12.8% compared to 8.8%). I some other trades, smaller differeces were observed betwee Caada ad the Uited States i both directios (i.e., Caada outdid the Uited States ad vice versa). I all three coutries, wome were represeted at a rate of less tha 3% i plumbig, carpetry, bricklayig, cocrete fiishig, roofig, electrical ad crae operatio. I all three coutries, the percetage of wome safety officers was at least 20%. I public ad evirometal health ad occupatioal safety ispectio, Caadia data suggested higher levels of female represetatio (30.1%) versus Australia (25.0%) ad the Uited States (22.6%). 20 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

25 Table 2-7: Participatio of wome i costructio by occupatio i Caada ad the Uited States Caada* Wome (%) Uited States** Wome (%) A371 Costructio maagers 7.9 Costructio maagers 7.8 C031 Civil egieers 12.2 Civil egieers 11.9 C051 Architects 25.2 Architects, except aval 22.2 C134 Costructio estimators 10.5 Cost estimators 12.7 C154 Lad survey techologists ad techicias 15.8 Surveyig ad mappig techicias 9.9 C164 Costructio ispectors 12.3 Costructio ad buildig ispectors 8.8 H111 Plumbers 1.9 Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters ad steamfitters 1.8 H121 Carpeters 1.8 Carpeters 2.4 H122 Cabietmakers 7.6 Cabietmakers ad bech carpeters 4.4 H131 Bricklayers 1.1 Brickmasos, blockmasos ad stoemasos H132 Cocrete fiishers 1.2 Cemet masos, cocrete fiishers ad terrazzo workers H134 Plasterers, drywall istallers ad fiishers, ad lathers 4.2 Drywall istallers, ceilig tile istallers ad tapers H141 Roofers ad shiglers 2.1 Roofers 1.4 H144 Paiters ad decorators 14.0 Paitig workers 16.6 H145 Floor coverig istallers 4.5 Carpet, floor, ad tile istallers ad fiishers H211 Electricias (except idustrial ad power system) H311 Machiists, ad machiig ad toolig ispectors Electricias Machiists 6.7 H312 Tool ad die makers 4.4 Tool ad die makers 0.9 H321 Sheet metal workers 3.1 Sheet metal workers 3.1 H326 Welders ad related machie operators H411 Costructio millwrights ad idustrial mechaics (except textile) H413 Refrigeratio ad air coditioig mechaics 4.2 Weldig, solderig ad brazig workers Millwrights Heatig, air coditioig, refrigeratio mechaics H621 Crae operators 1.8 Crae ad tower operators Cotiued o ext page 21

26 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry Table 2-7: Participatio of wome i costructio by occupatio i Caada ad the Uited States (cotiued) Caada* Wome (%) Uited States** Wome (%) H821 Costructio trades helpers ad labourers 7.3 Helpers, costructio trades 6.2 C163 Ispectors i public ad evirometal health ad occupatioal health ad safety 30.1 Idustrial egieers, icludig health ad safety 22.6 * Caada Cesus 2006 ** U.S. Departmet of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Aual Averages 2006 Based o the data available, Caada s progress i promotig wome s participatio i the costructio idustry through the latest global ecoomic boom cycle appears comparable to the progress made by other coutries with similar appreticeship systems. The data also show that wome are much more strogly represeted i egieerig ad health ad safety ispectio occupatios. 2.5 Critical mass theory Strategists iterested i growig the rate of wome s participatio i o-traditioal fields frequetly look for guidace ad directio to critical mass, a cocept origially borrowed from physics (Greed, 2000). Critical mass theory suggests that a particular proportio or critical mass of wome i o-traditioal fields is required to produce the outcomes that would reflect a desegregated workplace. First, the theory proposes that greater tolerace of differeces would be achieved, ad would represet a chage of orgaizatioal culture i workplaces where such differeces were ot previously tolerated. Secod, it is theorized that targetig a critical mass would result i a higher proportio of wome employed by orgaizatios ad that this would be a measurable demographic tred. Third, a critical mass of wome would be expected to disrupt toke status, although this compoet of critical mass would likely be the most difficult to idetify (Powell, Bagilhole, ad Daity, 2006). More will be said about this later i this sectio. For the costructio idustry, critical mass theory suggests two key questios. First, is there a particular umber or percetage of wome required i the costructio idustry for these sorts of chages to be achieved, ad if so, what might that percetage be? I other words, what is the target umber of wome ecessary to maitai a icreased rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad osite maagemet? Secod, could the chages described above be expected if a critical mass of wome i costructio trades ad osite maagemet were achieved? Much of the literature o critical mass theory has bee based, at least i part, o the early work of Rosabeth Moss Kater (1977). Kater described four types of groups: 1) uiform groups, i which everyoe i the group shares a particular sigificat characteristic, such as geder, race, or ethicity, ad the ratio is 100:0; 2) skewed groups, i which toke members of other groups are preset but their umbers are too small to geerate a powerful alliace. Skewed groups have a ratio of up to about 85:15; 3) tilted groups, i which miority members are i the positio to form coalitios ad affect the culture of the group; ad, 4) balaced groups, which have a ratio of betwee 60:40 ad 50:50. Kater s work did ot use the term critical mass, but others have suggested that the shift from a skewed to a tilted type of group would sigal that critical mass had bee achieved. For Kater, miority members, or tokes, are largely idetified by a particular characteristic such as geder, race, age or ethicity. This characteristic is tied to assumptios about culture, status ad behaviour 22 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

27 ad is held by majority category members. Tokes are forced to represet their miority group to the larger group, whether or ot they choose to do so. Wome i a skewed group would face both of these difficulties regardless of whether a orgaizatio iteds wome to serve as tokes. Applyig Kater s framework to the costructio idustry, wome i costructio trades ad osite maagemet ca, i most orgaizatios, be described as fittig ito the category of tokes i a skewed group, based purely o proportioate represetatio The tippig poit Kater s work raised questios about the specific umbers eeded for chage, ad called for further quatitative ivestigatios to determie the tippig poits betwee group categories. However, subsequet writers have ot respoded to this call. Istead, may cotributors o the subject have simply adopted the origial umbers suggested by Kater. A rage of umbers has bee proposed. The Caadia Huma Rights Commissio (1999) suggested a critical mass of 10%, without providig ay particular ratioale for that umber. I work (Greed, 2000) that has focused specifically o the costructio idustry, the percetages have raged from 15% to 35%. Greed has oted that the costructio idustry may require a eve higher proportio of wome tha 35% to reach a tippig poit. I her report o wome i appreticeship ad trades i the Yuko, Madse (1999) argued that studies had show wome are more comfortable i workplaces that employ at least 30% wome, ad that achievig this critical mass is crucial. Greed (2000) exteded the discussio by poitig out that i physics, critical mass is ot expressed as a percetage, but rather a quatity ecessary for a chai reactio to occur. She advised that the aalogy to critical mass meas reckoig with aother kow rule of physics amely, that very mior factors ad chages ca completely disrupt the chai reactio Expected outcomes Although critical mass theory does ot provide the costructio idustry with a specific proportio of wome to maitai wome s presece across idustry occupatios, it is importat to cosider what is at stake i the discussio. What are the hoped-for outcomes from achievig a critical mass of wome i costructio workplaces? The theory offers the followig: As the group s presece ad level of participatio grows, at a particular poit the perspective of members of the miority group ad the character of relatios betwee miority ad majority chages qualitatively. I theory, the miority is icreasigly able to orgaize itself ad isure its survival from withi ad effects a trasitio to a accepted presece, without exteral assistace, i a selfsustaiig process (Etzkowitz et al., 1994). It is ot clear that the presece of a set proportio of wome will lead to self-sustaiig chage i a orgaizatio or idustry. Clearly, there are may factors that could prevet such outcomes. The first is related to the diversity of wome. I their study of female faculty i uiversity sciece departmets, Etzkowitz et al. foud that as the umber of wome faculty members i a departmet icreased, they divided ito distict subgroups that could be at odds with each other. This result overlooks wome s diversity ad calls ito questio the idea that, i sufficiet umbers, wome will share eough characteristics, iterests ad idetificatios to work together ad alter workplace culture. While Greed (2000) argued that a critical mass of wome would permaetly chage their positio i the costructio idustry, she was less cofidet that such chages would be as specific, predictable, or positive as the literature o critical mass i costructio would suggest. Critical mass is oe of the most frequetly used terms i the idustry whe discussig equal opportuities. It fits i well with the scietific ad quatitative bet of the costructio subculture (Larse, 1958), but is highly optimistic ad 23

28 02 Wome s participatio i the costructio idustry over-simplistic if used as a predictive social cocept without ackowledgig the immese cultural ad structural obstacles preset (Greed, 2000). Thus there is debate about whether a critical mass of wome ca chage skewed groups i predictable or positive ways. This is ot to reject the cocept altogether, but rather to suggest that a more complex uderstadig of the issues is eeded. Gale (1994) was also skeptical that a higher proportio of wome would chage the workplace culture. The author argued that those who have chose careers i a particular workplace culture have a vested iterest i promotig ad maitaiig it agaist chage. Furthermore, Gale argued that some wome may have chose careers i costructio because i some ways they like the culture, implyig that they are also part of maitaiig it What the evidece suggests It is ofte assumed that after a critical mass of wome is reached i a workplace, its presece will be self-sustaiig ad wome s employmet will icrease without further itervetio. However, several studies have challeged these assumptios. I her study of a program desiged to icrease the represetatio of wome i a computer sciece program, Lagese (2007) foud o evidece to support this hypothesis. Although a recruitmet campaig based o quotas produced a large icrease i the umber of wome i the program, whe the campaig eded, there was actually a reductio i applicats. She otes that the observed effects did ot support the theory of critical mass, sice the fairly large umber of wome was ot self-icreasig or eve self-sustaiig (Lagese, 2007, p. 87). Aother study foud that the retetio of wome through career trasitio poits i sciece was much lower tha for me, despite icreases i the umber of wome eterig the career pipelie (Etzkowitz et al., 1994). Beig a toke or a miority i a skewed group presets various difficulties. First, compared to domiats, tokes receive a awareess share or visibility that is proportioal to their percetage i the group (Kater, 1977). Secod, differeces are exaggerated (Kater calls this polarizatio ), ad third, the characteristics of miority idividuals are distorted to fit a geeralized view (Kater calls this assimilatio ). Kater suggested that the three effects of tokeism could be disrupted by icreasig the umber of wome i a orgaizatio. Kater s propositios have received some support from research. I her 2007 study, Lagese observed that a icrease i the umber of wome did disrupt some of the egative effects of tokeism. She foud that whe the umber of wome icreased i a computer sciece program, they o loger saw themselves or were see by others as a small miority at risk of beig margialized or becomig tokes. Accordig to Lagese, this chaged perceptio, based o a chage i umbers, ca produce more freedom for members of miority groups (Lagese, 2007). I coclusio, there is limited evidece to suggest that there is a threshold percetage of wome that will make workplace culture better, reduce the effects of tokeism, ad make the umber of wome i costructio self-icreasig or self-sustaiig. This should ot, however, be take to 24 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

29 imply that icreasig the umber of wome i the costructio trades ad osite maagemet would ot have positive effects. The most promisig potetial outcome could be the disruptio of tokeism. It would make idividual wome less visible, ad provide less opportuity for their differeces to be exaggerated or their characteristics to be distorted to fit stereotypes about wome. Additioally, it could become harder for those both iside ad outside the idustry to see costructio as iheretly masculie. However, ad as Yoder (1991) remids us, there is far more goig o i the margializatio of wome i particular occupatios tha just their umbers. While higher umbers may affect wome s toke status, it is ot possible to predict cofidetly the impacts. 2.6 Coclusio As i may other coutries, Caada is makig extremely slow progress i icreasig wome s represetatio i the costructio trades but somewhat more i boostig their represetatio i costructio maagemet. This research addresses the proportio of wome that idustry should aim to employ, based o the umber of them who are iterested i careers i costructio. Estimates of the percetage of wome eeded to desegregate workplaces ad occupatios rage from 10% to 30%, but there is o aswer to the questio of how may wome would be iterested i costructio careers, particularly i the trades, uder ideal circumstaces. 25

30 03 Youg XX TITLE HERE wome s choice of careers i costructio Aroud the world, research, discussio ad kowledge sharig are takig place about strategies to support wome s iclusio i the costructio idustry. Oe curret aveue of research is to ivestigate the career choices of youg girls ad wome. I Caada, there is a growig body of research related to girls iterest i sciece, trades ad techology (Aderso ad Gilbride, 2004; Armour, Carmody, Clark, Maicom, ad Nicoll, 2001; Hypatia Project, 2002; Armour, 2003; Maicom, Armour, Sewell, ad Parsos, 2004a; Maicom, Armour, ad Parsos, 2004b; Zywo, Gilbride, ad Gudz, 1999, 2000). Research ad discussio is occurrig i places as far flug as Australia ad New Zealad, Europe, the Uited Kigdom ad Irelad, Asia, ad Africa (Adeyemi, Ojo, Aia, ad Olaipeku, 2006; Arsla ad Kivrak, 2004; Che ad Carr, 2004; Chileshe, 2007; Clarke, Pederse, Michielses, Susma, ad Wall, 2004; Craw, Clarke, Jefferys, Beutel, Roy, ad Griblig, 2007; Miller, Pollard, Neathey, Hill, ad Ritchie, 2005; Mutadwa, Sigauke, ad Mugaiwa, 2008; New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research, 2008; Polsler ad Paier, 2003). This sectio provides a brief review of the literature, as well as the results of secodary data aalysis from two recet Caadia surveys. These aalyses provide isight ito the factors that ifluece the career choices of Caadia high school girls ad ito the experieces of youg Caadia wome o the pathway to appreticeship. To build o existig research, the Costructio Sector Coucil coducted a survey i 2008 as part of this study with the goal of ivestigatig the factors that ifluece youg wome s career choices i Caada ad their attitudes toward careers i costructio. This survey produced fidigs that ca be used to iform strategies to ecourage girls ad youg wome to eter costructio careers. The secod half of this sectio describes the survey desig ad discusses the results. 3.1 Backgroud literature: career choices of girls ad wome Research that ivestigates girls ad wome s decisios to eter o-traditioal careers cotiuously tests theories of idividual career developmet. Accordig to oe of these theories, people form cocepts of themselves (self-cocepts), which they the match to the images they develop of the occupatioal world (Greee ad Stitt-Gohdes, 1997). This theory has geerated studies to ivestigate the images that youg people form about work (Thiesse, 2002). Aother importat perspective o the career choices of girls ad wome i geder-segregated occupatios is provided by the ecoomic ad legal research ad aalysis of Scott Moss (2004) i the Uited States. Moss presets a formidable case to suggest that wome ot oly choose ratioally to eter workplaces that support both geders to avoid discrimiatio, they also exit workplaces i which they experiece discrimiatio. Efforts are beig made iteratioally to uderstad girls orietatio to vocatioal careers. I a study (Polsler ad Paier, 2003) i Austria, more tha 900 studets were iterviewed ad 700 teachers surveyed to idetify the mechaisms that determie the girls vocatioal orietatio. 26 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

31 Polsler ad Paier s study started from the premise that career choices are based o a cotiuous process of balacig idividual iterests agaist objective possibilities ad a uderstadig that parets ad peers are key iflueces o the process, alog with teachers. The ivestigatio focused o the iteractio betwee studets ad teachers ideas of geder role models with special emphasis o the emergece of career orietatios as the result of social iteractios at school. This study also examied the practices ad attitudes of career cousellors ad occupatioal orgaizatios. It foud that career cousellors, like teachers, frequetly believe that girls ad wome are ot suited for o-traditioal occupatios ad that geder segregatio is a expressio of this. I the study, girls rated their abilities related to costructio ad techology lower tha boys did. This fidig was repeated by the Nova Scotia Hypatia Project (2002), i which the high school girls iterviewed teded to say they did ot cosider themselves itelliget eough for sciece ad techology careers. A report titled Tradig Choices: Youg People s Career Decisios ad Geder Segregatio i the Trades from the New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research (2008) is based o a qualitative study i which 86 youg me ad wome were iterviewed to explore geder differeces i decisios to eter the trades i New Zealad. Researchers foud that family ad schools ted to reproduce geder stereotypig i relatio to work ad career, such that uackowledged assumptios about the purposes of seior secodary educatio, ad about differeces i male ad female iterests, effectively filter wome away from trades-related paths. However, aother key fidig was that male ad female participats were attracted by the same aspects of the trades, for example, earig-while-learig, low/o fees, useful for life, earig capacity, high likelihood of employmet, iteratioally recogized qualificatios, etc. See Appedix H for the list of Huma Rights recommedatios cotaied i this report. Past research reported that girls ad wome teded to value job challege, the physical work eviromet ad frige beefits, ad to be more orieted to altruism, whereas boys ad me teded to value advacemet ad security more highly (Cummig, 1997). Research has provided a basis for arguig that wome s career choices are iflueced by family backgroud ad that, compared with males, wome value factors such as the proximity of the workplace to their homes more tha they do salary. The ifluece of exteral factors, such as the ature of the idustry, workig coditios, ad positive advice from parets, peers, or career cousellors has also bee ivestigated i relatio to girls ad wome s decisios about careers i costructio ad egieerig. Research that is more recet has produced differet fidigs. For example, a South Africa study about girls decisios related to work i the costructio idustry focused o the kowledge, attitudes, ad perceptios that determie their occupatioal prefereces. This study foud that both male ad female studets rated salary, workig coditios, ad opportuities for advacemet ad lifelog learig as their top cosideratios i choosig a career, although female studets rated the iflueces of family ad cousellors more highly tha did males (Chileshe ad Haupt, 2007). These researchers cocluded that exteral factors such as a lack of iformatio about 27

32 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio costructio careers may play a bigger role tha geder differeces. A marketig campaig to promote costructio career opportuities to girls ad wome was proposed as a result. A hallmark of recet research about wome s career developmet is the emphasis o multiple factors ad their iteractios i producig career decisios. Some of these factors iclude backgroud (geder, age, socioecoomic status, ability), persoal characteristics (academic self-esteem, idepedece, values, attributios), ad evirometal variables (paretal ad teacher support), as well as workplace characteristics (Farmer, as cited i Greee ad Stitt- Gohdes, 1997; Helwig, 1998). A social marketig campaig was lauched by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum ad Skills/ Compéteces Caada from 2003 ad 2006 to promote careers i the skilled trades ad appreticeships i this coutry (APCO, 2004). Parets, educators, studets, ad career cousellors were targeted. The campaig foud that career cousellors, like parets ad youth, are amog those who lack iformatio about the skilled trades. It also foud that: the public, ad key iflueces such as parets ad teachers, view uiversity educatio as the most effective, if ot the oly meas of securig gaiful employmet ad a promisig future. Sice pursuig skilled trades typically meas completig post-secodary educatio with traiig through a appreticeship program, the perceptio is that these careers are for people who could ot make it ito uiversity. This myth has caused may parets ad educators to strogly ecourage ad direct youth ito uiversity programs istead of college (APCO, 2004). Recet research coducted by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum ivestigated the barriers to accessig ad completig appreticeship ad reported that the attitude of may guidace cousellors toward appreticeship is ofte very egative, reflectig a lack of kowledge of the complexity of the work ivolved ad the level of difficulty associated with the material beig taught (Caadia Appreticeship Forum, 2004a). Fidigs cosistet with this have bee reflected i other studies, which reported that career cousellors, who are uiversity graduates, do ot ted to promote careers i particular idustries or i the skilled trades. Three very recet studies i Austria, New Zealad ad Australia all reached similar coclusios, amely that: teachers ad career cousellors ted to reproduce geder biases that steer girls away from the skilled trades ad appreticeship; ad, that geder stereotypes are beig trasmitted alog the very iformatio pathways iteded to recruit youth to appreticeship (New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research, 2008; Polsler ad Paier, 2003). Polsler ad Paier s study i the Austria secodary school system cocluded that career cousellors, like teachers, frequetly believe that girls ad wome are ot suited for o-traditioal occupatios ad that geder segregatio is a expressio of this. The same study also foud that girls rated their abilities related to costructio ad techology low compared to boys. A New Zealad study produced a similar fidig, amely that family ad schools ted to reproduce geder stereotypig i relatio to work 28 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

33 ad career, such that uackowledged assumptios about the purposes of seior secodary educatio, ad about differeces i male ad female iterests, effectively filter wome away from trades-related paths (New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research, 2008). A great deal of research cotiues to focus o the career choices of girls (ad, to a lesser extet, wome) ad o ways of ifluecig those decisios, with the aim of overcomig geder segregatio i occupatios such as egieerig ad the skilled trades, ad i idustries such as costructio. The curret research also pursues this lie of ivestigatio. Takig all of these perspectives ad empirical fidigs ito accout, the survey i this study was desiged to ivestigate youg Caadia wome s career choices, attitudes toward, ad kowledge of careers i costructio. Survey methodology ad fidigs are discussed i this sectio. 3.2 Secodary data aalysis: pathways to careers i costructio Secodary aalysis of Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Survey of Secodary School Studets data supported what is kow from other research, amely that paretal educatio is strogly predictive of the educatioal decisios of youth. Parets were the most ifluetial factor o youth s educatioal decisios, followed by persoal iterests, havig a creative talet, or ejoyig a course at school. Secodary aalysis of Caadia Appreticeship Forum Survey data showed that about two-fifths (38%) of female appretices idicated that work had bee their first choice right after high school, a third (34%) said college had bee their first choice, ad aother fifth (20%) said that uiversity had bee their first choice. The fidigs were very similar for male appretices. For about half (47%) of female appretices, it had bee at least 10 years sice they atteded high school, ad for aother fifth (21%), it had bee betwee five ad 10 years. The fidigs were fairly similar for male appretices. A quarter (26%) of female appretices had previously completed a college-level certificate, diploma or applied degree. Female appretices cited the ifluece of high school cousellors ad teachers less tha half as frequetly as cousellig from someoe they kew i the costructio idustry, family members or a employer. I most cases, female appretices received iformatio from someoe workig i a trade, from family, frieds or a employer. The two prior-traiig programs that participats reported receivig most frequetly were high school trades courses or high school co-op or work experieces. This supports the case for resumig high school trades appreticeship programs as appreticeship feeder programs. Although fewer female appretices reported difficulties i securig a appreticeship, more reported a barrier i hirig, with 90% of those who had difficulty sayig that the biggest obstacle was that o oe was hirig appretices, compared to two-thirds of male appretices who had had difficulty. This suggests that female appretices may have ecoutered more barriers i hirig tha male appretices. These fidigs (see Appedix I for a more detailed fidigs report) have implicatios for future strategies to attract ew trades appretices ad others to costructio. Idustry recruitmet teds to focus largely o youth, but it is ot kow whether recruitmet campaigs aloe ca overcome paretal ifluece ad the larger social valuatio of uiversity. It is possible that idustry recruitmet efforts will succeed i attractig somewhat more youth ad wiig over some parets. However, it is just as likely that there will cotiue to be a eed to recruit from the older pool of studets who have iitially chose to atted college or uiversity due to the powerful ifluece of other factors, icludig social policy that drives the promotio of uiversity educatio for all, o their career choices. It is importat that this older pool of studets ot be treated ay less seriously tha youth. 29

34 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio 3.3 Methodology A survey was developed ad admiistered to ivestigate the factors shapig Caadia wome s career choices ad attitudes toward workig i skilled costructio trades/maagemet occupatios. A goal of the survey was to determie what success might mea i terms of attractig wome ito costructio trades (i.e., the proportio of wome who could coceivably be attracted to the trades). To some extet, this is difficult to determie due to curret geder stereotypig ad occupatioal segregatio, but eve uder these coditios, there will likely be some wome who would cosider employmet i costructio if pathways were available to support their access to these opportuities Survey istrumet A 32-item survey was developed based o all these iputs (Appedix J), extesive literature review ad o the iput of key iformats, icludig: the fidigs of past ad recet literature related to wome i o-traditioal careers; wome s choice of careers i costructio; girls iterest ad attitudes i vocatioal occupatios ad appreticeship; ad, a extesive search of literature related to the barriers that limit wome s participatio i the trades, i appreticeships, ad i the costructio idustry. A variety of experts provided a check o the relevacy ad scope of survey items to the Caadia costructio idustry. Iformal cotact was made by telephoe ad with a umber of key Caadia iformats, icludig those with kowledge of the barriers that limit wome s participatio i the skilled trades ad the costructio idustry, as well as those who have doe research or developed programs to overcome these barriers. Iformats highlighted the factors kow to ifluece the iterest i ad access of youg wome i Caada to careers i the skilled trades ad the costructio idustry. Fially, cotet experts at the Costructio Sector Coucil were cosulted. Durig survey developmet, efforts were made to harmoize respose optios with Statistics Caada categories for age, icome, firm size ad rural/urba distictios. Further iformatio was gathered about respodets employmet status, mai activity i the last year ad umber of jobs. The survey was piloted i both paper ad olie formats, traslated ito Frech ad admiistered i the late fall of Participats were asked for their opiios ad experieces related to: educatioal attaimet ad aspiratios paretal educatio factors that ifluece career decisios people who ifluece career decisios iformatio received about careers i costructio ecouragemet or discouragemet related to careers i costructio attitudes to careers i costructio ad o-traditioal occupatios employmet i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet occupatios iterest i costructio idustry careers I admiisterig the survey, the order of items was radomized i Questios 6 to 12 ad Questios 15 ad 18 to elimiate the respose-order bias that ca be produced by respose sets. I Questio 18, some resposes were asked i the egative to prevet bias based o respose sets. Stadard uipolar ad bipolar scalig was used. 30 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

35 3.3.2 Recruitmet Stadig paels kept by a major Caadia survey compay were used to admiister the survey olie to wome aged 18 to 34 years across Caada. This age rage was chose because roughly 90% of all appretices fall i this age bracket. Age ad regio quota correspodig to atioal cesus statistics were used i the distributio of surveys to paelists to help achieve a more represetative atioal samplig. The survey was distributed to represetative umbers of wome i all categories of household icome, workig status, household size, ad educatio based o atioal cesus statistics. Participats were give the choice to complete the survey i either Frech or Eglish, based o their laguage spoke Survey sample The olie survey was completed by 1,290 wome aged 18 to 34 years. The smallest proportio of participats was uder 20 years of age (12% were betwee 18 ad 19 years of age). A third (36%) of the respodets were 20 to 24 years of age, 28% were 25 to 29 years of age, ad a quarter (24%) were betwee 30 ad 34 years of age. Half (49%) of this sample of wome were sigle, while aother 46% were married/commo law. Oly 3% were divorced or separated ad 2% idicated that their marital/parter status was ot captured by the resposes provided. About a third (34%) of survey respodets had depedet childre livig with them. Table 3-1: Percetage of respodets by provice Provice/territory Percetage Newfoudlad ad Labrador 3 Nova Scotia 5 Price Edward Islad 0.3 New Bruswick 3 Quebec 14 Otario 40 Maitoba 4 Saskatchewa 4 Alberta 13 British Columbia 14 Northwest Territories 0 Yuko 0 Nuavut 0 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig. Nie percet (9%) of respodets completed the survey i Frech. Six percet (6%) of the respodets were Native or Aborigial (First Natios, Métis or Iuit). Almost all (96%) of the survey respodets were Caadia citizes; the remaiig 4% were permaet residets (2.9%), refugees (0.1%), temporary workers (0.4%) or o-specified other (0.9%). The distributio of participats across rural ad urba settigs was fairly eve (20% were livig i a rural or small tow settig, 25% i a tow or small city, 27% i a metropolita cetre, ad 28% i a large metropolita cetre). The represetatio of respodets by provice is show i Table 3-1. The three territories are ot represeted i the sample because although surveys were distributed to paellists i the Northwest Territories, Yuko ad Nuavut, o resposes were received. 31

36 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Data aalysis SPSS 16.0 was used to perform data aalysis. Cross-tabulatio ad chi-square aalysis were used to trasform data, compare frequecies ad test statistical sigificace. 3.4 Survey results The Wome i Costructio Survey asked respodets to provide iformatio about educatioal attaimet ad aspiratios, paretal educatio, employmet ad icome. Questios were also asked about the factors that ifluece career choices, the appeal of careers i the costructio trades or costructio maagemet, ad about iformatio ad ecouragemet participats had received regardig career opportuities i costructio trades/maagemet. Participats were asked whether they had ever cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet. Fially, participats were asked about the likelihood that they would cosider a career i these areas i future. The results of data aalysis are preseted i this sectio of the report Educatio Educatio ad traiig provide pathways to employmet that shape the patter of wome s participatio i the labour force. Data aalyses were performed to ivestigate the relatioships betwee educatioal attaimet, educatioal aspiratios, paretal educatio, ad iterest i employmet i costructio trades/maagemet Educatioal attaimet Survey respodets levels of educatioal attaimet are displayed i Figure 3-1. A quarter of the survey respodets (26%) reported high school as the highest level of educatio they had completed to date; oly 5% of respodets had completed less tha high school. Almost two-fifths (38%) of respodets had eared either a college, techical istitute, or uiversity credetial, ad 3% had completed a graduate or professioal degree. A quarter (25%) of respodets had completed some uiversity or college/techical courses without earig a credetial, ad oly 2% had completed a appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos. Figure 3-1: Educatioal attaimet of respodets Graduate or professioal degree 3 Uiversity bachelors degree 16 Level of educatio College/techical diploma or certificate Some college or uiversity courses Joureyperso Appreticeship certificatio High school 26 Less tha high school 5 = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes Percetage of respodets 32 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

37 Appreticeship certificatio A small proportio of survey respodets had completed a appreticeship certificatio (2%) or become joureypersos (0.2%) ad 1.4% were erolled i programs to ear a appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos at the time of the survey. More respodets (7.5%) idicated that they had at oe time bee registered as trades appretices. Noe of the Aborigial wome i this sample had completed a appreticeship certificatio. Seve percet (7%) of survey respodets were employed i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet. Nearly half (48%) of those who were employed i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet had bee registered trades appretices at oe time, ad 11% had eared a appreticeship certificatio Educatioal aspiratios About a third (29%) of survey respodets were erolled i educatio or traiig at the time of the survey ad aother 38% were plaig to cotiue their educatio i future. Aother third (33%) were ot erolled i ay educatio ad had o plas to cotiue i future. A large majority of youger respodets 18 to 24 years of age (73%) were erolled i educatio at the time of the survey while the majority (76%) of respodets 25 to 34 years of age had o plas for further educatio i future. Half the respodets aged 18 to 24 years ad 25 to 34 years were ot erolled i educatio but were plaig to cotiue their educatio i future (Table 3-2). Figure 3-2: Respodets educatioal status ad future plas Age yrs Age yrs Percetage of respodets Curretly erolled i educatio or traiig Not curretly erolled but plas for future Not curretly erolled ad o plas for future = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig. Educatioal status The educatioal aspiratios of respodets who were either erolled i educatio or plaig to cotiue their educatio at some time i the future are preseted i Table 3-2. The majority (75%) of this group of respodets were plaig to complete a uiversity or a college credetial, while 7% expected that they would complete high school (or the equivalet). A small proportio (5%) expected that the highest level of educatio they would complete would be a appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso. 33

38 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Table 3-2: Educatioal aspiratios of respodets plaig to cotiue their educatio Level of educatio plaed i future Proportio of respodets (%) High school 7 Appreticeship certificatio ( = 24) 3 Joureyperso ( = 20) 2 Traiig or upgradig (o-credetial) 9 College/techical diploma or certificate 28 Uiversity bachelor s degree 19 Uiversity graduate or professioal degree 26 = 863 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad other / do ot kow resposes. Table 3-3: Educatioal aspiratios of the whole sample of survey respodets Highest level of educatio plaed Proportio of respodets (%) Less tha high school 2 High school 15 Some college or uiversity courses (o credetial) 5 Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso status ( = 51) 4 Traiig or upgradig (o-credetial) 6 College/techical diploma or certificate 30 Uiversity degree 37 = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad other / do ot kow resposes. About two-thirds of respodets (67%) expected to complete post-secodary educatio i their lifetimes (Table 3-3). This reflects a growig tred i Caada, amely that a icreasig proportio of the populatio is accessig ad completig post-secodary educatio, ad meas that idustry will recruit from a more educated labour pool i future. Appreticeship certificatio Of those respodets plaig to ear a appreticeship certificatio, 72% were betwee 20 ad 29 years of age, while 70% of those plaig to become joureypersos fell ito that same age group. Just 15% of respodets who expected to ear a appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos were 18 to 19 years of age ad aother 15% were 30 to 34 years of age. A fifth of those plaig these careers (21% ad 20%, respectively) were Aborigial. Overall, two-thirds of these respodets were either already erolled i a appreticeship program (50%) or were becomig joureypersos at the time of the survey (13%). A third (34%) was already employed i costructio trades/maagemet. The results of this survey support the projectio that idustry will be recruitig from a more educated labour pool i future, sice, of those respodets plaig to complete appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos, a quarter (26%) had completed some uiversity or college courses, 14% had eared a college credetial, ad 5% had completed a uiversity degree. A third 34 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

39 (34%) had completed high school or less, while 21% had already eared a appreticeship certificatio. The implicatios for social marketig ad career developmet activity will be discussed i the summary of key fidigs Paretal educatio Paretal educatio is a kow predictor of studets educatioal aspiratios ad attaimet (Berger, Motte, ad Parki, 2007), ad i tur, educatio provides a direct pathway to various careers. For this reaso, the educatioal attaimet of survey respodets parets was examied. Figure 3-3: Educatioal attaimet of fathers or male guardias Uiversity degree College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Uiversity degree Respodets educatio College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets fathers/male guardias = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes. Respodets who had completed college or uiversity ofte had parets/guardias who had completed these credetials. Educatio levels of respodets ad their parets/guardias are displayed i Figure 3-3 ad Figure

40 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Figure 3-4: Educatioal attaimet of mothers or female guardias Uiversity degree College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Uiversity degree Respodets educatio College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets mothers/female guardias = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes. Paretal educatio of respodets who had completed or plaed to complete a appreticeship Sevetee percet (17%) of respodets who had completed a appreticeship or were joureypersos ad 16% of those who were plaig to complete a appreticeship had parets/ guardias who had completed a appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos. I both cases, a quarter (25%) had parets/guardias who had completed post-secodary educatio (college or uiversity) ad at least two-fifths had parets/guardias whose highest level of educatio was high school or less. These results are displayed i Figure THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

41 Figure 3-5: Paretal educatio of respodets plaig to complete appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos Mothers/female guardias Fathers/male guardias Uiversity degree 9 11 Paretal educatio College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets parets/guardias = 44 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes. Paretal educatio of respodets employed i costructio The educatioal attaimet of the parets/guardias of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet, ad those who were plaig to complete a appreticeship were similar (Figure 3-6). About two-fifths of the parets/guardias had completed high school or less, while 42% of mothers ad a third (32%) of fathers had completed post-secodary credetials. A small proportio had eared appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos themselves (5% of mothers/female guardias ad 8% of fathers/male guardias). Figure 3-6: Educatioal attaimet of parets or guardias of respodets employed i costructio Mothers/female guardias Fathers/male guardias Uiversity degree Paretal educatio College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets parets/guardias = 93 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes. These fidigs suggest that it is importat to target parets across all categories of educatio i social marketig campaigs ad other iitiatives to educate them about career opportuities for youg wome i costructio trades/maagemet. 37

42 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Employmet ad icome The Wome i Costructio Survey asked respodets questios about their mai activity i 2008, what type of employmet they had ad how may hours ad jobs they worked altogether. Although 25% of respodets reported they did ot have a job, the majority (63%) had oe job, 10% idicated that they had two jobs, ad 2% idicated that they had three or more jobs. More tha half (54%) of those respodets with employmet had full-time permaet work, while 28% had a permaet part-time job. Oly 7% were self-employed, 7% idicated that their primary job was temporary, ad 4% idicated that their primary employmet was seasoal. Table 3-4: Respodets estimated gross persoal icome i 2008 Estimated icome Proportio of respodets (%) < $20, $20,000 $29, $30,000 $39, $40,000 $49, $50,000 $59,999 4 $60,000 or more 6 = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to missig, other, ad do ot kow resposes. The distributio of survey respodets icome is displayed i Table 3-4. Two-thirds (66%) of survey respodets expected their 2008 gross persoal earigs to be less tha $30,000. A smaller proportio (14%) expected their 2008 icome to be betwee $30,000 ad $40,000 i 2008, ad a fifth (20%) expected to ear $40,000 or more i 2008, all jobs combied. Figure 3-7: Type of employmet ad expected gross persoal icome i 2008 Self-employed Permaet full-time Permaet part-time Temporary or occasioal Seasoal Icome $50,000 59,999 $40,000 49,999 $30,000 39,999 $20,000 29,999 < $20, Percetage of respodets = 841 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to missig, other, ad do ot kow resposes. These results uderscore the fact that may wome i Caada are employed i occupatios that remuerate them poorly. This is well kow from Caada Cesus ad Labour Force Survey data ad highlights that the costructio idustry has opportuities to attract wome ito skilled trades/ maagemet based o the promise of icreased icome. 38 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

43 Respodets gross persoal icome is displayed i Figure 3-7 for each type of employmet. A fifth of those respodets who expected to ear uder $20,000 i 2008 were employed full-time. This was also true for the 64% who expected to gross betwee $20,000 ad $29,999 i 2008, ad the sixty-ie percet (69%) who expected to gross betwee $30,000 ad $39,999, all jobs combied. Figure 3-8: Icome of respodets (all types of employmet icluded) by educatio < $20,000 $20,000 29,999 $30,000 39,999 $40,000 49,999 $50,000 ad more Uiversity degree Educatioal attaimet College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship or joureyperso Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to missig, other, ad do ot kow resposes. Gross 2008 earigs are preseted i Figure 3-8 for each level of respodets educatio. All types of employmet, icludig part-time, temporary/occasioal ad seasoal employmet are combied i this compariso. More tha half the respodets who had completed either high school or less, or some college or uiversity courses, expected to ear less tha $20,000 i The expected 2008 earigs of respodets with a uiversity degree (31%) or college credetial (31%) was similar to that of respodets who had completed appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos, but the small umber of respodets ( = 24) who had completed a appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos limits the power of these comparisos. Figure 3-9: Icome of respodets with full-time permaet jobs by educatio < $20,000 $20,000 29,999 $30,000 39,999 $40,000 49,999 $50,000 ad more Uiversity degree Educatioal attaimet College/techical diploma or certificate Appreticeship certificatio Some college or uiversity High school or less Percetage of respodets =

44 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio The icome levels of respodets employed i permaet full-time jobs oly are displayed by educatio level i Figure 3-9. The expected icome of respodets who had completed appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos compared well with icome from other educatioal attaimet levels, although sample size limits these comparisos. Icome levels will be discussed agai i Sectio 5.1, which describes the characteristics of respodets employed i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet Factors that ifluece career choices The Wome i Costructio Survey asked respodets to rate the ifluece of various factors o their career choices. Respodets ratigs of the ifluece of these factors are preseted i Table 3-5. Table 3-5: People ad other factors that directly ifluece career choices Sources of ifluece o career choice Fairly/very ifluetial (%) No ifluece (%) A course i college or uiversity Beig offered a job or traiig opportuity Parets Frieds A course i high school Teacher (high school, college, uiversity) Spouse or life parter Experiece i co-op, summer job or youth appreticeship Family members ot icludig parets or spouse/parter Media (e.g., ewspapers, televisio, magazies, advertisig) Job fair i college or uiversity Cousellor i a adult career service, college or uiversity High school guidace cousellor Job fair i high school = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to missig, other, ad do ot kow resposes. Whe asked about the people ad experieces that have a direct ifluece o their career choice the largest proportio (43%) of respodets raked as fairly or very ifluetial takig a course i college or uiversity ad beig offered a job or traiig opportuity. The ext most frequetly reported sources of ifluece were parets ad frieds, followed by high school courses, teachers, spouses, co-op summer job or youth appreticeship experiece, ad family members. High school guidace cousellors ad adult career services, college, ad uiversity career cousellors were rated fairly or very ifluetial by the fewest respodets (21% ad 22%, respectively), alog with job fairs i high school (20%). This is a oteworthy fidig sice the prevailig belief is that career cousellors, particularly at the high school level, play a key role as guides i studets educatio ad career choices. The fidig is uderlied by the fact that more tha half of the survey respodets (56%) reported that career cousellors (high school cousellors as well as those i college, uiversity, ad adult career services) had o ifluece at all o their career decisios. The survey asked respodets to rate the ifluece of workplace ad educatio-related factors o their career choices. Workplace factors were rated highly ifluetial by more respodets tha 40 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

45 the other factors listed i Table 3-6. At least three-quarters of respodets rated ejoymet of work tasks, a career that matches their skills or aptitudes, salary, log-term security, ad beefits as fairly or very ifluetial (very few 6% to 8% idicated that these factors had o ifluece). Table 3-6: Workplace ad other exteral cosideratios i career choices Sources of ifluece o career choice Fairly/very ifluetial (%) No ifluece (%) Ejoymet of daily work tasks 80 6 Career matches my skills or aptitudes 79 6 Salary 79 7 Log-term security 79 7 Beefits 75 8 Wome are treated equally Possibility of promotio Flexible work hours Opportuity to trai o the job while earig a icome Wome are equally represeted Prestige of the career Opportuity to be a role model Required traiig or educatio is iexpesive Availability of wome role models Scholarship opportuities Opportuity to be self-employed = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to missig, other, ad do ot kow resposes. At least half (53% to 71%) of the survey respodets idicated that other ifluetial factors icluded wome beig treated equally, opportuities for advacemet, flexible work hours, o-the-job traiig, equal represetatio of wome, job prestige, ad the opportuity to be a role model (oly 12% to 17% reported that these factors had o ifluece). Opportuities for self-employmet ad scholarships, ad the availability of wome role models were rated fairly or very ifluetial by at least 40%. Asked about the appeal of other aspects of work (Table 3-7), more tha half of the survey respodets rated work that requires creativity (63%), work that ivolves iteractios with cliets or the public (55%), ad work with their hads (51%) as fairly or very appealig. Two-fifths (44%) of respodets rated work i a office or similar settig fairly or very appealig, but the same proportio (44%) also rated beig physically active fairly or very appealig. Half (51%) rated the ecessity of relocatig to get work fairly or very uappealig. 41

46 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Table 3-7: Ratigs of the appeal of other aspects of work Factors that ifluece choices of career Fairly/very appealig (%) Fairly/very uappealig (%) Work requires creativity Work ivolves iteractig with customers or the public Workig with my hads Work i a office or similar settig Work ivolves beig physically active Travellig is a required part of the work Relocatio to aother part of the provice or coutry to get work = 1, The Wome i Costructio Survey asked respodets to judge the workplace characteristics of small, medium, ad large firms (Table 3-8). More respodets rated large firms as more likely to offer higher salaries, better beefits, ad more opportuities for promotio, educatio ad traiig. Cosistet with other research, fewer respodets thought that supervisors i large firms were likely to be flexible with employees; more respodets thought supervisors i small firms were more likely to be flexible with employees. Table 3-8: Expectatios of the workplace based o firm size Expectatios Small firm (%) Medium firm (%) Large firm (%) No relatioship to size (%) Higher salaries More job security Better beefits More opportuities for promotio Better educatio ad traiig opportuities More flexible hours Better represetatio of wome Policies are more supportive of wome Supervisors ca be more flexible with employees = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig Betwee 15% ad 21% of respodets thought that small-, large-, or medium-size firms were more likely to have better represetatio of wome ad to have supportive policies i place. However, 43% thought that better represetatio of wome was urelated to firm size, ad 44% saw o coectio betwee firm size ad policies that support wome. This is a key fidig sice at least two-thirds of survey respodets rated these two characteristics as sigificat factors i career decisio makig. 42 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

47 Factors related to the choice of careers i costructio trades/maagemet Respodets were asked about the sources of iformatio ad ecouragemet they had received related to career opportuities for wome i costructio trades/maagemet. They were also asked about their attitudes to work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios ad to rate the appeal of careers i costructio trades/maagemet. Sources of iformatio about careers i costructio trades/maagemet Fidigs cocerig sources of iformatio are displayed i Table 3.9. Slightly more tha half (52%) of the survey respodets had ot received iformatio from ay sources about career opportuities i costructio trades/maagemet. The greatest proportio of respodets who had received iformatio had obtaied it from frieds (22%) ad media (22%). The ext most frequetly cited sources were people the respodets kew who worked i the costructio idustry (19%), parets (15%) ad family (15%). What is otable about this is that may of these are iformal sources. Survey results showed that iformatio was least ofte received from high school guidace cousellors (11%) ad cousellors i college, uiversity or adult career services (7%). The fact that half the respodets (52%) i this sample had ever received iformatio from ay sources about careers i costructio trades/maagemet is importat, especially i light of the three-year atioal social marketig campaig coducted betwee 2004 ad 2007 to promote the skilled trades via public media, the Iteret ad other chaels. Clearly, this iformatio did ot reach may youg wome. Table 3-9: Sources of iformatio received about careers i costructio trades/maagemet Source of iformatio Respodets who received iformatio about careers (%) No iformatio received from ay source 52 Media (e.g., advertisig, TV, movies, etc.) 22 Frieds 22 Someoe I kew i the costructio idustry 19 Parets 15 Family members ot icludig parets 15 High school job fair or idustry presetatio at my school 14 A course i high school 13 Teacher 13 College or uiversity job fair 12 High school guidace cousellor 11 A course i college or uiversity 9 Cousellor i adult career service, college or uiversity 7 = 1,290 More respodets (57%) with a family member who worked i costructio trades/maagemet had received iformatio about opportuities i these careers tha those without (38%). Similarly, more respodets (57%) who kew a woma i costructio trades/maagemet had received iformatio, compared with those who did ot (31%). These results are statistically sigificat. 43

48 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Sources of ecouragemet to eter careers i costructio trades/maagemet The Wome i Costructio Survey asked respodets to provide iformatio about the levels of ecouragemet they had received to eter careers i costructio trades/maagemet ad the sources of ecouragemet, icludig frieds ad family, people employed i costructio, career cousellors, teachers, job fairs, ad media (Table 3-10). The majority (68% to 78%) of respodets had bee either ecouraged or discouraged from eterig a costructio career. The three sources of ecouragemet cited most frequetly were people employed i the costructio idustry, media, ad the offer of a work or traiig opportuity i costructio. Sigificatly, the least frequet sources of ecouragemet icluded teachers, high school ad college/uiversity job fairs or idustry presetatios, metorship programs, ad career cousellors i high school, uiversity, college, ad commuity career services. It is otable that high school guidace cousellors ad career cousellors i uiversity, college, or commuity career services were amog the least frequet sources of ecouragemet. These fidigs suggest that the pathways public educatio provides to careers i costructio may ot ecourage studets to cosider all opportuities available to them. Table 3-10: Sources of ecouragemet to pursue careers i costructio trades/maagemet Sources of ecouragemet/ discouragemet Someoe who worked i the costructio idustry Beig offered a work or traiig opportuity Media (e.g., ewspapers, televisio, magazies, advertisig) Ecouraged (%) Discouraged (%) Neither ecouraged or discouraged (%) Parets Frieds Other family members ot icludig parets or spouse/parter Spouse or life parter Teacher High school job fair or idustry presetatio at my school College or uiversity job fair Cousellor i a college, uiversity or commuity career service High school guidace cousellor Metorship program = 1,290 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig. 44 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

49 The fidigs show a strog relatioship betwee the iformatio ad ecouragemet respodets received. May more who had received iformatio about costructio career opportuities also received ecouragemet to pursue these opportuities. Almost three-quarters (70%) of respodets who had received career iformatio had also received ecouragemet, while those who had ot received iformatio (69%) had ot received ecouragemet. These results are statistically sigificat. Attitudes to work i geder-segregated occupatios ad i costructio trades/maagemet Respodets rated their agreemet with a umber of statemets related to work i the costructio idustry (Table 3-11). These questios were iteded to explore the attitudes of Caadia wome 18 to 34 years of age toward this work. More tha half of the respodets (59%) agreed that costructio work ca be dagerous. Almost half (44%) of the respodets agreed that it is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios ad aother 40% agreed that ot may employers i the costructio idustry wat to hire wome. Oly a fifth (20%) agreed that work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome, while equal proportios felt that me ad wome have the same talet for jobs i costructio trades (40%) ad maagemet (49%). Somewhat fewer believed that they had the skills or aptitude themselves for these careers (28%). Table 3-11: Attitudes toward work i the costructio idustry ad geder-segregated occupatios Sources of ifluece o career choice Agreed (%) Disagreed (%) No opiio (%) Work i costructio ca be dagerous It is possible to trai o the job i the costructio idustry while earig a icome It is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios Wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., project maager, maager, supervisor, estimator, etc.) Wome ad me have equal talet for the costructio trades (e.g., electricia, plumber, welder, roofer, bricklayer, ladscaper, etc.) Not may employers i costructio wat to hire wome Work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome There is job security i the costructio idustry It is possible to work flexible hours i costructio I have the skills or aptitude for work i costructio Cotiued o ext page 45

50 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Table 3-11: Attitudes toward work i the costructio idustry ad geder-segregated occupatios (cotiued) Sources of ifluece o career choice Wome have good opportuities for advacemet i the costructio idustry Wome ear good salaries i costructio Where I live, there are lots of jobs i costructio for wome Agreed (%) Disagreed (%) No opiio (%) Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig or do ot kow values. Almost a third (30%) believed that there is job security i costructio ad oe-fifth (20%) agreed that there were may costructio jobs for wome i their eighbourhoods. Oly a quarter of respodets agreed that wome ear good salaries i costructio (25%) or have good opportuities for advacemet i costructio (27%). Almost a third (29%) said that it is possible to work flexible hours i costructio Iterest ad employmet i costructio trades/maagemet This sectio of the report describes four groups of survey respodets, those who: 1) were employed i costructio trades/maagemet; 2) idicated that they were attracted to costructio trades/maagemet; 3) were ot employed i costructio trades/maagemet but had cosidered a career i these occupatios; ad, 4) were ot employed i costructio trades/maagemet but idicated that they were fairly or very likely to cosider these jobs i future. Comparisos of respodet groups were coducted usig cross-tabulatio ad the Pearso chi-square tests. The results of these comparisos are discussed i this sectio. More detailed iformatio is provided i appedices K, L, M, ad N Respodets who were employed i costructio trades/maagemet Seve percet (7%) of survey respodets were employed i the costructio idustry either i the skilled trades or i costructio maagemet occupatios. Sixtee percet (16%) of these were Aborigial wome. Further iformatio about respodets employed i the costructio trades or costructio maagemet is provided i Appedix K. Fiftee percet (15%) of the respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet were betwee 18 ad 19 years of age; 69% were 20 to 29 years of age; ad, 16% were betwee 30 ad 34 years of age. About a third (38%) of respodets had depedet childre livig with them, similar to respodets who were ot employed (34%) i costructio trades/maagemet. Almost all (95%) of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet were Caadia citizes, mirrorig the survey sample i which 96% of respodets were Caadia citizes. Half (50%) of the respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet careers lived i rural settigs, tows or small cities, ad a equal proportio (50%) lived i metropolita cetres. About a third of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet had completed either high school or less (34%) or post-secodary educatio (37% to 18% had completed a college credetial, 15% had completed a udergraduate uiversity degree, ad 4% had completed a uiversity graduate degree). Aother fifth (17%) of the survey respodets had completed some college or uiversity courses. These 46 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

51 fidigs illustrate that there are multiple educatioal pathways to employmet i the costructio idustry. They also support what other research has also show, amely that for some, registratio i a trade ad employmet i the idustry ca be a secod or a third choice of educatio/career. The rate of respodets permaet employmet i costructio was ot differet from those who were ot workig i the idustry. Half (51%) of the respodets employed i costructio trades/ maagemet had permaet full-time employmet, similar to 54% of respodets ot i these occupatios. Oe teth (11%) of those workig i costructio trades/maagemet was selfemployed, compared to 6% of those ot employed i these careers. There were more high earers (gross aual icome greater tha $50,000) ad fewer low earers (less tha $20,000) amog respodets workig i costructio (Figure 3-10). This is a importat fidig, particularly i light of the fact that oly 25% of survey respodets agreed, ad aother 20% disagreed, that wome i costructio trades/maagemet ear good salaries. This suggests that may youg wome lack accurate iformatio about the fiacial rewards of workig i the idustry. All jobs combied, more respodets i these costructio careers worked 41 to 50 hours per week or more. It is possible that this cotributed to the fidig that wome employed i these careers eared higher aual icomes i Figure 3-10: Icome of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet < $20,000 $20,000 29,999 $30,000 39,999 $40,000 49,999 $50,000 ad more Full-time permaet employmet/ ot i costructio ( = 456) Employmet (all types)/ ot i costructio ( = 1,197) Full-time permaet employmet i costructio trades/maagemet ( = 39) Employmet (all types) i costructio trades/maagemet ( = 93) Note: Resposes may ot add to 100 percet due to roudig Percetage of respodets Equal proportios of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet occupatios (45%) ad those who were ot employed i these careers (46%) were fairly or very satisfied with their mai job ad equal proportios were dissatisfied. Of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet, 15% were fairly or very dissatisfied with their mai job or occupatio compared to 16% of those ot employed i costructio. Cross-tabulatio ad Pearso chi-square tests were used to compare respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet with those ot employed i these careers based o whether they had a family member i these careers, ad o whether they had received iformatio about or ecouragemet to eter these careers. The results of these comparisos are all statistically sigificat (Table 3-12). 47

52 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio About three-quarters (72%) of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet had a family member who worked i the idustry, compared to the 44% ot employed i these careers. May more of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet had received iformatio (85%) or ecouragemet (63%), compared to less tha half of respodets ot employed i these careers (42% received iformatio ad 34% received ecouragemet). Table 3-12: Comparisos based o whether respodets were employed i costructio trades/maagemet Factors Employed i costructio trades/maagemet (%) = 93 Not employed i costructio trades/maagemet (%) = 1,197 Had family i costructio trades/maagemet 72*** 44*** Iformatio received from at least oe source 85*** 42*** Ecouragemet received from at least oe source 63*** 34*** *** p <.001 The appeal of careers i costructio to respodets ot employed i costructio About oe-fifth (22%) of respodets who were ot employed i costructio rated careers i the trades appealig (10% rated them fairly or very appealig ad 12% rated them oly slightly appealig), ad a third (32%) rated careers i costructio maagemet appealig (18% rated costructio maagemet careers fairly or very appealig, while 14% rated them slightly appealig). About half of the respodets (53%) who were ot employed i these fields rated careers i the costructio trades uappealig (32% rated these careers very uappealig), while 41% rated careers i costructio maagemet uappealig (23% cosidered such careers very uappealig). A quarter of the respodets rated costructio careers either appealig or uappealig. About three-quarters (71%) of those who rated careers i the costructio trades fairly or very appealig, ad half (52%) of those who rated careers i costructio maagemet fairly or very appealig had also cosidered eterig a career i costructio at oe time. Table 3-13: The appeal of careers i costructio trades/maagemet occupatios Factors Iformatio received from at least oe source Ecouragemet received from at least oe source Costructio trades (%) = 652 Fairly or very appealig Fairly or very uappealig Costructio maagemet (%) = 586 Fairly or very appealig Fairly or very uappealig 59*** 27*** 61*** 21*** 55*** 35*** 55*** 33*** = 1,197 *** p <.001 Note: Because there was a sigificat relatioship iteractio betwee the appeal of careers i costructio trades/maagemet ad whether respodets were employed i those careers, the relatioships i Table 3-13 were ivestigated oly for those respodets ot employed i costructio trades/maagemet. A importat fidig is that the appeal of careers i costructio trades/maagemet is related to whether respodets received iformatio about these careers ad ecouragemet to eter them. More tha half of those who rated careers i costructio trades/maagemet as fairly or very appealig had received iformatio (59% of those who foud the trades appealig ad 61% of those 48 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

53 who foud maagemet appealig) or ecouragemet (55% of those who foud the trades appealig ad 55% of those who foud maagemet appealig). Fewer of those who foud these careers fairly or very uappealig had received iformatio about iformatio or ecouragemet. These differeces are statistically sigificat (Table 3-13) Youg wome who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet A quarter (23%) of the survey respodets ot employed i the costructio trades or costructio maagemet had cosidered eterig these careers. Te percet (10%) of those respodets who had cosidered eterig careers i the costructio idustry were Aborigial wome. Further iformatio about these respodets is provided i Appedix L. Sevety percet (70%) of those who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet were betwee 24 ad 29 years of age; aother 10% were betwee 18 ad 19 years of age; ad, a fifth (21%) were 30 to 34 years of age. I additio, 40% lived with depedet childre, almost half (45%) lived i rural settigs, small tows, or small cities, ad the other half (56%) lived i metropolita cetres. I additio: two-fifths (40%) of those who had cosidered a costructio career had completed high school, compared to 29% of those who had ot; a third (34%) who had cosidered workig i the idustry had a post-secodary credetial (college 22% or uiversity 12%), compared to 43% of those who had ot; about a fifth (23%) of respodets who had cosidered these careers, ad 27% who had ot, had completed some college or uiversity courses; ad, two percet (2%) of respodets who had cosidered costructio trades/maagemet, ad 1% who had ot cosidered these optios, had completed a appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos. Similar proportios of those who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet ad those who had ot, had permaet full-time employmet (42% ad 39%, respectively). The expected 2008 earigs of those who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet were ot differet from those of who had ot. Less tha half of both respodet groups expected their total gross earigs i 2008 to be less tha $30,000, 44% expected to ear less tha $20,000, ad a quarter (27%) expected to ear betwee $20,000 ad $29,999, all jobs combied. Factors associated with career choice More tha three-quarters (84%) of respodets who had cosidered eterig the costructio trades or costructio maagemet rated these careers fairly or very appealig compared to less tha oe quarter (20%) of those who had ot cosidered them. Cross-tabulatio ad Pearso chi-square tests were used to compare respodets who had cosidered employmet i costructio trades/maagemet with those who had ot, based o whether they had a family member who worked i these occupatios, ad o whether they had received iformatio about or ecouragemet to eter them. The differeces foud are all statistically sigificat (Table 3-14). Respodets who had worked i costructio trades/maagemet more ofte kew a woma i (61%) or had a family member employed i these occupatios (60%) compared with respodets who had ot cosidered workig i the costructio trades (39%) or costructio maagemet (40%). Comparisos based o whether respodets had received iformatio about or ecouragemet to eter these careers produced similar results. Almost two-thirds of respodets who had cosidered a costructio career had received iformatio (63%) about job opportuities i the idustry or ecouragemet (62%) to pursue them. A third or less of those who had ot cosidered these careers had received iformatio (36%) about or ecouragemet (25%) to eter them. 49

54 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Table 3-14: Factors related to whether respodets had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet Factors Cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet Yes, cosidered it (%) = 274 No, did ot cosider it (%) = 923 Kew a woma i costructio 61*** 39*** Had family i costructio trades/maagemet 60** 41** Iformatio received from at least oe source 63*** 36*** Ecouragemet received from at least oe source 62*** 25*** ** p <.01, *** p <.001 Survey respodets were asked to rate their agreemet or disagreemet with a series of statemets related to work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios. The ratigs of respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet were compared with those of respodets who had ot (Table 3-15). Table 3-15: Attitudes to work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios Attitudes Where I live, there are lots of jobs i costructio for wome. Cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet Yes, cosidered it (%) = 274 No, did ot cosider it (%) = (s) 34 (s) There is job security i the costructio idustry I have the skills or aptitude for work i costructio Wome ear good salaries i costructio Wome have good opportuities for advacemet i the costructio idustry. Wome ad me have equal talet for the costructio trades (e.g., electricia, plumber, welder, roofer, bricklayer, ladscaper, etc.). Wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., project maager, maager, supervisor, estimator, etc.). 54 (s) 50 (s) 77 (s) 81 (s) Not may employers i costructio wat to hire wome Work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome. 35 (s) 28 (s) It is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios It is possible to work flexible hours i costructio It is possible to trai o the job i the costructio idustry while earig a icome Work i costructio ca be dagerous (s) = o-sigificat 50 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

55 The most sizable differeces were foud betwee respodets whe they assessed their ow skills for work i costructio, ad whether the idustry provides job security, flexible work hours, ad traiig o the job. Eighty percet (80%) of those who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet believed they had the skills, compared with oly 22% of those who had ot cosidered them. More respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio trades agreed fairly or very strogly that there is job security i the idustry (75%), that it offers opportuities to work flexible hours (63%) ad ear a icome while traiig o the job (97%). A greater proportio of respodets who had cosidered careers i costructio trades/ maagemet agreed fairly or very strogly that wome have equal talet for costructio trades ad maagemet. These wome more ofte agreed that ot may employers i costructio wat to hire wome; that it is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios; ad, that costructio work ca be dagerous. Aother otable fidig is the fact that a smaller proportio of those who had cosidered careers i costructio trades/maagemet agreed (fairly or very strogly) that wome ear good salaries i those occupatios Respodets likely to cosider careers i costructio trades/maagemet Whe the 1,197 respodets ot employed i the idustry were asked how likely it was that they would cosider a career i the costructio trades, 13% idicated that there was some likelihood of this i future (5% fairly or very likely ad 8% slightly likely). More (60%) idicated that they were ulikely to cosider a career i the costructio trades (for 9% it was slightly ulikely; for 51% it was fairly or very ulikely). For 26% of these respodets it was either likely or ulikely that they would cosider a career i the costructio trades i future. Whe respodets ot employed i the costructio idustry were asked how likely it was that they would cosider a career i costructio maagemet i future (project maager, maager, supervisor or estimator), 19% idicated there was some likelihood they would cosider this (for 9% it was fairly or very likely; for 10% it was slightly likely). For 55% it was ulikely (for 46% it was fairly or very ulikely; for 9% it was slightly ulikely), ad a quarter (26%) idicated it was either likely or ulikely. Further iformatio about respodets who were fairly or very likely to cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet i future is provided i Appedix M. Aborigial respodets comprised 22% of those likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades (14% of those who were fairly or very likely to cosider eterig these careers were Aborigial). Sevetee percet (17%) of those who were likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet were Aborigial (6% of those who were fairly or very likely to cosider such a career were Aborigial). The remaider of the fidigs discussed i this sectio are based o respodets who were fairly or very likely to cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet, ad o comparisos with those who were fairly or very ulikely to cosider these careers. These respodets will be referred to as most likely, or most ulikely, to eter these careers i future. More tha three-quarters (80%) of respodets most likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades ad two-thirds (60%) of those most likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet had cosidered these optios i the past. The majority of respodets most likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades (79%) or costructio maagemet (72%) was betwee 20 ad 29 years of age. A fifth (19%) of those most likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades ad a quarter (23%) of those most likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet fell ito the 30-to-34 age bracket. Agai, this is cosistet with the fidigs of other research that, for some youg people, choosig a career i costructio follows completio of some post-secodary educatio ad/or work experiece. 51

56 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Almost half of the respodets most likely to cosider workig i the costructio trades (42%) or costructio maagemet (37%) had depedet childre livig with them. About half of these respodets lived i rural settigs, small tows, or small cities ad aother half lived i metropolita cetres. About half of those most likely to cosider employmet i the costructio trades (54%) or costructio maagemet (56%) had full-time permaet employmet; those most ulikely to cosider eterig the trades (54%) or maagemet (52%) were also permaetly employed. More tha three-quarters of those who were most likely to cosider work i the costructio trades expected their total gross 2008 earigs to be less tha $30,000. Fifty-six percet (56%) expected to ear less tha $20,000 ad 24% expected to ear betwee $20,000 ad $29,999, all jobs combied. Two-thirds of those most likely to cosider employmet i costructio maagemet expected their 2008 earigs to be less tha $30,000. Forty percet (40%) expected to ear less tha $20,000 ad 26% expected to ear betwee $20,000 to $29,999, all jobs combied. Factors associated with career choice Fewer respodets who were most likely to cosider careers i costructio trades/maagemet were satisfied with their curret mai job compared to those who were least likely to cosider these careers. Half (52%) of respodets most likely to cosider employmet i the trades were fairly or very satisfied with their curret mai job, compared to 79% of those who were most ulikely to cosider costructio work. Of those most likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet, two-thirds (64%) were fairly or very satisfied with their curret mai job, compared with 79% of those ot likely to cosiderig these careers. These are statistically sigificat differeces. A large majority of respodets who were most likely to cosider eterig the costructio trades (86%) ad costructio maagemet (91%) rated these careers fairly or very appealig compared to oly 4% of those who were most ulikely to cosider eterig careers i the costructio trades ad 10% of those most ulikely to cosider workig i costructio maagemet. Cross-tabulatio ad Pearso chi-square tests were used to compare respodets who were most likely to cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet with those who had ot cosidered these careers, based o whether they kew a woma or family member i these sectors, ad o whether they had received iformatio about opportuities i or ecouragemet to eter them. Agai, most of the results of these comparisos are statistically sigificat (Table 3-16). Table 3-16: Factors related to the likelihood respodets would cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet Factors Likely to cosider a career i costructio trades Fairly or very likely (%) = 59 Likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet Fairly or very likely (%) = 106 Kew a woma i costructio 42 (s) 53** Had a family member i costructio trades/maagemet 54* 55** Iformatio received from at least oe source 63*** 59*** Ecouragemet received from at least oe source 64*** 59*** * p <.05, ** p <.01, *** p <.001 (s) = o-sigificat 52 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

57 Equal umbers of those who were most likely (42%) ad those who were most ulikely (40%) to cosider a career i the costructio trades kew a woma i the idustry. More of those who were most likely to cosider work i costructio maagemet (53%) kew a woma who worked i the idustry tha those who were most ulikely (38%) to cosider these careers. Similarly, those most likely to cosider work i the costructio trades (54%) or costructio maagemet (55%) had a family member who had worked i these occupatios; 41% of those most ulikely to cosider these careers did have a family member i the trades (42%) ad maagemet (41%). Respodets most likely to work i the costructio trades had more ofte received iformatio (63%) about these opportuities or ecouragemet (64%) to eter these careers, tha those who were most ulikely to cosider the costructio trades (26%) or costructio maagemet (25%). Similarly, respodets who were most likely to cosider employmet i the costructio trades (64%) or costructio maagemet (59%) had more ofte received ecouragemet to eter these careers tha those who were most ulikely to cosider a career i the trades (28%) or maagemet (26%). Attitudes to careers i costructio Respodets were asked to rate their agreemet with a series of statemets about work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios. The ratigs of respodets who were most likely to cosider eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet were compared with those of respodets who were most ulikely to cosider this. The results of these comparisos are preseted i Table 3-17 ad i more detail i Appedix N. Table 3-17: Comparisos based o attitudes related to work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios Attitudes Where I live, there are lots of jobs i costructio for wome. Likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades Fairly or very likely = 64 Fairly or very ulikely = 143 Likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet Fairly or very likely = 68 Fairly or very ulikely = 128 Agreed (%) Agreed (%) Agreed (%) Agreed (%) There is job security i the costructio idustry I have the skills or aptitude for work i costructio Wome ear good salaries i costructio Wome have good opportuities for advacemet i the costructio idustry. Wome ad me have equal talet for the costructio trades (e.g., electricia, plumber, welder, roofer, bricklayer, ladscaper, etc.). Wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., project maager, maager, supervisor, estimator, etc.) (s) 83 (s) (s) 87 (s) Not may employers i costructio wat to hire wome. 86 (s) 72 (s) Work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome Cotiued o ext page 53

58 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Table 3-17: Comparisos based o attitudes related to work i costructio ad i geder-segregated occupatios (cotiued) Attitudes It is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios. Likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades Fairly or very likely = 64 Fairly or very ulikely = 143 Likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet Fairly or very likely = 68 Fairly or very ulikely = 128 Agreed (%) Agreed (%) Agreed (%) Agreed (%) 78 (s) 68 (s) It is possible to work flexible hours i costructio It is possible to trai o the job i the costructio idustry while earig a icome Work i costructio ca be dagerous. 97 (s) 89 (s) (s) = o-sigificat Similar to the results comparig respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/ maagemet with those who had ot, respodets who were most likely to cosider eterig such a career were much more likely to agree that they had the skills for it. Respodets who were most likely to cosider careers i the costructio trades (88%) or costructio maagemet (80%) thought they had the skills or aptitude for this work, those least likely to cosider the trades (19%) or maagemet (18%) believed they had the skills or aptitude. Respodets most likely to cosider costructio careers were also more likely to agree that the idustry offers job security, opportuities for advacemet, ad flexible work hours, that there were lots of jobs for wome i costructio where they lived, that there are good opportuities for female advacemet, ad that costructio work is ot physically difficult for wome. It is agai oteworthy that respodets who were most likely to cosider workig i costructio trades/maagemet agreed less ofte that wome i the idustry ear good salaries. Some respodets were still likely to cosider a costructio career despite thikig that these careers do ot remuerate wome well. 3.5 Key fidigs The Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey was desiged to ucover a umber of issues. The first was to idetify the potetial for icreased iterest i costructio trades/costructio maagemet amog youg Caadia wome aged 18 to 34 years of age. It was expected that this would be achieved by idetifyig the proportio ad characteristics of youg Caadia wome i this age group who had cosidered or were likely to cosider workig i the idustry. Other goals icluded idetifyig the ifluece of various factors kow to be related to career decisio makig, ad to lear more about youg wome s attitudes toward costructio employmet Respodets iterested i the skilled trades ad costructio Two percet (2%) of the youg wome surveyed had eared appreticeship certificatio or had become joureypersos, ad 1% was erolled i programs to ear appreticeship certificatio or become joureypersos at the time of the survey. Five percet (5%) of those plaig to cotiue their educatio expected the highest level of educatio they would complete would be appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso status. 54 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

59 Seve percet (7%) were employed i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet. Oe quarter (23%) of the 1,197 survey respodets ot employed i costructio trades/ maagemet had cosidered eterig these careers at oe time. Thirtee percet (13%) of respodets ot employed i costructio trades/maagemet idicated that there was some likelihood they would cosider a career i the costructio trades. For 5%, this was fairly or very likely. Nietee percet (19%) of respodets ot employed i costructio trades/maagemet idicated that there was some likelihood they would cosider a career i costructio maagemet. For 9%, this was fairly or very likely Educatio Idetifyig respodets educatioal achievemet levels ad aspiratios produced several fidigs with potetial implicatios for social marketig, outreach ad recruitmet of youg wome to the costructio idustry. About a third (37%) of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet had completed post-secodary educatio, 18% had completed a college credetial, 15% had completed a udergraduate uiversity degree, ad 4% had completed a uiversity graduate degree. Aother fifth (17%) of respodets had completed some college or uiversity courses. A sizable majority of respodets (67%) expected to complete post-secodary educatio i their lifetimes, which reflects the icreasig access to educatio ad risig levels of educatioal attaimet i Caada. A fifth (19%) of respodets itedig to ear a appreticeship certificatio i future had already completed a post-secodary credetial (14% had completed college ad 5% had completed a uiversity degree). Aother quarter (26%) was erolled i college (13%) or uiversity (13%) at the time of the survey. Twety-oe percet (21%) had also eared a appreticeship certificatio previously ad 34% had completed high school or less. About two-fifths of the mothers (37%) ad fathers (43%) of those workig i costructio trades/maagemet had completed high school or less. Two-fifths (42%) of respodets mothers ad a third (32%) of fathers had completed post-secodary credetials. A small proportio had eared a appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos (5% of mothers/female guardias ad 8% of fathers/male guardias) Implicatios for social marketig, career developmet ad recruitmet The fact that two-thirds of this sample of Caadia wome aged 18 to 34 years were plaig to complete a post-secodary credetial reflects a growig tred i Caada, amely that more people are accessig ad completig post-secodary educatio. This suggests that idustry will likely fid that it is recruitig from a progressively educated labour pool. It also reiforces what is kow from other research, amely that there are multiple educatioal pathways to registered appreticeship ad to work i the costructio idustry. I this sample of wome, almost half of those plaig to complete a appreticeship or become joureypersos had completed at least some post-secodary-level courses. This fidig also cofirms the results of other research, amely that for some, employmet i the skilled trades, registratio i appreticeship, ad employmet i the costructio idustry may be a secod or a third choice of educatio or career. Fidigs related to the levels of paretal educatio suggest the importace of targetig parets across all categories of educatio i social marketig campaigs ad other iitiatives iteded to educate parets about career opportuities for youg wome i costructio trades/maagemet. 55

60 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Employmet ad icome The expected 2008 earigs of respodets with a uiversity degree (31%) or college credetial (31%) was similar to that of respodets who had completed appreticeship certificatio or were joureypersos, but the small umber of respodets who were i the latter category limits the power of these comparisos. The rate of permaet employmet of respodets employed i costructio trades/ maagemet (51%) did ot differ from permaet employees who were ot employed i costructio (54%). Oe-teth (11%) of those employed i costructio trades/ maagemet were self-employed, compared to 6% of those ot i these careers. There were more high earers (gross aual icome greater tha $50,000) ad fewer low earers (less tha $20,000) amog respodets employed i costructio trades/ maagemet. All jobs combied, more respodets employed i trades/maagemet careers worked 41 to 50 hours per week or more. This may have cotributed to the fidig that wome i these occupatios eared more i 2008 tha respodets who did ot Implicatios for social marketig ad recruitmet The fact that the icome levels of those with appreticeship certificatio compared well with those respodets who had post-secodary-level educatio is a importat fidig, particularly i light of the fact that oly 25% of all respodets agreed ad aother 20% disagreed that wome i costructio trades/maagemet ear good salaries. This suggests that may youg wome lack accurate iformatio about the fiacial rewards of these careers. It also highlights the opportuity for the idustry to attract wome ito the skilled trades ad maagemet occupatios based o the promise of improved icome Factors that ifluece career decisio makig Ejoymet of work tasks, a career that matches skills or aptitudes, salary, log-term security, ad work beefits were rated fairly or very ifluetial by the majority (75%) of respodets. Workplace ad educatio factors were rated as exertig much more ifluece o career decisio makig tha ifluetial people. Other factors wome beig treated equally, opportuities for advacemet, flexible work hours, the opportuity to trai o the job, equal represetatio of wome, the prestige of the job, ad the opportuity to be a role model were rated fairly or very ifluetial by betwee half ad three-quarters of respodets. By compariso, oly 12% to 17% reported that these factors had o ifluece. The opportuity to be self-employed, scholarship opportuities ad the availability of wome role models were rated fairly or very ifluetial by betwee two-fifths to oe half of respodets. 56 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

61 Forty-three percet (43%) raked a course i college or uiversity ad beig offered a job or traiig opportuity as fairly or very ifluetial o career choice. Other frequetly reported sources of ifluece were parets ad frieds, followed by high school courses, teachers, spouses, co-op summer job or youth appreticeship experiece, ad family members. High school guidace cousellors ad adult career services, ad college ad uiversity career cousellors were rated fairly or very ifluetial by the fewest respodets (21% ad 22%, respectively), alog with job fairs i high school (20%). More tha half the respodets (56%) reported that career cousellors (high school cousellors as well as those i college, uiversity ad adult services) had o ifluece at all o their career decisios. This is oteworthy, sice the prevailig belief is that career cousellors, particularly at the high school level, play a key role as guides i studets educatio ad career choices Firm size More respodets (33% to 44%) thought large firms are more likely to offer higher salaries, better beefits, more chaces for promotio, ad better opportuities for educatio ad traiig. Fewer respodets thought this was more likely to be true i medium- (21% to 25%) or small-size firms (10% to 16%). Cosistet with other research, fewer respodets thought that large firms would be flexible with employees; more respodets believed supervisors i small firms were more likely to be flexible with employees. At least two-thirds of survey respodets rated woma-friedly workplace policies ad equal represetatio of wome as sigificat factors i career decisio makig; two-fifths did ot believe that there was a coectio betwee firm size ad the likelihood of equal female represetatio (43%) or female-supportive workplace policies (44%). By compariso, 15% to 21% did believe there was a coectio to firm size (small, medium or large) Attitudes to work i costructio Almost half (44%) of the respodets agreed that it is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios ad aother 40% agreed that ot may employers i the costructio idustry wat to hire wome. Betwee two-fifths ad oe half of respodets agreed that me ad wome have equal talet for work i the costructio trades (40%) ad maagemet (49%), while somewhat fewer agreed that they had the skills or aptitude for these careers themselves (28%). Almost a third agreed that costructio offers job security (30%) ad the possibility for flexible workig hours (29%). A fifth (20%) agreed that there were may jobs for wome i costructio where they lived. Oly a quarter agreed that wome i costructio ear good salaries (25%) or have good opportuities for advacemet (27%). More tha half the respodets (59%) agreed that costructio work ca be dagerous. Eighty percet (80%) agreed that work i costructio is physically difficult for wome. The resposes of those who had cosidered eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet were compared with those who had ot. Similarly, the resposes of respodets who were most likely to cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet were compared with those who were most ulikely to do so. 57

62 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio Compared to respodets who had ot cosidered eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet, a greater proportio of respodets who had cosidered eterig these careers agreed fairly or very strogly that these jobs offer the possibility of earig a icome while traiig (97% compared to 81%), provide job security (75% compared to 53%), ad possibilities for workig flexible hours (63% compared to 45%). Compared to respodets who had ot cosidered eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet, a greater proportio of respodets who had cosidered eterig these careers agreed fairly or very strogly that wome have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (77% compared to 81%). Compared to respodets who had ot cosidered eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet, more respodets who had cosidered eterig these careers also believed that ot may employers i costructio wat to hire wome (86% compared to 72%), it is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios (78% compared to 65%), ad costructio work ca be dagerous (97% compared to 88%). Some fidigs were sigificat for respodets likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet i future whe compared to those who were ot likely to do so. A greater proportio of respodets who were most likely to cosider these careers agreed fairly or very strogly that wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet (97% compared to 85%), that ot may employers i costructio wat to hire wome (86% compared to 68%), ad that it is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios (84% compared to 65%). It is oteworthy that compared to respodets who had ot cosidered eterig a career i costructio trades/maagemet, a smaller proportio of those who had cosidered eterig these careers agreed fairly or very strogly that wome i these occupatios ear good salaries (42% compared to 73%). Sigificatly fewer respodets most likely to cosider costructio careers believed that wome ear good salaries. Compared to respodets who were least likely to cosider costructio careers i the trades or maagemet, a greater proportio of those most likely to cosider these careers agreed fairly or very strogly that there were lots of these jobs for wome where they lived (52% to 56% compared to 28% to 30%), that the idustry offered wome good opportuities for advacemet (72% compared to 43%), ad that costructio work is ot physically difficult for wome (58% to 68% compared to 22%) Wome s belief that they have the skills/aptitude for careers i costructio A much greater proportio of respodets who had cosidered or were likely to cosider a career i costructio trades/maagemet believed that they had the ecessary skills or aptitude tha those who had ot cosidered these careers or were ulikely to do so. Eighty percet (80%) of respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/ maagemet thought that they had the skills ad aptitudes, compared to oly 22% of those who had ever cosidered such a career. A much greater proportio of respodets most likely to cosider workig i the costructio trades (88%) or maagemet (80%) agreed that they had the skills or aptitude, compared to oly 19% ad 18%, respectively, of those who were ot likely to cosider these careers Wome or family members employed i costructio Most (72%) respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet had a family member i these careers, compared to 44% of those who were ot employed i the idustry. More (61%) respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio trades/ 58 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

63 maagemet kew a woma workig i the idustry or had a family member employed there (60%), compared with respodets who had ot cosidered such careers (40%). Of those most likely to cosider costructio careers: 42% kew a woma who worked i the trades; 53% kew a woma who worked i maagemet; 54% had a family member i costructio trades; ad, 55% had a family member i costructio maagemet Iformatio ad ecouragemet Half (52%) of the youg Caadia wome who respoded to the survey had ever received iformatio about opportuities for wome i costructio trades/maagemet. The majority (68% to 78%) had bee either ecouraged or discouraged from eterig costructio. Respodets who had received iformatio were also more likely to have received ecouragemet. Almost three-quarters (70%) of respodets who had received iformatio about costructio careers had also received ecouragemet to eter them, while a similar majority (69%) of those who had ot received iformatio had ot received ecouragemet. The appeal of careers i costructio trades/maagemet was related to whether iformatio was received about them. More tha half (59%) of the respodets who foud careers i the costructio trades fairly or very appealig had received iformatio about them, compared to about a quarter (27%) of those who rated these careers fairly or very uappealig. Those already employed i costructio, those who had cosidered these careers, ad those who were most likely to cosider them were much more likely to have received iformatio or ecouragemet, compared with those who were ot employed i these careers, did ot fid them appealig, had ot cosidered eterig them, ad those who were most ulikely to cosider them. A large majority of those employed i costructio trades/maagemet had received either iformatio (85%) about these careers or ecouragemet (63%) to eter them, compared to less tha half of those ot curretly i these careers (42% ad 34%, respectively). About two-thirds of respodets who had cosidered workig i costructio had received iformatio (63%) or ecouragemet (62%) to eter the idustry, compared to those who were most ulikely to eter it (35% ad 25%, respectively). More of the respodets most likely to cosider the costructio trades (63%) or costructio maagemet (59%) had received iformatio about opportuities i the idustry compared to those who had ot cosidered such a career. Fewer of those who were most ulikely to cosider these careers had received iformatio (36% ad 35%, respectively). Two-thirds of those who were most likely to cosider workig i the costructio trades (64%) or maagemet (65%) had received ecouragemet to eter these fields. The majority of those most ulikely to cosider these careers had received o ecouragemet to eter them (72% or 74%, respectively). Sources of iformatio about careers i costructio About a fifth of respodets who had received iformatio about costructio careers obtaied it from iformal sources such as frieds (22%), media (22%), people already workig i the idustry (19%), parets (15%) ad family (15%). Compared to iformatio received from other sources, fewer respodets had received iformatio from high school guidace cousellors (11%) ad cousellors i adult, college, 59

64 03 Youg wome s choice of careers i costructio or uiversity career services (7%), which idicates that studets are ot learig about the optios available to them through traditioal educatioal pathways. Respodets who had a family member (57%) or kew a woma (57%) who worked i costructio were more likely to have received iformatio about opportuities i the trades or costructio maagemet tha those who did ot have these coectios (38% ad 31%, respectively). Sources of ecouragemet to eter careers i costructio For those who had received ecouragemet to eter careers i costructio trades/ maagemet, the three most frequet sources were people employed i the costructio idustry, media, ad the offer of a work or traiig opportuity i costructio. The least frequet sources of ecouragemet were teachers, high school ad college/ uiversity job fairs or idustry presetatios, metorship programs, ad career cousellors i high school, uiversity, college, ad commuity career services. Guidace ad career cousellors were amog the least frequet sources of ecouragemet, which agai poits to the fact that studets are ot beig ecouraged to cosider all available optios. 3.6 Coclusio The fidigs of the 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey ca iform strategies to make careers i the costructio idustry more attractive to girls ad youg wome. Oe of the survey s key goals was to explore the umber of wome the costructio idustry ca expect to draw from i recruitmet efforts. Seve percet (7%) of the 1,290 wome surveyed were already employed i costructio, either i the trades or maagemet. About a quarter of the 1,197 Caadia wome surveyed (aged 18 to 34 years) who were ot employed i the idustry had cosidered a career i it at oe time. For 13% there was some likelihood that they would cosider a career i the trades ad oe-fifth (19%) would be likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet. Combiig these two groups, 23% of respodets who were ot employed i costructio idicated they were at least slightly likely (18% were fairly or very likely) to cosider a career i either trades or maagemet, with more expressig a iterest i maagemet. This importat fidig idicates that a sigificat umber of youg wome might be iterested i pursuig work i the idustry if they received iformatio ad ecouragemet. The majority of respodets likely to cosider employmet i costructio had received iformatio about ad/or ecouragemet to eter it. Frieds, media, parets ad the idustry itself were the most frequet sources of iformatio. This suggests that the idustry s promotioal efforts are havig some effect, eve though half of the youg wome i this sample had ever received career iformatio. However, a surprisigly small umber of wome (oly oe quarter) thought that wome ear good salaries i costructio trades/maagemet, which meas that wome are makig career choices 60 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

65 without accurate iformatio. I view of these figures, ad the proportio of respodets who had ever received costructio career iformatio or ecouragemet, it is possible that more wome could be iterested i these careers tha is idicated by the umber of those sayig that they were likely to cosider these careers i future. The majority of youg wome rated the followig as ifluetial factors: the ejoymet of work tasks a career that matches their skills or aptitudes salary log-term security beefits workplace educatio At least half of the respodets agreed the followig factors were ifluetial: wome beig treated equally opportuities for advacemet flexible work hours o-the-job traiig equal represetatio of wome job prestige the opportuity to be a role model The fidigs of idustry iterviews ad focus groups with wome employed i costructio trades/maagemet (Sectio 6) shed light o whether costructio idustry workplaces ca meet such expectatios. Aother sigificat survey fidig was that more tha three-quarters of youg wome who had cosidered a career i costructio believed they had the talet or aptitude for it, but the opposite was true for those who had ever cosidered these careers. It is well kow that most youg wome are ot provided with opportuities to develop buildig costructio skills. The closure of high school shops i may provices has limited opportuities for youth to explore such aptitudes. It is possible that if more youg wome had these, it might icrease the pool of wome who idicated they were likely to cosider these careers. The research also foud that almost two-fifths of those employed i costructio trades/ maagemet had completed post-secodary educatio. Oe-fifth had a college credetial, 15% had a udergraduate uiversity degree, ad 4% held completed uiversity graduate degrees. Aother fifth had completed some college or uiversity courses. What we kow from these ad other research fidigs is that there are multiple pathways to careers i costructio. The idustry should ot rule out or uderestimate studets egaged i college ad uiversity as recruitmet targets. The costructio idustry teds to focus o youth i promotig costructio careers. Youth i elemetary ad high school are clearly a importat labour pool, but so are studets i college ad uiversity, as well as those without post-secodary educatio. The fidigs of this survey suggest that recruitmet should also target these populatios sice other research has show that, for some, employmet i the skilled trades, registratio i appreticeship, ad employmet i the costructio idustry may be the result of a secod or a third choice of educatio or career. 61

66 04 Addressig XX TITLE HERE the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry Uder-represetatio of wome i the costructio idustry was largely uexplored util the 1990s. I Caada ad elsewhere, there is recogitio that icreasig wome s participatio i costructio holds potetial beefits both for employers ad the ecoomy as a whole. However, despite ogoig efforts to icrease their participatio i costructio trades/maagemet, Caadia wome cotiue to be uder-represeted i these careers. This sectio of the report focuses o the work that is beig doe i Caada to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio idustry, with referece also to related research i other parts of the world. The ecoometric aalysis preseted by Moss (2004) shifted the burde of chage away from the choices made by girls ad wome oto employers whose hirig ad employmet practices, the author argued, support cotiued geder segregatio ad avoid the costs of solutios to address it. Moss also maitaied that the percetage of wome i the workplace ca be take as a proxy for employers treatmet of them. To hold wome s choices resposible for perpetuatig geder segregatio, he says, is a misiterpretatio that igores the reality that such choices are costraied by historical discrimiatio. He proposed further that legal ad policy itervetios that icrease employer resposibility are eeded to promote affirmative actio ad educatioal reform. Essetially Moss argued that recruitmet ad retetio patters i geder-segregated occupatios will oly chage whe workplaces begi to seriously accommodate wome. The barriers to wome s participatio i costructio have bee researched ad discussed extesively over the past two decades i Caada ad i other idustrialized coutries such as the Uited States, Australia ad the Uited Kigdom. Recet research ad policy suggest that well-kow barriers to wome s participatio i sciece, the trades ad techology cotribute to occupatioal segregatio i the skilled trades, i appreticeships, i professios such as egieerig, ad i the costructio idustry more broadly. It ca be argued that the same barriers also limit the impact of iitiatives to icrease the rate of wome s participatio. This sectio of the paper also discusses the key barriers believed to limit the extet to which wome are attracted to ad remai i costructio jobs. Barriers i four areas are examied: recruitmet, educatio ad traiig, employmet, ad the workplace. While a effort has bee made to describe good practices to address all barrier types ad obstacles, a complete list of iitiatives is ot provided i this report. 4.1 Barriers to wome s participatio i costructio Recruitmet A frequet focus of research is the difficulty of attractig or recruitig girls ad wome to costructio careers via appreticeships i the o-traditioal trades as well as sciece ad techology studies. May factors are thought to limit wome s etry ito costructio occupatios (Thurairajah, 2007), icludig the idustry s poor image; lack of role models, kowledge ad career advice; geder-biased recruitmet; peer pressure; ad, poor educatioal experieces. The difficulty of attractig females to the costructio idustry is the reaso that high school girls career choices have bee of such great iterest. Somewhat more literature has focused o girls 62 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

67 career choices rather tha those of adult wome. The targetig of youth is otable i light of fidigs that trades appretices i Caada ted to be i their late tweties o average. For most of them, a appreticeship is ot the first choice of educatio or traiig. This was reflected i a recet study of appreticeship i Australia (Misko, Nguye, ad Sauders, 2007). Uderstadig that appreticeship is ofte a secod or third optio for may high school graduates may have implicatios for targetig youth at various poits through post-secodary educatio, ad for creatig promotioal messages that take a loger view of career pathways. Caadia school-towork trasitio literature shows that 29% of youth do ot atted uiversity, college or CEGEP (Bezaso, 2008). These youth may represet a pool of potetial cadidates for appreticeship traiig. The availability of post-high-school programs i Caada to egage ad recruit these youth to appreticeships could be improved (Bell ad Bezaso, 2006). Recet Australia research (MIsko, Nguye, ad Sauders, 2007) was the basis for recommedig that appreticeship marketig should cocetrate o, but ot be limited to those studets who do ot go o to college or uiversity after completig high school. The same study also foud that studets cosidered the low pay received durig appreticeship to be a disicetive Usuccessful competitio with the promotio of post-secodary educatio Marketig campaigs that aim to attract youth to the costructio idustry, or chage the images Caadias hold of the skilled trades, must compete directly with the very strog promotio of post-secodary educatioal pathways ad fudig optios (e.g., loas, grats ad scholarships). The desirability ad superiority eve of post-secodary educatioal pathways (uiversity ad college) is a perceptio that Caadia society strogly edorses. The first choice of educatio for most Caadia youth is uiversity or college. This is clear from the fidigs of the Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Secodary School Survey ad the fidigs of research that evaluated the impacts of the Caadia Appreticeship Forum ad Skills/Compéteces Caada (CAF/SCC) marketig campaig. It is ot just girls whose educatioal ad career goals do ot iclude costructio employmet ad appreticeships. Although slightly more high school boys tha girls aspire to careers i the skilled trades, their umbers are small compared to those who have decided to pursue uiversity or college study. A key reaso for this differece is the widespread belief i Caadia society that a uiversity educatio (ad to a lesser extet a college credetial) assures the best future prospects ad prosperity (APCO, 2004; Bell ad Bezaso, 2006). This is discussed i a report about the Promotig Skilled Trades ad Appreticeship Project (APCO, 2004), a three-year atioal marketig campaig commissioed by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum ad Skills/Compéteces Caada to promote careers i the trades. Oe of the five key factors described i that report as accoutig for the shortage of workers i Caada s skilled trades is the followig: The public, ad key iflueces such as parets ad teachers, view uiversity educatio as the most effective, if ot the oly meas of securig gaiful employmet ad a promisig future. Sice pursuig skilled trades typically meas completig post-secodary educatio with traiig through a appreticeship program, the perceptio is that these careers are for people who could ot make it ito uiversity. This myth has caused may parets ad educators to strogly ecourage ad direct youth ito uiversity programs istead of college. Little do they kow that traiig for skilled careers ca, i fact, be highly specialized ad most ofte challege itellectual, creative ad problem solvig skills. Traiig is typically more practical, provides the opportuity to ear while you lear ad carries a lesser debt load tha uiversity educatio. It therefore provides a greater ad more immediate retur o ivestmet, which iroically, speaks to the fiacial reward issue that the public primarily seeks from their career choices. (APCO, 2004) 63

68 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry It is worth reflectig o whether marketig campaigs to promote the skilled trades, however sophisticated ad far-reachig, are powerful eough to shift the values of a society that holds post-secodary educatio i such high esteem ad associates the trades ad appreticeships with lower levels of achievemet ad social status. I additio, marketig campaigs that promote the trades compete directly with the very successful promotio of post-secodary educatio, which uses the secodary school system to dissemiate iformatio. A fial advatage ejoyed by post-secodary educatio systems is the fact that although there are access routes ad articulatio agreemets betwee colleges ad uiversities these rarely exist for appreticeship traiig. The situatio has bee described as parallel tracks i which appreticeship rus alogside of other post-secodary traiig ad educatioal optios (Charow et al., 2006). The Otario Workforce Shortage Coalitio (2008) has called for improved pathways to appreticeship, ad better ladderig to other post-secodary programs Limited iterest i careers i costructio The challeges of recruitig youg wome to careers i costructio, ad specifically to trades appreticeships, are well kow. This is attributed i large part to the limited iterest of most high school girls i these careers ad i professios such as egieerig. This has bee explaied i the past by research showig that girls ad wome choose careers for differet reasos tha boys. Recet research has cotradicted this, fidig that girls ad boys have similar reasos (such as salary, job security ad beefits) for makig educatioal ad career choices. However, some differeces betwee boys ad girls choices of career cotiue to be reported. For example, research shows that girls cotiue to associate work i may of the skilled trades with dirt ad risks to physical safety (Cummig, 1997; New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research, 2008; Thiesse, 2002). Otherwise, evidece from multiple sources suggests that most high school studets of both geders surveyed by the Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Secodary School Survey aimed to ear a uiversity degree or a college credetial. Oly a small miority of these idetified a iterest i pursuig traiig i a skilled trade. It is likely that this limited iterest is related to umerous other factors, such as the ifluece of parets, teachers, ad cousellors, egative images of the trades, limited iformatio about them, ad the availability of role models ad metors, to ame a few Paretal ifluece Most of the parets of high school youth surveyed i the Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Secodary School Survey expected their childre to ear uiversity- or college-level credetials ad comparatively few expected their childre to aspire to appreticeship traiig i a skilled trade. More of the parets of studets who iteded to get a uiversity or college credetial shared their childre s goals tha did parets of studets who expected to pursue a appreticeship. Comparable iformatio about parets support for their childre s iterest i sciece ad techology caot be offered at this time. 64 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

69 Secodary data aalysis of Secodary School Survey data showed that oe of the factors that predicts studets decisios about post-secodary educatio (which i tur ca ifluece later career decisios) is the parets educatioal attaimet ad occupatio. Uiversity- ad college-educated parets were very likely to expect their childre to achieve the same levels of educatio they had. This fidig was reproduced i a recet Australia study (Misko, Nguye, ad Sauders, 2007) that ivestigated factors related to the educatioal decisios ad attitudes toward appreticeship of 1,600 Grade 10 to 12 studets ad 800 youg appretices i traiig. This study reported that 80% of appretices had discussed appreticeship with their parets. If paretal expectatios pre-empt discussio of study ad career alteratives, it is possible that direct appeals to parets ad youth to esteem careers i the skilled trades more highly will ot produce much chage Negative image Caadia career developmet specialists Bell ad Bezaso (2006) idicated that the mai barriers to participatio i the trades appear to be egative perceptios of such careers ad limited kowledge of appreticeship as a optio. It has bee suggested that govermet take the lead i chagig the perceptio of appreticeship status by adoptig it as a model for traiig i the raks of govermet (Braudy, 2004; Otario s Workforce Shortage Coalitio, 2008). The Otario Workforce Shortage Coalitio suggests chages i the educatioal curriculum from kidergarte through post-secodary educatio to itegrate theory with hads-o learig ad sciece with applied techology, ad to reward those who respod to differet modes of learig. These chages may be a positive thig for learers geerally, but it is still possible that such chages would ot affect the geeral attitude of the populatio toward appreticeships i the skilled trades. Appreticeships ad costructio jobs are widely perceived as dirty, difficult ad low-status. This is frequetly attributed to lack of iformatio ad awareess; umerous studies have show that Caadia youth, i particular, lack accurate iformatio about occupatios i the skilled trades (Caadia Appreticeship Forum, 2004a, 2004b; Fielde et al., 2000; Armour, Carmody, Clark, Maicom, ad Nicol, 2001). Caadia researchers have also ivestigated the attitudes of male ad female high school studets toward egieerig careers. Aderso, Gilbride, ad Stewart (2006, 2003) coducted research to uderstad ad ifluece the attitudes ad images of egieerig held by high school studets i the Greater Toroto Area. The opportuity to coduct the research was provided by the Ryerso Discover Egieerig program, i which female egieerig faculty, staff, ad studets offer co-ed workshops i high schools to itroduce studets i grades 9 to 12 to egieerig. Their Image of Egieerig Study (2006), coducted betwee 2002 ad 2005, icluded almost 4,000 studets i the Toroto area, 56% of whom were female. The study showed that the studets kowledge of egieerig was ofte icorrect, ad two-thirds of male studets compared to oly 10% of female studets were iterested i a career i egieerig. I this study, researchers were particularly discouraged by the fidig that studets of both geders, with more accurate kowledge about egieerig, still believed that egieerig was ot a field for wome. Researchers cocluded that although iitiatives such as the Discover Egieerig program ca begi to dispel the myths, they are ulikely to completely overcome the logstadig bias agaist wome pursuig careers i the field Lack of iformatio The Caadia Appreticeship Forum ad Skills/Compéteces Caada s (2004) three-year-log atioal marketig campaig to promote the skilled trades ad appreticeship attempted to raise public awareess ad dissemiate iformatio about these career opportuities. The fact that few high school studets choose appreticeship as a vocatioal pathway is ofte attributed i part to the fact that youth ad their parets lack accurate iformatio about costructio career opportuities ad salaries. For example, the media icome for a joureyperso i a female-domiated trade is $29,371 (hairdressig, cookig, etc.) while i a male-domiated trade such as plumbig or weldig, the media icome is $52,305 (Isightrix Research Ic., 2007). 65

70 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry Cosultatio with Caadia youth idicates that they lack iformatio about the full rage of career optios ad would like more iformatio of this kid over a log eough period so that they ca make more iformed choices (de Broucker, 2006, as cited i Bezaso, 2006). It would appear that uiversity ad college educatio is promoted almost as a stad-i for career plaig, despite the fact that a estimated 29% of youth go directly from high school ito the labour force (Bezaso, 2006). A similar lack of iformatio about appreticeship is reported elsewhere. I Australia, 15% of youth surveyed reported that they lacked iformatio about appreticeships ad stated that this was a key reaso that they did ot eter them (Misko, Nguye, ad Sauders, 2007). I additio to lackig iformatio, most youg studets lack the hads-o experiece that is provided by sciece, trades ad techology courses. I Austria, to esure that youg people receive this exposure, it is madatory i some secodary schools for all studets to sample courses i the skilled trades. The dissemiatio of iformatio to improve the liks betwee supply ad demad i the youth labour market (school-to-work trasitio) has bee a focus of iterest ad research i Caada recetly (Brisbois, Orto, ad Sauders, 2008; Orto ad Harvey, 2008; Sauders, 2008). The recet Caadia Appreticeship Forum/Skills/Compéteces Caada marketig campaig worked to icrease public kowledge of appreticeship ad careers i the skilled trades. Evaluatio of the campaig s impact foud that 73% of youth surveyed after the campaig said their kowledge of the skilled trades had icreased, although oly 25% of youth ad a third of their parets (36%) idicated that they were aware of all of the career optios available i the skilled trades. Very few parets (11%) or youth (16%) idicated that they believed skilled trades were low-payig positios, with 66% of parets ad 47% of youth statig that they thought the skilled trades provided tradespersos with a above-average lifestyle. It was outside the scope of the campaig to measure whether providig iformatio helped icrease public uderstadig of these career optios or iflueced youth ad parets subsequet decisios about educatio ad employmet Ifluece of career cousellors ad teachers Career cousellors are resposible for dissemiatig iformatio to studets about educatioal ad career opportuities ad helpig them make iformed decisios. However, the recet study of the barriers to appreticeship i Caada from the Caadia Appreticeship Forum foud that career cousellors are amog those who, alog with parets ad youth, lack iformatio about the skilled trades. If they lack this iformatio, it is reasoable to surmise that they also lack iformatio about the challeges ad the supports available for wome who wat to eter o-traditioal occupatios i the costructio idustry. A fidig of secodary data aalysis from the Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Secodary School Survey was that less tha 15% of studets (male or female) idicated that a career cousellor iflueced their decisios about post-secodary optios. This fidig was similar for teachers, with oly a fifth of studets idicatig that teachers had bee ifluetial i their choice of future educatio. More tha half (60%) the appretices surveyed for the CAF Survey of Appretices idicated that they had ot received ay cousellig related to their decisio to eter a appreticeship from either a high school teacher or guidace cousellor. However, a small umber idicated that the cousellig they received from a guidace cousellor (14%) or teacher (18%) positively iflueced their decisio to eter a appreticeship. Very few appretices reported egative ifluece from ay source of cousellig. These fidigs suggest that guidace cousellors are ot a primary ifluece o the majority of youth s decisios about educatio ad career. Other sources have reported a egative ifluece from career cousellors. For example, recet research coducted by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum about barriers to accessig ad completig appreticeship reported that the attitude of may guidace cousellors toward appreticeship is ofte very egative, reflectig a lack of kowledge of the complexity of the work ivolved ad the level of difficulty associated with the material beig taught (Caadia Appreticeship Forum, 2004a). Fidigs cosistet with this have bee reflected i other studies, 66 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

71 which reported that career cousellors, who are uiversity graduates, do ot ted to promote careers i particular idustries or i the skilled trades. Three very recet studies i Austria, New Zealad ad Australia all reached a similar coclusio: amely, that teachers ad career cousellors ted to reproduce geder biases that steer girls away from the skilled trades ad appreticeship, trasmittig geder stereotypes alog career iformatio chaels Lack of role models ad metors It is widely ackowledged that the lack of visible wome role models i the skilled trades perpetuates geder stereotypes related to the place of wome i costructio. To recruit more wome to the skilled trades, the Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio (2007) recommeded that female role models be icreased i schools by hirig wome i idustrial arts programs, ad creatig opportuities for wome i the trades to be part of the school eviromet (e.g., deliverig presetatios about the trades i schools). The recet Wome i Leadership Foudatio (Wome i Leadership, 2007) Recommedatios ad Actio Pla to Attract, Recruit, ad Retai Wome i Costructio (see Appedix O) made similar recommedatios. I the Discover Egieerig program described above, faculty, staff ad egieerig studets preset workshops to itroduce egieerig to high school studets. It is believed that such measures, take at the high school level, could improve the image of the skilled trades that girls hold. How much differece this would make is uclear, however, give the fidigs of Aderso, Gilbride, ad Stewart (2006) that studets kowledge of egieerig did ot affect the belief that wome are usuited to egieerig Educatio ad traiig Recruitmet is ot the whole aswer to icreasig wome s participatio i geder-segregated occupatios ad idustry sectors because the challeges of supportig their success, program completio ad job placemet remai Uequal access The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (2005) supported the fidig of a Newfoudlad study suggestig that appreticeships are more costly for wome tha me because me, havig worked full-time ad qualifyig more ofte for Employmet Isurace, also qualify more ofte for Huma Resources Skills ad Developmet Caada (HRSDC) fudig (Watt-Malcolm, 2005). The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (WRDC) has called for the provisio of govermet fudig to wome i appreticeships to redress this iequality Workplace traiig The Caadia Appreticeship Forum study of barriers to appreticeship raised questios about the shortcomigs of workplace-based techical traiig (Caadia Appreticeship Forum, 2004a, 2004b) compared to educatio ad traiig received i istitutios ad foud this differece to be a key barrier for wome i appreticeship. The fidig was cofirmed i research coducted by the Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio (Sculle, 2008), which reported a disparity betwee istitutioal techical traiig eviromets ad work site eviromets. Further research was recommeded to idetify differeces i the educatio ad traiig delivered i these two cotexts ad to develop strategies to address them Isolatio, discrimiatio ad harassmet Braudy has argued that empowerig recruits is ot eough to esure that traiig ad work eviromets iclude wome. She says that this must be accompaied by a secod type of itervetio directed toward those who cotrol traiig ad workplace culture. Sesitizatio of faculty, staff ad studets i post-secodary istitutios is essetial to fosterig a more acceptig traiig eviromet. Based o the fidigs of a study of appreticeship i Caada (2002), the Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (WRDC) of Newfoudlad ad Labrador recommeded 67

72 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry improvig wome s appreticeship traiig by providig geder sesitivity traiig, icludig to joureypersos who provide 80% of appreticeship traiig (2002). The WRDC Educatio Cetre also provides geder sesitivity educatio to idustry (2006) Lack of role models ad metors The lack of female role models ad metors is ofte cosidered a importat factor related to the presece of wome i costructio traiig ad employmet. I the Uited Kigdom, there has bee debate about the value of female role models i icreasig wome s participatio whe the gatekeepers do ot recogize the importace of brigig wome ito the sector (Eiseberg, 1999). This debate has led to recommedatios for a more egaged approach to metorig ad metorship programs that support recruitmet ad retetio of wome i costructio educatio ad traiig Iadequate fudig There is strog agreemet that reluctace to provide reliable log-term fudig for wome s educatioal ad traiig programs creates such istability that successful programs simply cease operatig after a umber of years of success (Watt-Malcolm ad Braudy, 2004; Sculle, 2008; Wome i Leadership Foudatio, 2008; Wome i Resource Developmet Committee, 2005). Braudy has argued that lack of stable federal fudig is a sigificat factor limitig wome s participatio i the costructio idustry. May programs that used to promote wome i costructio o loger exist. Watt-Malcolm s (2005) research foud that some employers agree that lack of govermet fudig prevets chage. Research coducted by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum (2004b) to ivestigate barriers to appreticeship i this coutry foud that the costs of supportig appreticeship at all levels (jurisdictios, secodary schools, commuities ad agecies) are a key barrier to wome s participatio i appreticeship. Fudig temporary pilot projects ieffectively or defudig them after a iitial developmet period will ot help overcome the obstacles to wider female participatio i the costructio idustry Employmet Difficulty fidig employmet Wome seekig employmet or appreticeship opportuities i the costructio idustry ofte face employers who are uwillig to hire wome or support them i completig appreticeships. It is widely ackowledged that wome face discrimiatio ad stereotypig i hirig (Wome i Leadership Foudatio, 2008; Wage Gap Reductio Iitiative, 2007). Research coducted by the Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (2005) reported that, i Newfoudlad ad Labrador, wome face a greater challege tha me i fidig trade-related employmet, with oly a fifth of wome compared to half of me employed as appretices. Braudy (2004) recommeded that icetives be provided to support the hirig of wome ad other equity-seekig groups Lack of iformal etworks It has bee recogized for some time that wome eterig o-traditioal occupatios do ot have access to the iformal etworks ejoyed by me, through which most positios are filled (Fielde, 2001; Adrews ad Wilkis, 2003). This is the basis for developig formal supports to esure that wome who have received preparatory traiig i the costructio trades ca secure ad retai appropriate employmet. Two examples of such iitiatives are provided i the ext sectio. Sustaied fudig for these iitiatives will be critical to achievig beefits Workplace Isolatio i uwelcomig work eviromets The Caadia Appreticeship Forum idetified that uwelcomig workplaces ad traiig eviromets pose a major barrier to wome s participatio i the costructio idustry. Discrimiatio, harassmet ad isolatio are well-reported experieces of wome i costructio 68 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

73 workplaces, as well as i classrooms ad traiig (Hypatia Project, 2002; Maicom, Armour, Sewell, ad Parsos, 2004a; Maicom, Armour, ad Parsos, 2004b). Harassmet ad discrimiatio i the form of sexual harassmet or sexist laguage, jokes ad teasig are wellkow problems, but other forms of ufair treatmet are reported as well (Sculle, 2008). The Caadia Appreticeship Forum report o the barriers to appreticeship described the challeges wome face i costructio workplaces, icludig usafe workig coditios, particularly i work i remote locatios or camps. The lack of facilities to accommodate wome i these settigs further exacerbates the challeges Hirig, salaries, promotio ad retetio Legislatio is required to support the iclusio of uder-represeted groups i various sectors of the ecoomy. I this coutry, the Caadia Huma Rights Act ad the Employmet Equity Act charge employers with specific resposibilities to meet the eeds of employees. Madatory employmet equity programs are ot i force i Caada although the success of such measures has bee demostrated (Costructio Sector Coucil, 2004a). The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (WRDC) (2002) observed that employers do ot ted to be leaders i equity iitiatives ad for this reaso, public pressure will likely be eeded for sigificat chage to occur. The WRDC (2002) proposed, however, that uios may be parters i developig equity iitiatives to chage hirig practices i the costructio idustry. Iequalities i hirig were reported by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum (2004b). Research coducted by the Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio recouted the recet experieces of wome who have faced such barriers i securig jobs i costructio (Sculle, 2008). For example, wome with childre report that they have bee treated with skepticism about their reliability as employees. Equal opportuity i the labour market implies equal access to equal pay, job security ad promotio. The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (2005) reported a sigificat wage differece betwee me ad wome employed i costructio, oe that is cofirmed by the CAF (2004b) as well as the Caadia Labour Cogress (2008). Wome s retetio rates i the costructio sector are low compared to those of me. This is true i the skilled trades ad i egieerig (Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades ad Techology, 2006). Sice employers do ot track the umber of wome they hire, promote, ad retai, or the reasos they leave, it is ot possible to provide statistics o the promotio ad retetio of wome i costructio. Despite this, it is uderstood that the turover of wome i the idustry, their occupatioal isolatio, ad limited promotio opportuities all militate agaist their icreased participatio. Braudy (2004) has argued that uios ca play a key role i supportig the retetio of wome i costructio workplaces by adjustig seiority ad layoff procedures to allow wome (who are typically most recet hires) to remai o the job. 69

74 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry Lack of flexibility Besides systemic sexism, the ature of work i the costructio idustry poses obstacles for wome who are primary caregivers to depedet childre. Log hours with overtime i peak periods of employmet, work o weekeds, ad chagig work locatios ca be typical i the costructio idustry but are ot easily maaged by wome with childre who must arrage trasportatio ad childcare. Acceptace of log hours is see as demostratig employee commitmet, without which jobs may become isecure ad promotio ulikely. Withi the idustry, there is a geeral lack of uderstadig of family ad work commitmets, which ca maifest i wome self-selectig themselves out of the positios leadig to maagemet (Prairie Research Associates, 2002; Fielde et al., 2000). 4.2 Iitiatives to icrease wome s participatio i costructio Although programs exist i may provices to support the recruitmet, educatio ad traiig, employmet, ad retetio of wome i costructio workplaces, Caada lacks a adequately fuded atioal strategy to build o successes ad esure the provisio of stable supports. The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee, the Wome i Leadership Foudatio (2008), ad the Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades ad Techology (2004) have all proposed a comprehesive set of chages to icrease wome s participatio i costructio trades ad techology careers. Some of their recommedatios are reflected i Sectio 5. There are Caadia programs i place to improve school-to-work trasitios (Bell ad Bezaso, 2006) ad provide flexible approaches to traiig i the trades (Solvig Norma Ope School BC ad Lidsay Lagill Idustry Traiig Authority, 2006). However, these iitiatives are largely geder-eutral. Programs that successfully support wome s etry ito the costructio trades ad techology occupatios show that geder-based models are ecessary ad effective (Charow, Lior, ad Wortsma, 2006). The good practice examples described here reflect the rage of programs ad measures that are required. However, they outlie the rage of programs beig developed i Caada to respod to occupatioal segregatio i the costructio idustry (see Appedix O for a list of orgaizatios that support Caadia wome i costructio). To compare Caadia developmets with chages takig place overseas, iformatio about relevat efforts i the Uited Kigdom (Equal Opportuities Commissio, 2005a, 2005b, 2006) are icluded i appedices P ad Q Recruitmet Itroductio for girls to trades ad techology The followig two iitiatives aim to recruit girls ito the trades ad techology sectors by providig them with more iformatio ad exposure to these occupatios. Both iitiatives iclude the provisio of iformatio, role modelig, all-girl experiece, ad i the case of Girls Explorig Trades ad Techology camps, provisio of hads-o experiece ad early exposure to trades skills for youger girls. Girls Explorig Trades ad Techology (GETT) camps GETT camps have bee offered sice 1992 by the Saskatchewa Istitute of Advaced Techology (SIAST). The week-log camps are offered free to local girls i grades 7 ad 8, ad itroduce girls to idustrial trades by teachig them carpetry ad computer desig as they create ad assemble go-carts. The camps reiforce course choices such as sciece, mathematics, ad idustrial arts at the high school level that prepare girls for careers i idustrial ad techical careers. Discover Egieerig program, Toroto The Ryerso Uiversity Discover Egieerig program was established to ecourage youg people, especially wome, to pursue careers i sciece, techology or egieerig. Sice its begiig i 1991 as a week-log summer camp for pre-uiversity wome attedig high school, Discover Egieerig has expaded ad ow icludes a oe-day career coferece for high school girls 70 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

75 ad a oe-day Girl Guides coferece, as well as workshops preseted i co-ed high school classrooms. The program is delivered by Ryerso faculty, staff ad egieerig studets. The impacts of these iitiatives have bee assessed o a ogoig basis usig follow-up surveys ad other evaluatio tools (Aderso ad Gilbride, 2004; Zywo, Gilbride, ad Gudz, 1999, 2000). Betwee 1996 ad 2004, more tha 40% of the studets who atteded Discover Egieerig camps chose to study egieerig or techology programs, ad of them, more tha 80% idicated that the camp greatly or moderately iflueced their choice. Expose girls to trades ad techology (provide girls with taster experieces) Itroduce girls to role models i trades ad techology careers Educatio ad traiig Educatioal istitutios The Nova Scotia Hypatia Associatio, i partership with the Wome s Ecoomic Equality (WEE) Society has coducted extesive research ito the barriers faced by girls ad youg wome i post-secodary educatio. Based o iterviews with Nova Scotia high school studets (Hypatia Project, 2002; Maicom, Armour Sewell, ad Parsos, 2004a; Maicom, Armour ad Parsos, 2004b) a series of recommedatios was developed targetig departmets of educatio, schools ad school boards. Strategies ad resources were provided to support progress toward geder equity i educatioal istitutios, to make learig eviromets ad curricula more female-friedly, to egage studets i a battery of exercises to challege career-related geder stereotypig, ad to support professioal developmet to eable teacher itervetios i geder harassig behaviours. The developmet of stroger likages betwee high schools ad commuity colleges was recommeded. I aother study, (Maicom, Armour, ad Parsos, 2004b) the Hypatia Associatio together with the WEE Society, coducted focus groups with female studets i various techical programs i a Nova Scotia commuity college. The report produced a umber of fidigs ad recommedatios, icludig a call for istitutioal accoutability practices to support geder equity, such as the collectio of data to reflect the recruitmet, retetio ad outcomes of studets by geder. The research report also compiled a list of strategies to support educatioal istitutios i itroducig geder equity policy ad practices. Geder equity policies Istitutioal accoutability practices (recruitmet, retetio ad employability) Pre-appreticeship programs Pre-appreticeship ad orietatio programs for wome provide educatio ad traiig i all-female classes, sometimes also providig female istructors who are employed i the trades. The preappreticeship programs described below are typical i that they combie the followig elemets: metors, Essetial Skills traiig, employability skills, i-class educatio combied with work-based traiig, ad sometimes also assistace with placemet i employmet. I programs described as itegrated, formalized supports are provided such as workplace preparatio, placemet i employmet, ad metorig ad support beyod placemet i employmet. Some programs target low-icome wome. A umber of programs have bee developed to support Aborigial wome i trades careers discovery. The British Columbia Costructio Associatio has developed a successful program STEP for Wome to support wome i eterig the costructio idustry. Numerous pre-appreticeship programs for wome are offered across Caada. Frequetly, but ot always, pre-appreticeship programs provide wome with a all-female traiig experiece. Some of these programs target specific groups, such as immigrat ad Aborigial wome. Most employers cosider pre-appreticeship traiig a ecessity for wome plaig to eter a costructio trade. The followig provides examples of pre-appreticeship programs i Caada; it is ot iteded as a exhaustive list. 71

76 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry ACCESS trades, Trades Discovery for Aborigial Wome, British Columbia A partership betwee the Aborigial Commuity Careers Employmet Services Society (ACCESS) ad the Costructio Idustry Traiig Istitute (CITI) supported the developmet of a program to provide Aborigial wome with a opportuity to discover the skilled trades. The Greater Vacouver Urba Aborigial Strategy provided fudig for this iitiative. The wome receive two weeks of employability skills traiig, two weeks traiig i paitig ad decoratig, oe week of heavy equipmet operatio, ad three weeks of the metal trades (pipefittig, weldig ad metal fabricatio). They also complete a three-week practicum with a employer with the opportuity to eter a appreticeship i a chose trade. The goal is to provide a safe ad supportive all-female eviromet to help prepare them for work i costructio. ACCESS reported i 2008 that 20% of the employed graduates of ACCESS trades programs were Aborigial wome. Program targets a specific populatio of wome who face kow additioal barriers Aborigial Appreticeship ad Idustry Traiig (AAIT) Wome i the trades AAIT was formed i 1995 i respose to the fidigs of a survey that showed Aborigial people workig i the trades were rarely able to obtai a appreticeship. A Appreticeship ad Idustry Traiig Board was established to address the cocers of Aborigial people i the techical ad trades areas. AAIT supports a Aborigial Wome i the Trades program, alog with carpetry, math upgradig, project maagemet, buildig ispector, ad buildig maiteace worker appreticeship. The Wome i the Trades program offers a six-moth, etry-level program through Secwepemc Cultural Educatio Society (SCES), Aborigial Appreticeship ad Idustry Traiig, ad Thompso Rivers Uiversity, British Columbia. The program is delivered i partership with the local bads or orgaizatios. Program targets a specific populatio of wome who face kow additioal barriers Commuity parterships Immigrat wome I 2008, pre-appreticeship traiig i carpetry was offered to immigrat wome i Otario. Oe of the Otario agecies that delivered this traiig recruited wome to a carpetry preappreticeship program, supported them durig pre-appreticeship traiig ad placed them i employmet afterwards. The Otario govermet fuded the project, with moey cotiget o successful placemet of program graduates i carpetry jobs. All of the wome who completed the pre-appreticeship traiig were successfully placed. This is a example of a pilot program that received fudig oly for its duratio. Whatever capacity was built i the agecy durig this program was ot built o afterwards. Oe of the agecies whose staff we spoke with reported that there were sigificat challeges ot oly i locatig wome iterested i receivig the traiig ad placig them i employmet after they graduated, but also i meetig rigid fudig timelies that failed to take accout of these challeges. Program guaratee of employmet after traiig 72 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

77 Saskatchewa Idia Istitute of Techologies (SIIT) Wome i Trades (WIT) program The SIIT Wome i Trades program assists wome i developig basic skills for etry-level work i residetial ad commercial costructio ad i uderstadig the work ivolved i trades such as carpetry, electrical, plumbig, paitig, framig, drywall applicatio ad roofig. The 16-week program provides First Natios wome with hads-o skills developmet based o coursework ad a oe- to two-week practicum coordiated through a SITT job coach. This ew program has show strog success (completio ad employmet rates), with success attributed to promotio ad recruitmet, skillful ad attetive istructors, use of role models ad guest speakers, life skills ad metorship compoets, job coachig ad cotiuig after-program support, viable fudig, ad idustry support. Job coachig Viable fudig After-program support Wome Explorig Trades ad Techology, Yuko Yuko Wome i Trades ad Techology (Yuko WITT) provides itroductory courses to build wome s skills i the carpetry, paitig, electrical, weldig ad sheet metal trades. Yuko WITT also offers iformatio sessios to commuities ad school classrooms across the Yuko. The Govermet of Yuko, Yuko College, ad Yuko Wome i Trades ad Techology developed ad piloted the Wome Explorig Trades ad Techology program i 2006 at Yuko College. This 16-week program provides wome with the opportuity to explore the skilled trades ad develop skills to help them fuctio effectively i traditioally male-domiated workplaces. Wome are give a hads-o itroductio ad are ecouraged to pursue further traiig or a appreticeship program. Applicatios to the program exceed the umber of available spaces. Preparatio for work i male-domiated workplaces Wome i Skilled Trades (WIST), Otario The Wome i Skilled Trades (WIST) program is offered by the Otario Wome s Directorate i partership with A Commitmet to Traiig ad Employmet for Wome (ACTEW). The program targets low-icome wome who are uemployed or uderemployed ad provides a pre-appreticeship program cosistig of 30 weeks of i-class istructio, followed by 20 weeks of work placemet with local employers. Employers are egaged i educatioal activities to develop a positive work eviromet for studets; metors are also provided through may programs to support success. Each program offers geder-sesitive i-class ad o-the-job traiig, ad traiig takes up to oe year to complete. This program qualifies wome to work i the skilled trades ad to eter appreticeships. Substatial traiig compoet Legthy work placemets Wome s Work Traiig (WWTP) program The Wome s Work Traiig (WWTP) program was started i 1995 by Saskatchewa Wome i Trades ad Techology (SaskWITT) with fudig for five years. This is a example of a successful program that could ot cotiue because of defudig. While it was active, the program established the Regia Wome Costructio Co-op (RWCC) ad helped low-icome wome gai employmet i the carpetry trade by workig toward iter-provicial jourey certificatio. The program combied hads-o traiig with life ad busiess skills. Fudig for the program was ot cotiued. The combiatio of program compoets was believed to be a importat cotributor to its success i icreasig the umber of wome registered i the carpetry trade i the provice. The Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio reported that registered female carpetry appretices more tha doubled i the provice betwee 1995 ad 2000, although 73

78 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry the program reportedly helped more wome to write their first-level carpetry exams tha to complete iter-provicial Red Seal qualifyig exams. However, it must be oted that the completio of Red Seal certificatio would be a very ambitious goal, give the fact that very few appretices i Caada ear Red Seal certificatio. Highlighted programs British Columbia Istitute of Techology (BCIT) Trades Discovery Program for Wome The British Columbia Istitute of Techology (BCIT) has offered the Trades Discovery Program for Wome sice The full-time program provides 20 weeks of exposure to the trades ad to career optios withi them usig wome istructors (three out of four istructors are wome) with idustry experiece as role models, ad a safe learig eviromet that ecourages metorship ad ogoig support. The program has a advatage i that BCIT is a leader i providig traiig for the trades i British Columbia ad atioally. Other programs like it are offered at the Saskatchewa Istitute of Applied Sciece ad Techology (SIAST) ad the Souther Alberta Istitute of Techology (SAIT). The Trades Discovery Program for Wome produced a icrease i wome s participatio i BCIT s trades program (from 3% to 10%). Its great success is attributed to the fact that it has had cotiuig log-term support from BCIT ad support ad recogitio from idustry. All-wome classes Female istructors Log-term fudig for educatioal programmig Preparatio for male-domiated workplace Ogoig support provided Parters Buildig Futures, New Bruswick Parters Buildig Futures was a three-year pilot program created i 2006 with joit ivestmet from Huma Resources ad Skills Developmet Caada (HRSDC) ad the New Bruswick Miistry of Post-Secodary Educatio Caada. The provice did ot reew the program i Parters Buildig Futures offered wome receivig social assistace a 10-week itroductio to the skilled trades i New Bruswick, as well as pre-employmet orietatio ad assessmet at New Bruswick Commuity College, ad ogoig support with traiig ad related costs durig appreticeship. For example, the program paid trasportatio ad detal expeses to replace social assistace beefits ad helped these wome through the iitial period whe their appreticeships would ot pay a livig wage for them ad their families. I its first cycles, the program offered participats two weeks of job shadowig as a itroductio to the workplace. This tured out to be a isufficiet meas of helpig wome fid employmet i the trades. I the last cycle of the project, employers were reimbursed for the appretices first three moths o the job. This period allowed the wome to make a coectio to a workplace. The program provided fiacial support such as daycare subsidies, start-up tools, travel ad traiig. Two metors provided support ad advice, ad program staff developed relatioships with employers to esure that participats secured appropriate employmet opportuities. The program cotiued to offer these supports util participats completed the secod year of appreticeship, at which poit their salaries were expected to icrease to allow self-sufficiecy. The expectatio is that the program will be replicated or adapted i other provices ad regios of Caada. All-wome program Provisio of trasitioal supports to low-icome wome Appreticeship wages subsidized for the trasitio period 74 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

79 Advocates for wome ad support i securig employmet as a appretice Ogoig support provided Orietatio to Trades ad Techology (OTT), Newfoudlad ad Labrador The Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (WRDC) was formed i 1999 to raise awareess of opportuities for wome to work i the atural resources idustries i Newfoudlad ad Labrador. WRDC is a o-profit orgaizatio that offers a 24-week Orietatio to Trades ad Techology program o campuses of the College of the North Atlatic. The program provides wome with a safe ad supportive eviromet i which to explore trades ad techology traiig programs ad beefit from practical experiece i atural resource-based idustries. The program icludes a academic compoet, essetial work skills, persoal ad professioal developmet, hads-o skills developmet, exploratio of the atural resource sector, labour market research, ad job shadowig. WRDC provides educatio to the public about the issues that prevet wome from eterig the trades ad advocates the use of wome s skills i the atural resource sector through active dissemiatio of policy ad research. Vermilio/YWCA Skills Traiig program The Vermilio/YWCA Skills Traiig program is a for-profit pre-appretice trades program built o a partership betwee the costructio idustry ad the YWCA i Calgary. The key sposor, Vermilio Eergy Trust, iitially ivested $2.5 millio i the program ad has sice made further ivestmets. The program was itroduced as a pilot i 2007, providig 16 weeks of pre-appreticeship trades traiig. The program serves low-icome wome, who ca receive support from other programs offered by the YWCA, such as access to housig, childcare ad a livig wage. All-wome program Partership betwee idustry ad commuity orgaizatio Wome Buildig Futures (WBF), Alberta Wome Buildig Futures (WBF) (1998) is a o-profit orgaizatio i 1998 to help wome ad childre livig i poverty i Edmoto. The 16-week pre-appreticeship program offers skills traiig, classroom ad shop traiig, life skills ad job retetio skills traiig, academic upgradig, safety traiig, ad two weeks of optioal work experiece ad job placemet i trades. The program has $12 millio i fudig from may supporters, icludig all levels of govermet. Wome Buildig Futures plas to expad ito ew regios ad replicate its traiig program at several colleges. The program has a awareess compoet, a rigorous screeig process so that wome who are usuited to the trades ca opt out of the traiig, appreticeship placemet, ad metorig. The program is very tough ad reports a very high success rate (90%). Wome are coached o the behaviours ad dress that will allow them to be successful i the workplace. The goal is to produce appretices who become joureypersos. WBF has partered with may Alberta employers who hire groups of WBF tradeswome sight usee. WBF also provides studets with o-call metorig services to help them with trasitios ito ew occupatios, ad to keep graduates coected to the trade etworks. I 2005, WBF services added a program called Fixit Chicks, which offers home reovatio, ad repair ad maiteace services, alog with workshops for wome. I 2007, the federal govermet directed additioal fudig to the program, which facilitated sigificat expasio, icludig the developmet of traiig ad affordable housig facilities for studets. Some apartmets are allocated to sigle parets. All-wome program Workplace preparatio ad work-hardeig program Ogoig support to wome durig employmet Partership betwee commuity orgaizatio ad idustry 75

80 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry Residece provided Partership with employers Itegrated program compoets Ogoig metorig by program staff after completio of traiig Wome Ulimited, Nova Scotia The Wome Ulimited project was started i 2005 by two logstadig o-profit wome s orgaizatios with prior experiece i trades ad techology programs for wome: the Hypatia Associatio ad the WEE Society i Nova Scotia. 7 The Wome Ulimited project is woma-cetred ad serves those o Employmet Isurace or social assistace who have bee out of the workforce for some time. The wome served by the program are uderemployed, lack career progressio optios, ad eed icome to support their families. The project uses a two- to three-moth recruitmet process to esure that wome are ot beig set up for failure. Recruitmet is followed by three moths of career decisio makig, which provides the opportuity to job shadow ad experiece a variety of trades ad techology occupatios. Studets the choose a occupatio ad program. Some of the wome eter college at this poit, others eter employmet directly, ad still others receive adult basic educatio. The Wome Ulimited project helps wome fid work, make the trasitio ito employmet, ad keep that employmet. It is built o the uderstadig that a itegrated set of compoets ad support must be provided cotiuously, over the log term, to esure positive results. The program received three years of reewed fudig startig i Streuous etry process (i both recruitmet ad career decisio makig) Partership betwee commuity orgaizatio ad college Partership betwee commuity orgaizatios Partership with employers Itegrated ad cotiuig program supports ad ogoig metorig by project staff Employmet Fudig for pre-appreticeship programs is ofte provided with the proviso that wome who complete the traiig will receive help i securig ad retaiig employmet. The expertise ecessary to secure trades employmet for wome eeds to be better uderstood, with the results documeted ad dissemiated if possible. There is also a eed for more ivestmet to support the retetio of wome i costructio workplaces. A key iformat cotacted about a pre-appreticeship program for wome delivered by her agecy idicated that uios do ot ecessarily have the expertise to secure appropriate employmet for tradeswome. Further work ad the idetificatio of good practices i this area would be helpful. 7 Wome s Ecoomic Equality (WEE) Society: 76 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

81 Wome i Sciece, Egieerig, Trades, ad Techology (SETT) Iitiative The Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades ad Techology started the Wome i SETT Iitiative i 2003 to create the istitutioal-level chage ecessary to recruit ad retai more wome i SETT fields. The atioal WiSETT Cetre acts as the catalyst. The Cetre develops ad dissemiates tools ad expertise to idustry, govermet ad educatioal istitutios, ad to wome i SETT orgaizatios. Resource cetre fosterig the dissemiatio of best practices Workplace Busiess case for diversity I a recet report published by the Hypatia Associatio, Armour, Carmody, ad Clark (2006) argued that it is importat for employers i the costructio idustry to uderstad the beefits of diversity ad the likages betwee it ad profitability. A compilatio of resources (Armour, Carmody, ad Clark, 2006; Clark, Martell, Wetzell, ad Wheato, 2009) was also produced to help develop a busiess case for diversity i Caadia workplaces. A key feature of the campaig is similar to the broad iclusive approach take with employmet equity. A Europe-wide iitiative to promote the developmet ad implemetatio of workplace diversity has bee uderway sice the Europea Commissio bega surveyig employers about their diversity policies ad released the report, The Busiess Case for Diversity: Good Practices i the Workplace (2005). A growig body of literature available from the Europea Commissio documets employers achievemets i employmet equity ad charts progress toward iclusive workplaces (Europea Commissio, 2008) Tools for workplace chage The Otario Wome s Directorate (OWD) defies workplace culture as the beliefs, attitudes, practices, orms ad customs ( how thigs are doe aroud here ) that characterize a workplace. There have bee calls for the developmet of a toolkit for orgaizatioal chage ad a compilatio of good practices (Sculle, 2008). The Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta (COAA) has ackowledged the eed for orgaizatios to adhere to the priciples of Respect at Work, which are supportive of diversity ad ati-bullyig. The Nova Scotia Hypatia Associatio ad the WEE Society have produced several reports outliig the chage strategies ad detailig the resources available to support employers as they create equitable workplaces that welcome wome i costructio (Armour, Carmody, ad Clark, 2006; Clark, Martell, Wetzell, ad Wheato, 2009). The followig actio strategies are recommeded by Clark, Martell, Wetzell, ad Wheato (2009) for employers workig to achieve workplace diversity: Get executive team commitmet. Lik diversity to the bottom lie. Build the busiess case for diversity. Idetify ad develop diversity leadership. Create a orgaizatioal workig group to lead the diversity iitiative. Develop a diversity visio. Assess the curret workplace culture. Develop a diversity strategy. Implemet the strategies. Moitor, evaluate ad adapt. 77

82 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry WiSETT is preparig a booklet etitled, Welcomig Wome ito Sciece, Egieerig, Trades ad Techology Workplaces: A Checklist of Strategies. A Checklist of Strategies was origially desiged ad distributed i 1994 by Wome i Trades ad Techology, Natioal Network, ad will be re-released by the Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades ad Techology (CCWESTT) (Overed, Emerso, ad Hollett, 2008). It offered first steps to raise awareess ad iitiate positive orgaizatioal chage i support of wome i trades ad techology workplaces. After beig pilot tested i 2007 ad 2008, it will be updated ad re-released. The checklist icludes research ad effective practices for recruitmet, selectio, orietatio, retetio, career developmet, traiig, ad health ad safety. It also provides questios to guide employers i developig their ow actio plas for chage. Checklist to assess woma-friedly workplaces The Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio (Sculle, 2008) produced a report recommedig steps to support orgaizatioal chage ad build iclusive workig eviromets for wome. With iput from cosultats ad groups such as Status of Wome, Wome i Trades ad Techology groups ad CCWESTT, the report recommeded that employers be ecouraged to atted educatioal workshops, assess orgaizatioal barriers to wome s iclusio, ad set up committees to fid ways to recruit ad retai wome i the trades. It also called for the use of Employmet Equity legislatio to create requiremets for chage, as well as sesitivity traiig ad educatio for employees. The Costructio Sector Coucil was asked to create a toolkit of strategies to improve recruitmet ad retetio. I additio, the report recommeded icetives that would ecourage employers to make workplaces female-friedly, as well as the developmet of awards to ackowledge employers progress. The Wome i Leadership (WIL) Foudatio has completed a legthy study i which more tha a hudred participats were egaged through roud-table meetigs, focus groups, cofereces ad surveys to gai a fresh uderstadig of the barriers to wome s participatio i the British Columbia costructio trades. The resultig strategic pla, called the WIL Actio Pla, has bee reproduced i its etirety i Appedix R of this report. The pla is a comprehesive set of recommedatios for all of istitutios resposible for the recruitmet, traiig, ad employmet of wome i costructio. This icludes employers ad uios, schools ad educatioal istitutios, icludig elemetary ad secodary schools, colleges, govermet ad idustry associatios, as well as parterships betwee all these players. The strategies proposed to icrease Caadia wome s participatio i costructio have a great deal i commo with those implemeted i the Uited Kigdom (Equal Opportuities Commissio, 2005a, 2005b, 2006), where advaces have bee made that are relevat to the Caadia cotext. Further iformatio about developmets i the U.K. is provided i appedices P ad Q). Work is also beig doe i cotietal Europe where, for example, the Europea Associatio of Craft, Small ad Medium-sized Eterprises (UEAPME) (Muller, 2007) has published a catalogue of good practices for diversity ad o-discrimiatio. I New Zealad, the Huma Rights Commissio (Appedix H) developed a series of recommedatios to support greater diversity i idustry recruitmet, traiig, ad employmet. Other more geeral resources to support workplace chage iclude Workplaces that Work for Wome: Creatig a Workplace Culture that Attracts, Retais, ad Promotes Wome (McLea, 2003) ad the Resource Guide: How to Recruit ad Retai Wome Workers i No-Traditioal Workplaces (Wage Gap Iitiative, 2007). These documets cotai a set of questios etitled A Framework for 78 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

83 Assessig your Workplace: 20 Questios, which orgaizatios ca use to idetify areas where chage is eeded. The questios highlight a rage of issues that are very similar to those idetified by the OWD as cotributig to a iclusive workplace. These iclude: cultural orms ad values that support positive relatios betwee me ad wome; freedom from stereotypig related to wome s ad me s roles ad occupatios; coditios (work schedules, job titles, physical eviromet) that are iclusive of both geders; a strog critical mass of wome, typically 30% or more throughout the orgaizatio; opportuities for promotio ad advacemet; ad, a emphasis o reducig sources of uecessary stress such as harassmet ad work-family coflict Idustry practices to support recruitmet Scholarships Scholarships commuicate the value that govermet ad idustry place o the educatio pathways to costructio careers. I the skilled trades ad appreticeships, there are very few scholarships to demostrate this value. Istead, idustry ofte awards scholarships to studets who are goig to uiversity, but ot to those who choose to atted college or eter the skilled trades. The Caadia Associatio of Wome i Costructio (CAWIC) has established bursaries for wome who wat to eter the trades. I British Columbia, Caadia Costructio Wome (CCW) offers grats of $5,000 to wome watig to advace their careers i costructio. I 2002, British Columbia costructio compaies iitiated a sposorship fud that provides a $200 award to studets who complete the BCIT Trades Discovery program (described below), ad 25 $1,000 etrace scholarships for studets cotiuig ito appreticeship. Scholarships to icrease appeal of trades ad techology occupatios Scholarships to sigal the value that is placed o wome by idustry Idustry practices to support wome s employmet Securig employmet for wome i the trades Examples of recet iitiatives that support the employmet of wome i the costructio trades are described below. Without iitiatives of this kid, traiig programs will be less likely to result i employmet for graduates. Skilled Trades Employmet Program for Wome (STEP for Wome) The British Columbia Costructio Associatio (BCCA) Skilled Trades Employmet Program for Wome (STEP for Wome) is a metorig pilot project that assists wome i costructio with employmet ad retetio. A multi-tiered process, it begis with a job metor assessig wome s skills ad aptitudes. Next, employmet opportuities are outlied, ad wome are placed i costructio jobs. The job metor the maitais cotact with program participats ad their employers to esure that a effective match has bee made. I the workplace, participats are matched with a buddy or voluteer to aswer questios ad welcome them to the workplace. These compoets of the program have all bee tested ad foud effective i helpig wome to secure jobs ad keep them. Piloted i 2008, the fial tier of the program sees seior female tradespersos metor outside the work site. STEP for Wome is developig a pool of metors ad will coect them with metees i their trades based o idividual eed. Metor-metee relatioships could be formed to address a specific questio or problem, or they could be more formalized relatioships that exted over a loger 79

84 04 Addressig the barriers to wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry period. STEP for Wome plas two further iitiatives: facilitatig peer meetigs where wome (both metors ad metees) ca lear from the experiece of peers, ad ivite metors, metees, cousellors ad other iterested idividuals to a advisory forum to discuss issues of mutual cocer. Metorig Work placemet ad re-placemet Partership with idustry Advocate o behalf of wome Ope-eded support provided Idustry practices to support workplace chage Respect i the Workplace, Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta (COAA) A Respect i the Workplace committee was formed by the COAA i 2003 to create a stadardized policy o workplace harassmet that would respod to the shifts ad challeges that accompay icreasig diversity i the costructio workforce. Guided by the priciple that all people have the right to be treated with digity ad respect, the policy seeks to provide a best practice through the promotio of awareess, traiig ad commuicatio. The policy has three iterrelated compoets to address harassmet, violece ad bullyig. Respect i the Workplace is a itroductory documet that stresses the legal requiremet for employers to provide a workplace free from violece ad harassmet, alog with the ethical obligatio to prevet bullyig by fosterig respect. Furthermore, the policy ivites employers to assess levels of respect at their work sites, ad it also ecourages them to adopt the Respect i the Workplace material, set policy, create awareess, ad coduct traiig to foster a ew stadard for workplace respect. The hadbook describes bullyig, harassmet ad violece; offers clear defiitios ad examples; ad provides a guide for maagers ad employees. A ready-to-use toolkit was developed to help employers implemet the Respect i the Workplace policy. The toolkit icludes: a hadbook developed from the model policy to support the developmet of respectful workplaces, with specific sectios for supervisors ad for employees; a sample site policy, for use withi compaies, that outlies rules, expectatios, ad process withi the compay; a sample site poster with the priciples of workplace respect to advertise the policy to employees; a sample presetatio ad hadouts for use i supervisory awareess traiig; a sample presetatio for use i employee awareess traiig; sample certificates of completio for both supervisors ad employees; a sample site assessmet worksheet; scripts for a series of toolbox talks for supervisors to facilitate o six specific topics; sample materials to support ivestigatios, icludig icidet reports; a sample Progressive Disciplie Procedure; ad, a sample iteral icidet reportig form. All of these materials are provided i free dowloadable format o the Costructio Owers of Alberta website. Dissemiatio of best practice 80 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

85 4.2.8 Coclusios This review of literature about the barriers to wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad strategies to overcome them produced two key fidigs. The first is that, to succeed, the itervetios that have bee developed to provide wome with supportive traiig opportuities, to help wome secure ad maitai employmet, ad to improve workplaces must all fuctio i tadem. For example, traiig wome for work i costructio will ot, o its ow, boost the rate of their participatio i idustry uless supports are i place to help them overcome the hirig ad other workplace barriers. Wome eed support i securig ad maitaiig employmet ad i dealig with the obstacles they face i the idustry. Furthermore, eve if all of these itervetios were implemeted, it is ulikely that they would solve all of the issues wome i costructio face. The secod key fidig is that very little literature is available that idetifies idustry cotributios to the developmet of practices to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad osite maagemet. This is a sigificat gap. This is why much of the qualitative stage of this research ivestigated idustry best practices i this area, alog with the eed for chage i costructio workplaces. 81

86 05 Good practice i support of diversity: XX TITLE HERE perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Oe of the strategies beig proposed i Caada to respod to the retiremet of large umbers of highly skilled costructio workers i the ext decade is to icrease the participatio rates of those who have bee historically uderrepreseted i the costructio idustry. There is a uderstadig that the icreased participatio of wome, Aborigial peoples, ewcomers ad mature workers i costructio trades/maagemet ca cotribute to the repleishmet of the skilled costructio workforce i Caada. Idustry-based programs to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i costructio maagemet have previously bee viewed with some skepticism outside Caada (Adrews ad Wilkis, 2001; Agapiou, 2002; Greed, 2000; Whittock, 2002). The cocer has bee that the primary motivatio for chage is fillig labour market skills shortages, rather tha addressig coditios that would support equal opportuity for wome. Give the iequities that face wome i costructio workplaces, a comprehesive strategy for workplace chage is a ecessity, complete with the developmet of family-friedly workplaces, targets for icreased hirig ad retetio of wome (Braudy, 2004; Wome i Resource Developmet Committee, 2004), moitorig (Sculle, 2008; Wome i Resource Developmet Committee, 2002) ad log-term ivestmets i programs ad supports to effect such chage. It is also possible that legislative chage will be a ecessary elemet. These coclusios ad recommedatios were draw from a review of Caadia literature regardig the barriers that limit wome s participatio i the costructio idustry. I Sectio 4 of this report, best practices to icrease wome s participatio i the Caadia costructio idustry were idetified ad described. That literature review foud that relatively little has bee published to date to highlight ad documet the achievemets of idustry i this area. A qualitative research methodology was therefore developed to ivestigate idustry efforts to icrease wome s participatio i costructio, drawig both from the perspectives of idustry represetatives ad wome i costructio. 5.1 Research methods Key iformat iterviews were coducted to explore the kowledge ad opiios of idustry represetatives, ad three focus groups were held to explore the experieces of wome curretly employed i costructio trades ad i osite maagemet. The iterviews coducted with idustry employers were iteded to aswer the followig questios: 1) Are chages i the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet beig observed by idustry employers, associatios ad labour orgaizatios? 2) What do idustry represetatives thik accouts for the fact that the rate of wome s participatio is ot icreasig more sigificatly? 3) What chages do idustry represetatives thik are eeded to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet? 4) What practices have bee itroduced by those i the costructio idustry to icrease the rate of wome s participatio? Are there sigs that ay of these practices have bee successful? 82 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

87 5) What challeges does the costructio idustry face i itroducig chages to icrease wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet? 6) What supports do costructio idustry employers eed to support such chages? The focus groups coducted with wome employed i costructio trades/maagemet were iteded to aswer the followig questios: 1) What are wome s experieces i recruitmet ad i hirig for the costructio idustry? 2) What are wome s experieces workig i costructio workplaces? 3) What are the experieces of wome costructio trades appretices? 4) What do wome i costructio trades/maagemet thik is eeded to icrease the recruitmet, hirig ad retetio of wome? A detailed descriptio of research methods follows, alog with a presetatio of the fidigs of the iterviews ad focus groups, as well as two summaries of key fidigs. Iformats have bee quoted verbatim Recruitmet Separate strategies were used to recruit idustry iformats ad wome workig i costructio trades/maagemet to participate i the research Iterviews Idustry iformats were recruited usig a iitial list of 29 idustry cotacts (associatios, labour, employers ad owers) that was provided by the Costructio Sector Coucil. The ames of further costructio employers ad idustry associatios were idetified usig Iteret searches of provicial/territorial associatio websites. I additio to these strategies, sowball samplig was also used durig iterviews to idetify further iformats who might be iterested i participatig i the research. A total of 229 costructio employers, 37 associatio iformats ad six labour iformats received ivitatios to participate i the research. Of the 229 employers across Caada ivited to participate, 175 were geeral cotractors, 17 were electrical cotractors, six were carpetry cotractors, seve were masory cotractors, 13 were mechaical cotractors ad 11 were residetial cotractors. A purposive samplig strategy was used to esure the participatio of idustry employers, idustry associatios ad labour orgaizatios across Caada, ad to esure the represetatio of employers from a rage of compay sizes ad from differet areas of costructio. Cotacts were each set a electroic trasmissio cotaiig a iformatio letter outliig the aims of the research, the volutary ature of the research, cofidetiality, the iterview questios ad a ivitatio to participate (Appedix S). Researchers the followed up by telephoe to iquire whether idustry iformats were iterested i schedulig a telephoe iterview Focus groups Focus group participats were recruited i two locatios i Caada. I British Columbia, wome with experiece workig i costructio trades/maagemet were cotacted by BCIT Trades Discovery Program ad ivited to participate i a focus group. The research was advertised by the BC Costructio Associatio ad also through BCIT program cotacts. I New Bruswick, wome who participated i the Parters Buildig Futures project were cotacted by program staff ad ivited to participate i a focus group Sample compositio Iterviews Fifty iterviews were coducted with 30 costructio idustry employers, 14 associatio iformats ad six labour orgaizatio iformats. Two writte resposes were received, oe from a provicial 83

88 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio associatio ad oe from a employer; these resposes were icluded i the data aalysis. Employers i 11 of Caada s 13 jurisdictios (Table 5-1) participated. Employers i idustrial, commercial, istitutioal ad residetial costructio were iterviewed, icludig several idustry owers. Table 5-1: Sample compositio Jurisdictio Employers Associatios Labour Natioal NL NB NS PE QC ON MB SK AB BC YU NU NT Costructio idustry associatio iformats from seve provices ad two territories were iterviewed, as well as oe atioal idustry associatio iformat. Participats represeted associatios i idustrial, commercial, istitutioal, geeral ad residetial costructio, as well as sheet metal, mechaical, carpetry ad millwright cotractors. Labour iformats i five provices ad oe iformat at the atioal level were iterviewed. The 30 employers i the sample icluded compaies that provided residetial costructio services (6), residetial ad commercial services (1), commercial costructio services (4), commercial ad idustrial services (4), idustrial costructio services (9), commercial, idustrial ad istitutioal services (4), as well as commercial, idustrial, istitutioal ad residetial services (1). Employers i the iterview sample icluded three micro-size employers (0-9 employees), 10 small-size (10-99 employees), six medium-size ( employees) ad eight large-size (500+ employees) employers. For two of the employers iterviewed, the iformatio was uavailable ad did ot allow their size to be categorized. A limitatio of the groupig based o size was due to the fact that some compaies provided iformatio oly about workers they employed directly while others reported o direct as well as o subcotracted employees. Most employers could at least estimate the umber of wome employed i costructio trades/maagemet. Most of the associatios could ot provide iformatio about the total umber of people their member cotractors employed, ad very few associatios had data about whether cotractors were wome. Data to reflect the umber of costructio tradespersos represeted by labour orgaizatios was ot cosistetly available, ad data to reflect the umber of tradeswome represetig labour orgaizatios was uavailable. 84 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

89 Focus groups Thirty-two wome participated i the focus groups i British Columbia ad New Bruswick. The eight wome who participated i the New Bruswick group had all bee coected at oe time to the Parters Buildig Futures program. Twety-four wome participated i the two focus groups held i British Columbia. Of the 24 British Columbia focus group participats, two-fifths (9) were joureypersos, two were osite project maagers ad oe was a program coordiator. All of the New Bruswick participats were appretice tradeswome. Wome were employed i a rage of trades, icludig electrical (10), cabietmakig (1), carpetry (3), automotive (1), sheet metal (1), steel fabricatio (1), heat ad frost isulatio (2), weldig (7), ad plumbig (3). I New Bruswick, half of the participats were electricias; i B.C., a fifth (5) of the participats were welders. Data for the project maagers were grouped with data for the wome tradespersos because the discussio did ot highlight differeces betwee the experieces of project maagers ad those of wome i the trades. Focus group participats raged i age from 28 to 45 i the New Bruswick group ad from 22 to 51 i the British Columbia focus groups. The average age of the New Bruswick participats (35 years) was ot differet from that of B.C. participats (36 years). All of the New Bruswick focus group participats ad a third (8) of the B.C. participats had depedet childre. Threequarters (6) of New Bruswick participats ad a third (8) of British Columbia participats were sigle mothers with oe to three depedet childre. The educatioal attaimet of participats raged from high school to various levels of appreticeship traiig, some college or uiversity courses, college diplomas ad uiversity studies. Oly half of the participats reported their 2008 icome. The average 2008 icome for participats who reported their icome i the New Bruswick focus group was $18,333, while the average icome of British Columbia participats was $56,583. This differece reflects the fact that more of the wome i the Parters Buildig Futures program were appretices, whereas more participats i the B.C. focus groups had worked i their trades for several years ad, i some cases, for as log as 16 or 20 years. Joureypersos ad project maagers i the B.C. groups reported earigs i 2008 of betwee $55,000 ad $100, Data collectio Iterview questios Durig the iterviews, employers were asked to provide iformatio about the umber of people their compaies had employed i the last year, the umber of tradespersos ad osite maagers, ad the proportio of those tradespersos ad osite maagers who were wome. Labour ad associatio iformats were asked questios relative to the umber of members their orgaizatios represeted ad the proportio of their members who were wome. Iterviewees were asked whether they had observed a icrease i the participatio of wome i costructio ad for their opiios about why the rate of wome s participatio i the idustry has ot bee icreasig more sigificatly. Iterviewees were asked to describe ay recruitmet, hirig or retetio practices their compaies or orgaizatios had itroduced to icrease wome s participatio ad to discuss whether those practices were successful. Iterviewees were also asked what employers eed to do to recruit, hire ad retai wome i costructio trades/maagemet ad what wome eed to do to be successful i costructio trades/maagemet. Lastly, iterviewees were asked about the chages i supports the costructio idustry eeds to itroduce to icrease wome s participatio. 85

90 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Focus group questios The focus groups were each betwee two ad two-ad-a-half hours i duratio. Focus group participats were asked to report o the umber of wome workig i their workplaces, their experieces of recruitmet ad hirig i the costructio idustry, ad their experieces i costructio workplaces. Participats were asked for their opiios about why wome s participatio has ot icreased more sigificatly. They were also asked for their thoughts about what eeds to chage to improve the workplace experieces of wome i the costructio trades ad of osite maagers, ad about the role employers ad uios ca play. 5.2 Perspectives of idustry: employers, associatios ad labour I the followig sectio, the results of data aalysis based o the iterviews coducted with key idustry iformats are reported; excerpts of the iterviews are provided to illustrate these fidigs Represetatio of wome i costructio trades/maagemet Employers were asked to provide estimates of the percetage of wome employed i the last 12 moths i the trades/maagemet. Associatio ad labour orgaizatio iformats were asked to aswer similar questios about their membership. Results are preseted i appedices T ad U Represetatio of wome: employer estimates Employers were grouped ito four categories based o size: micro-size (0-9 employees), small-size (10-99 employees), medium-size ( employees) ad large-size (500+ employees). Most of the micro- ad small-size employers did ot employ ay wome i the trades/maagemet, whereas all of the large-size employers reported that they employed betwee 1% ad 3% wome (ad these estimates for large-size compaies usually icluded subcotracted workers). Oe micro-size employer reported that all of the small umber of trades workers ad project maagers employed i that compay were wome; this was a residetial compay owed by two wome whose itetio it is to support wome i costructio. Oe small (geeral residetial) employer also employed several wome i the trades. All of the medium-size compaies employed at least 1% wome i the trades ad two compaies (oe electrical/idustrial ad oe masory/ residetial/idustrial/commercial/istitutioal) employed 8% ad 10% wome tradespersos. Oe of these employers stated that the icrease i wome i these occupatios was itetioal o the part of the compay. The fidigs for wome employed i osite maagemet are differet from the fidigs reported above for the employmet of wome i the costructio trades. Across all categories of employer size, at least some examples were foud of high rates of wome betwee 12% ad 100% employed i osite maagemet. However, ulike large-size employers, who all employed at least 1% wome i maagemet, may more micro-, small- ad medium-size compaies employed o wome at all i costructio maagemet. Detailed iformatio is preseted i Appedix T. Whe employers were asked whether they had observed chages i the rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet, most idicated that they had ot observed a icrease. More employers idicated that they had observed a icrease i wome i costructio maagemet (Table 5-2). Chages i wome s participatio observed Two of three employers i micro-size compaies reported that they had ot observed ay icrease i wome i the costructio trades. Most small-, medium- ad large-size employers reported that they had ot observed a icrease i wome i the costructio trades. The small umber of employers who idicated that they had observed a icrease over the years i the umber of wome commeted that the icrease was very small (1%). 86 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

91 Table 5-2: Icrease i wome i the costructio trades ad i costructio maagemet Factors Icrease i wome i trades observed Icrease i wome i maagemet observed Yes No Yes No Micro-size employers Small-size employers Medium-size employers Large-size employers Whe asked whether a icrease i wome i maagemet had bee observed, more tha half of medium- ad large-size employers idicated that they had oted a sigificat icrease i the proportio of wome employed i maagemet occupatios, such as project maagers, estimators, safety officers ad quality maagers. Employers argued that wome applied for these jobs, ad they were ofte the best people for the job. I osite maagemet, we hire the best perso for the job, ad the last few had wome applyig. There was a woma maager i competitio with five me. She was the best. Noe of the employers iterviewed had observed a icrease i the percetages of wome forepersos. Wome who become costructio forepersos must be promoted through the trades. It appears that this is a ifrequetly travelled career pathway for wome Represetatio of wome: associatio ad labour orgaizatio estimates Most of the associatio iformats iterviewed did ot provide estimates of the total umber of workers employed by member cotractors or the percetage of their members, or employees of their members who were wome. Where associatio iformats could provide the total umber of workers employed by their members, geder data was, i most cases, ot available. The absece of geder data is a reflectio of the fact that the rate of wome s participatio i costructio occupatios is either a target or a idicator that is beig tracked by idustry associatios. This reflects the extet to which most idustry associatios ca be said to be takig a active lead i promotig the hirig ad retetio of wome i the costructio trades ad i osite maagemet. Although there are exceptios, particularly at the provicial level, the key role that is beig played by most associatios appears to be i the area of promotio to icrease the appeal of costructio careers to youth. Labour orgaizatio iformats cosistetly estimated that the percetage of wome uio members was betwee 1% ad 2%, with oe report of more wome employed o specific projects (i the 3% to 5% rage). This iformatio is provided i more detail i Appedix U. Chages i the rate of wome s participatio observed Associatio iformats who were iterviewed for this research were divided i their opiios about whether there has bee a icrease i female costructio trades appretices or i the employmet of wome i costructio trades/maagemet. Associatio iformats had either ot observed a chage i the percetage of wome appretices or wome i these occupatios, or they stated that ay chage i the hirig of wome (i oe sheet metal associatio ad oe masory associatio) was extremely small. However, oe associatio iformat commeted that, there have bee advaces at the egieerig level ad somewhat i maagemet. It s bee very obvious i the safety officers. Most labour iformats stated that there had ot bee a icrease i the percetage of wome i the trades/maagemet, ad those who said they had achieved a icrease expressed that it was very small. Oe labour orgaizatio iformat commeted that, Wome come ad go i the same trades such as carpetry ad electrical, ad i the same trades that we ever had wome there still 87

92 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio are o wome (such as isulator, roofer, ad bricklayer). Aother commeted that, I ve bee a pipefitter for almost 40 years. While I ve bee workig we ve see a radical chage i the umber of wome. Labour iformats who commeted that they had observed a icrease i wome i the costructio trades said so o the basis that they had observed a icrease i female appretices ad college erolmets, ot i wome beig hired or workig i the field. Table 5-3: Icrease observed i wome i trades ad i maagemet Iformats Icrease observed i wome i trades/maagemet Idustry associatios 5 4 Labour orgaizatios Why wome s participatio i costructio has ot icreased more sigificatly This sectio summarizes the opiios of iformats about why wome s participatio i costructio is ot icreasig more sigificatly. Employers, associatio iformats ad labour iformats offered may reasos to accout for this, icludig: the weakess of educatioal pathways to careers i costructio (particularly i the trades); the ifluece of egative stereotypes of careers i costructio; limited hirig of wome; high levels of turover of wome i the trades; ad, ufriedly work coditios. Iformats also offered ideas about the costructio occupatios wome may be best suited to ad about idustry s expectatios of wome employed o costructio work sites Supply May employers stated that it is their experiece that wome are ot applyig for work i costructio. Oe employer said, We have t had oe comig i lookig for work while I ve bee here, that s 22 years. They come with résumés to work i the office, ot out o the field. Weak educatioal pathways The failure of educatio to target girls for careers i costructio was cited as a key reaso why wome s participatio i costructio is ot icreasig more sigificatly. Iterviewees discussed the cacellatio of high school shop classes ad the fact that studets are ot beig targeted with iformatio about careers i costructio early eough, that is, as early as Grade 8. Iterviewees agreed strogly that educatioal pathways to the trades must be stregtheed. Aother problem is the fact that the trades are ot beig promoted accurately, that is, as careers with attractive opportuities for career developmet ad progressio. Iformats said that parets are likely a key ifluece, sice may do ot wat their childre chaelled ito the trades. Some iformats said the costructio idustry has competitio from all of the other opportuities ope to wome. Noe of the iformats said that they hold govermet social policy or educatioal policy resposible for the fact that careers i the trades have bee de-emphasized i Caadia schools over time ad that these careers are ot competig well with the promotio of uiversity educatio. Iformats who discussed the problem of weak educatioal pathways cosistetly held schools, teachers, guidace cousellors ad parets resposible for the failure to reach studets with Yes No 88 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

93 accurate iformatio ad opportuities to experiece these occupatios, ad their proposals for chage reflected this. Geder stereotypes Geder stereotypig ad stereotypes about careers that are appropriate for wome were cited by iterviewees as key reasos why wome s participatio i costructio is ot icreasig more sigificatly. Some referred to this as a social problem. Negative stereotypes of work i costructio Iterviewees also agreed that egative stereotypes of work i costructio cotribute to the fact that it is difficult to icrease the percetage of wome i costructio. Oe employer said, a uderlyig stereotype of hard physical labour ad discrimiatio agaist wome discourages girls ad wome from choosig these careers. Aother described how the stereotypig of work i costructio is a barrier for parets, who might otherwise support their daughters i eterig these careers Demad Biases i hirig Some iformats emphasized the eed to create more opportuities for wome i costructio through the icreased hirig of wome. As aother employer said, There s a lack of opportuity because of bias. That s the mai reaso. I do t thik a lot [of employers] give them a chace. It s ot a cosideratio. Bias like, Gee, she does t like to be dirty. How do you kow? These iformats put the ous o employers to make this happe. Oe employer said: Everyoe supports brigig wome i but o oe wats to create opeigs. The same thig happes with ew appretices, ad this is true for male ad female appretices. Cotractors ad owers have doe a poor job of addressig this. Oe employer said that the reluctace to hire wome is that, Employers are scared that wome cause problems with the Huma Rights Commissio. All you have to do is say that a ma said somethig iappropriate. Here they side with wome, ad it s ot fair. Aother employer added, There are struggles to get employers iterested i hirig wome, probably because they thik it s easier to maage a busiess without male/female issues. Suitable careers Idustry experts offered may thoughts about the occupatios to which wome are best suited. These observatios are summarized below. May idustry iformats discussed how iadequate physical stregth acts as a sigificat barrier for wome i some trades ad also i some positios. Iformats explaied that all costructio tradespersos are required to work to the requiremets of ay give project. Exceptios are ot made for me or for wome. O site, you eed to move a ladder if it s a requiremet of the job. Some jobs are less physical. Lack of physical stregth ca be a barrier for certai positios. Like framers, movig ad liftig, or cocrete, there s high physical demad. That s ot to say there are t wome who ca, but i the same trade, o a differet project, the demads may ot be as high. We had a framer, he did the framig, but whe they got to the roof he said, I ca t do the roof, I m afraid of heights. That s your job. If you ca t do what you were hired to do. So the physical demads ca be big. For a carpeter, for framig you geerally eed more stregth, but for fiishig you do t; there s more detail, it s smaller, but it s still carpetry. 89

94 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio The followig quotatios illustrate the observatios ad thikig of employers about the specific trades to which wome may be more attracted ad suited ad the reasos why this is the case. Electrical, weldig, ad carpetry are more likely to see more wome. The key trades for wome are electrical, carpetry, mechaical, plumbig, ad heavy equipmet operator. The fiishig trades are good for wome: paitig, fie carpetry, trims aroud widows ad doors, tilig, cabietry, floorig, ceilig, walls, etc. Some trades are more suitable for wome who have a iterest i doig thigs with their hads. Guys would choose o the same basis. For example, do you have to climb up a tower, or lift 300 pouds. Wome are o differet tha me. Oce they get ivolved they are as good as me. They are most suited for electrical, plumbig, lathig drywall, ad paitig. Pour ad place cocrete ad steel placemet are much heavier, ad it s outside work i the cold, ad all me. It ivolves heavy liftig ad heavy machies. Wome may ot aspire to these trades as much. We ve ever see ay wome i the treches; we ve ever see oe riggig a crae for pilig. We ve ever had ay equipmet operators who are wome. It s physical barriers mostly for our kid of work like labour ad equipmet operatio. They ca t do all jobs because of the physical stregth, but there are lots. They ca lay floor, sidig, do trim work; there s lots of work i carpetry. I thik you re ot goig to see may wome i foudatio work. It s dirty ad heavy. It s ot 100%, but most do t have the stregth to do foudatio. It s hard. I do t thik they ll go there because they make as much moey doig trim work. Ad I would t be i framig ad be outside whe it s -20, whe you ca be iside. I do t see a lot i plumbig or drywallig, but drywallig has the stigma of beig a dirty job. I thik wome would excel at the muddig ad tapig ed of drywall because it ivolves a bit more fiesse. It s ot fair to advertise for wome i masory, the work is very heavy. The older guys backs are goe. Bricklayig s ot attractive to a lot of wome. We also do stoe ad restoratio, ad it s more fie [work], ad some go i that directio. But there s some o the walls. Some employers said that wome are more proficiet i ad more likely to choose the techical trades over the more physical trades. More wome are cocetratig i techologies istead of workig out o the tools. More go ito maagemet ow, project maagemet. It s easier physically. We do hire wome i all positios, though heavy equipmet operatio, geeral labour, trades, electrical. May of the idustry iformats iterviewed suggested that wome i the trades should be careful to choose a trade that is a good fit to their skills ad to their work prefereces. Wome s part i this is they eed to pursue the trades ad cosider the trades that are suitable for them. We have heavy equipmet that has heated cabs ad is soudproof ad hydraulic. Wome have the ability to do this work but there is o great surge of wome applyig. I fact, wome would take good care ad cautio, likely better tha me i operatig heavy equipmet. For example, they would likely be more precise ad particular i cuttig a ditch. 90 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

95 You have to make sure wome kow what s ivolved i workig o a costructio site. Most wome, I thik, do t kow. You ca t be afraid of heights or beig dirty. You ca t wear eye shadow ad makeup. You have to wear coveralls. It s ot appealig to may. You have to be agile, have o fear of heights, you hit your thumb with a hammer, you get dirty. That ed of the costructio idustry is ot somethig that wome are adapted to. Do t get me wrog, I do t mid that they re there. Some wome like that work ad are doig it. They re ot afraid to get dirty. We have a few. You re ot goig to go home with ice, soft hads. You get calluses. Wome should be sure that they re choosig a trade that they re comfortable with. It s importat to decide what your skills are ad how they fit i a particular trade. It s a good idea to start with safety courses. There are cetres ru by costructio people, ad they should talk to people i costructio. May of the idustry iformats iterviewed observed that wome excel i costructio maagemet occupatios, ad their umbers are icreasig i these occupatios accordigly. Oe employer said: Employers ad labour should be focusig o the uique stregths ad abilities that wome ca brig to costructio trades/maagemet. These iclude the abilities of team-workig, cosesus maagemet, egotiatig, iterpersoal skills ad the ability to maage several projects at the same time. They eed to see where wome s skills are best utilized, like i project maagemet, eve osite. Aother iformat explaied the appeal of maagemet occupatios to wome as follows: There s a problem with the old boys club, ad wome are ot cosidered oe of the boys. I safety or maagemet, you do t have to be oe of the boys. Idustry iformats also had ideas about the type of costructio that might be the best traiig groud for wome. Wome are more attracted to residetial commercial tha idustrial. It s closer, cleaer, smaller, less uioized. I do t kow if that s a factor. At a site like ours, with the camps, workig i a site with thousads of people. I do t kow whether that s attractive to the idividual or ot. Residetial is very differet from heavy costructio (idustrial ad ifrastructure). Large heavy costructio is ot where wome should start. Home reovatio is a differet aimal, it s safe. Heavy costructio is rough, dagerous, hard work, ad very physical. It s ot the best place to start i gettig wome ito the trades. Home reovatio is ot a bad place for wome. Although several iformats thought residetial costructio could be better for wome i the trades, others thought that commercial costructio offers the most safety ad the best traiig opportuities for wome who wat to advace i their trade to joureyperso status. 91

96 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Residetial costructio is still ot the safest to work i, with the ijury rates. Commercial seems to be set up differetly, it s easier. Residetial still has a image of ot beig as safe as it could be. Commercial is the traiig groud for appretices, more tha residetial or idustrial. Separate from the issue of wome, commercial is the traiig groud for joureypersos. Residetial ad idustrial is a small scope. You might get oe skill out of two doze i the trade. I commercial you re exposed to all of the skills. Some iformats stated that they saw wome as well suited to self-employmet i the costructio idustry. Oe associatio iformat suggested, I see wome startig small compaies for residetial or small commercial markets. The opiios ad observatios preseted above are those of employers who are i a positio to recruit ad to hire wome. It is importat to ote that the opiios preseted are cosistet with the very low rates of wome s represetatio i the costructio trades compared to their growig umber i egieerig ad maagemet occupatios, such as project maagemet (see Sectio 2). Lack of hirig ageda/strategy Most costructio employers do ot have a active strategy to icrease the hirig of wome. While several employers stated that they had a ageda to hire wome i the costructio trades ad i costructio maagemet, the majority did ot have a active strategy to support this. A provicial associatio iformat stated that oly betwee 10% ad 20% of the associatio s member compaies have a clear ageda to icrease wome s participatio i costructio. A regioal associatio iformat stated that icreased hirig of wome to boost wome i the idustry was ot a priority for that associatio s members. Noe of the labour orgaizatio iformats reported that their orgaizatios had itroduced chages to icrease the percetage of wome members. Uio membership Some employers argued that there are barriers that eed to be broke dow i uios sice uioized employers, who are tryig to hire more wome, are completely reliat o the roster of wome that is maitaied by the uios. Oe iformat expressed that, I have t heard our employers say, I d like to go out ad hire a woma. Now, most of our cotractors are uioized, ad have a uio hall. They re ot free to hire outside the uio hall. So it flips back to uios Retetio High levels of turover Noe of the iformats iterviewed could provide retetio/attritio data for wome, ad oe iformat poited out that retetio is ot beig tracked for me i the idustry either. Although retetio data were ot available, there was a sese amog may iformats that oe of the reasos there are ot more wome i the costructio trades is the high rate of turover amog wome; female tradespersos are ot beig retaied. Oe of the large-size employers said that there is better retetio amog wome egieerig maagemet staff, but i the trades there is more turover of wome tha of me. Some iformats stated that wome do ot stay with the trades as a lifelog career, that they are more likely to move oto somethig else tha me. A associatio iformat observed that, With a lot more wome ito the trades, I do t kow how may stay more tha three, four, five years. You ca t accumulate them if the turaroud is faster for wome, you re just puttig more i stock. This iformat stated that, A lot of wome last five years, but a lot drop out by 10 to 15 years. Iformats observed that wome i the trades leave whe they become pregat because they are ot able to do the liftig aymore, ad ot all retur. 92 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

97 Oe employer stated that it takes five to 10 years for wome i the trades to gai experiece ad to progress to positios like foreperso, ad others observed that wome ofte leave before this to take teachig or other maagemet positios. This suggests that some wome leave the costructio trades because they progress to other opportuities i the idustry. Work coditios Employers listed may aspects of work i the trades that they believe are ot appealig to wome. These iclude the physical aspects of the work, workig outside, workig whe it is 20 below, workig whe it is sowig or raiig, the cyclical ature of the work, the hours, travel, the eed for trasportatio, the dager ad gettig dirty. Work i the camps also ivolves log periods of separatio from family. Some iterviewees observed that the uequal share of the resposibility assumed by wome i childcare is a barrier for wome, sayig, The primary reaso is the family role wome play. Most wome with childre are the primary caregivers. I costructio, the icosistet ature of the work is ot coducive. You ca work a extra two hours at the drop of the hat ad start ad quit at odd hours. Not all iformats agreed that wome face bullyig or harassmet o costructio work sites. Oe associatio iformat argued that bullyig i the workplace had largely bee addressed. She said, Our compaies already have policies i place to cover this such as the Caadia Costructio Associatio code of ethics, which came out about two years ago. Aother associatio iformat stated, There s bee a sigificat attitude chage i employers. Now they thik that thigs are better with wome o the job site. They get a better product, etc. It s rare for people to say they do t wat wome, ow they seek them out. It s bee a revelatio for builders, from do t put a woma o my crew to they re the best workers. Oe large-size employer expressed the followig: We are the last bastio of white male-domiated idustry. We have some progressive maagers but also some Neaderthal maagers who will ever get it. We do t tolerate it aymore, but I m sure it was oce eve bragged about to display pi-up girls. Discrimiatio based o qualificatios ad pay is goe too. A umber of other iformats said that there are o loger the problems of aked pictures of wome or of whistlig at wome o job sites. However, may employers also argued differetly that the percetage of wome o costructio job sites has ot icreased because costructio workplaces are still very challegig eviromets for wome. It s a male-domiated workforce that wats to see it cotiue to be male domiated. The me do t make it easy o the wome. There are still some there like that, although it may also be a bit better tha it oce was for wome. However, the limited retetio of wome i the trades was also related by may iformats to the work coditios wome ofte face o costructio job sites. Oe labour iformat argued that, Wome are successful whe they get the opportuities ad traiig. Whe they leave, is that because they re ot good or because the workplace is t as comfortable as it is for me? You do t hear about me leavig the costructio workforce because they re ucomfortable with their acceptability i the workplace because they re me. 93

98 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Preparatio of wome for costructio workplaces May idustry iformats suggested that wome should make themselves aware of what to expect o costructio job sites sice they will be exposed to a lot of talk ad behaviour they will likely ot fid acceptable. Oe iformat suggested that wome get summer jobs i costructio before settlig o it as a career full-time. Wome should get a summer job i a o-traditioal occupatio i costructio to see how well she will fit i ad see what kid of abuse she is goig to take from the guys. Iformats said that wome eed to educate themselves i advace of eterig the trades so that they have a awareess of the workig coditios o costructio work sites. For example, they eed to kow about the hours, the work site coditios ad the travel that is required. You have to kow the etire dyamics of the idustry, good ad bad, like if you will be startig at 7 a.m. or are livig i a camp. Is that a fit? You ll be workig out of a 60-foot trailer with 15 other people. It s overcrowded. We ve always doe it this way. Ad because it s a costructio site, it s difficult to keep clea. I m dusty whe I get home at ight. Just be aware. Oly oe perso has come ad left because they were ot aware. Wome expect they ca walk over ad be employed i a compay because it s close to home. I costructio you go where the work is. Either it s ot bee commuicated to them or they have t accepted or do t uderstad this. The work i costructio moves. You have to move to it. I idustrial costructio i particular you eed to be mobile. For wome with kids this is ot goig to be a fit. Wome eterig the trades are comig ito a male-domiated area of work. There s some behaviour, talk, laguage that would t be acceptable. It s tolerated, but eve me who did t like it did t say aythig so be tolerat. We pulled oe of our employees i ad said, You re i mixed compay. It is t differet tha if you were at a party. Ad he thought, Wow, I just saw aother hard hat. At the same time, a woma eterig the idustry eeds to be aware. Not ecessarily tolerate, but eeds to be aware. Costructio has bee a ma s world for a log time. Wome get treated as rough as ay ma gets treated ad wome give as good as they get. We ca t make wome more comfortable because this is a hard busiess. I believe females eed to be able to accept the fact that a idustry that is domiated by a particular group is t goig to chage as quickly as they would like. I m ot sayig that they should accept it. I most idustrial workplaces there will be laguage ad practices they may fid offesive. Not laguage that s illegal, but discocertig. They do t have to accept it, but to uderstad that it s there. They eed to be o full lookout ad kow what to expect. Iformats suggested that wome eed to be prepared to respod to the coditios they will ecouter o costructio work sites, ad they also eed to kow how to select a compay with good practices i place. Wome (ad youth) eed to have some awareess traiig about the workplace, about how to dress for example. They eed a good traiig program like Wome i Trades ad Techology that teaches them what harassmet is, what crosses the lie, ad how to work i a male-domiated eviromet. They eed to kow how to hadle themselves ad how to deal with problems, ad how to select a compay based o the practices i place. For the awareess piece, good role modelig is eeded. 94 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

99 A small umber of idustry iformats argued that wome do ot eed to do aythig differet from male costructio workers i order to be successful. Some iformats idicated their belief that it is the idustry that eeds to make chages, ot wome. However, a umber of costructio idustry iformats (employers ad associatio iformats) argued their belief that there are o barriers or hurdles for wome i costructio today as log as they have the ecessary traiig ad experiece, are cofidet ad aggressive, do ot give up easily, do ot expect special treatmet ad are prepared to work as part of a team. Frequetly iformats suggested that, What wome have to do is tough it out ad be better tha the guys. May employers argued that it takes a special kid of woma to edure the challeges of male-domiated workplaces. Oe employer gave the followig example of a tradeswoma who had persevered ad was successful. Util we have the core sustaiable umber of wome who are eeded to retai wome, people have to be tolerat of the thigs they will have to edure because they re ot always goig to be pleasat. A example is a tradeswoma who was ot spoke to by her co-workers for two moths. They were tryig to drive her off the job. She eded up the job steward. She edured, took the puishmet, ad overcame. She was the oly woma o that job site, but that chaged after; later there were more. Wome i these circumstaces eed to edure, they eed teacity ad they eed to have uderstadig. They eed to be ambassadors Chages itroduced to icrease the participatio of wome Idustry iformats were asked whether their orgaizatio had itroduced chages to icrease the participatio of wome. Resposes to that questio, where they were available, are represeted i Table 5-4. There were may more suggestios for the chages that are eeded tha there were examples of chages that have bee implemeted to icrease wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet. A patter is visible from the results preseted. I this sample of idustry iformats, fewer micro-, small- ad medium-size employers reported that they had itroduced chages specifically aimed to icrease the recruitmet, hirig or retetio of wome. Half of the large-size employers iterviewed reported that their compaies had itroduced chages to icrease wome s participatio i the idustry. Almost half of the associatios ad oe labour orgaizatio said they had itroduced some chage or egaged i activities to recruit wome to the idustry. The chages referred to are reported i upcomig subsectios that focus o the chages uder developmet to improve the recruitmet, hirig ad retetio of wome i costructio trades/maagemet. Table 5-4: Chages itroduced to icrease the umber of wome Iformats Workplace chages itroduced Micro-size employers 1 2 Small-size employers 1 9 Medium-size employers 2 4 Large-size employers 4 4 Idustry associatios 6 8 Labour orgaizatios 1 7 Yes No 95

100 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Supply Promotig costructio careers to youth ad studets Although several employers had also visited schools to speak to youth about careers i costructio, ad oe employer had itroduced a etworkig dier to itroduce youth to metors, most of the activity to promote costructio careers to youth ad studets was reported by associatio iformats. Employers commeted o the difficulty they have i devotig time to promotioal activities due to the expese of time lost from work. Associatios support the promotio of careers i costructio for wome i a variety of ways, usig media such as costructio magazies ad ewspapers to raise the profile of wome i costructio. Oe associatio said that it celebrates studets etry to appreticeship as a accomplishmet, has created scholarships to commuity colleges ad has raised $100,000 i scholarships for studets goig to commuity colleges. Provicial associatios are takig a active role i promotig careers i the costructio idustry. A umber of associatio iformats reported that they egage i active recruitmet efforts desiged to promote careers i costructio to girls by appearig ad speakig at career fairs, at high school career days, i colleges ad at trade shows. Iformats who have visited schools to speak to youth about careers i costructio reported that the results of outreach efforts are ecouragig. I speak to youg wome every chace I get. I emphasize that the trades lead to lots of opportuities i lots of other work, like safety coordiatio or the fire departmet. There are tos of opportuities. Our local college has a trades school where I go ad speak to youg wome ad sometimes wome who are beig retraied. I am also i the Speakers Bureau with the local school board I speak to grades 6 to 8 studets. Skills Caada also has somethig for wome. I explai that back i my day, what you chose to do you did for a lifetime. But people chage careers ofte several times i a lifetime ow. We have our ow studet iitiative. I go to the high schools ad colleges ad give presetatios i which I poit out opportuities for youg wome. I two recet presetatios at Ryerso ad George Brow College half of the attedees were wome. Several associatio iformats observed that atioal-level promotioal efforts to chage the image of costructio ad to promote the costructio trades to girls, to the parets of youth ad to wome do ot appear to have bee effective. There re lots of recruitmet efforts for wome, miorities, ad Aborigial peoples. They re all over the place comig from the Caadia Appreticeship Forum ad the Costructio Sector Coucil. They re targetig various groups. They re supportig these efforts with govermet fudig. There are all kids of websites ad costat promotio. But it has t bee successful. There s bee o marked icrease despite these efforts. There might be more ow, sice i the recessio the costructio idustry has bee targeted with the federal ifrastructure program. But that s short-term. The log term is aybody s guess. Associatio iformats reported that the efforts of local ad provicial associatios appear to be showig results. A employer described how the activities of local masory associatios ad the opeig of a masory school i Otario appeared to have had a effect o erolmet i a local masory program i Maitoba. For the first time i 30 years, we have a full class of 15 boys i masory here this year. Every other year we ve had oly five or six. This is a good job; it pays $30 per hour. Now we are doig presetatios i the schools. We are promotig the trade ow. It has to start from school. 96 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

101 Employer egagemet with high schools I order to promote the egagemet of employers with high schools, a Nova Scotia provicial associatio is coductig a pilot project called Buildig Futures for Youth, which supports Grade 11 studets i explorig careers i costructio by providig a summer co-op program. The project was itroduced i 2008 ad, although it is a program that is ot targeted specifically to girls, specific efforts have bee made to esure that girls are matched with appropriate same-sex metors. Employers also receive support to esure that appropriate metorig is provided to these female tees ad that the program works to esure that youth are receivig a geuie learig ad traiig experiece. Idustry supports this by providig places, by takig metorship traiig, ad by supportig their learig objectives. The associatio helps them with it. We are rollig out a pilot i We did ot have eough kids i 2008 to fill all 15 places, but we are plaig to have 45 kids i three schools ext time. (It is ot just for girls.) Efforts to icrease the professioal appeal of trades There was discussio by some iformats about how the professioalizatio of the trades is beig advaced i various jurisdictios across Caada to improve the image of careers i the trades. Oe approach to the problem of supply is to icrease the flexibility of educatioal pathways from the trades to higher levels of educatio. This approach was take i British Columbia where, Thompso River Uiversity has started the first degree program i costructio maagemet for those with a appreticeship who wat to start their ow busiess. I Otario, there are plas uderway to develop a trades college to professioalize the trades. The other approach that is beig take i Caada is called trades modularizatio. This ivolves breakig the trades ito smaller trades certificates or modules. Some of the iformats iterviewed expressed that they thought that allowig idividuals to ear a certificate for specific skills could icrease the appeal of the trades ad make these careers more accessible. Others saw modularizatio as a sigificat disadvatage to those eterig the trades, sice idividuals who take the path to a sigle skills certificate will ot be as mobile ad will ear a much lower wage tha if they pursued the path to joureyperso. See the focus group results i Sectio 5.4 for two examples of wome who reported that they were ot earig a livig wage workig i a arrow skills iche. Parterships Iformats described various parterships that have bee developed to promote the trades ad to icrease the appeal of costructio careers to wome. Oe small-size employer i British Columbia described a partership betwee the Thompso River Uiversity ad the local YMCA. The partership does ot target girls specifically; however, it has bee very successful i raisig the profile of the costructio trades i the commuity, while also providig studets with valuable skills ad geeratig a importat reveue stream for a local commuity orgaizatio. This approach is perceived as somethig that is icreasig the appeal of costructio careers to youg wome. The Thompso River Uiversity program has bee buildig a house each year for 17 years. The trades ad techology program is very well established. We sell the house to the YMCA for their fudraiser. It s bee their largest sigle fudraiser for the last 12 years. I the last four to five years there have bee several girls i the framig class ad oe or two i first year electrical ad plumbig. Iformats described how a umber of large-size employers have partered with wome s commuity orgaizatios such as Wome Buildig Futures ad the Vermillio/YWCA Skills Traiig Cetre to support the traiig ad preparatio of tradeswome for work i costructio. Oe ower compay ivites wome traiig i the trades i the Alberta Wome Buildig Futures program to visit the costructio project. The compay supports the Wome Buildig Futures program with doatios 97

102 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio ad by employig graduates. It is also ecouragig the program to expad its operatios ito other locatios. Oe large-size employer that sposors the Wome Buildig Futures program said that it regularly seds job opportuities to that program ad to other wome s employmet programs. Aother iformat described a youth program that, i partership with the provicial associatio ad with several commuity iitiatives, ecourages girls to eter the trades. This iformat worked with a local Wome i Trades ad Techology Trades traiig program to ivolve girls i a three-day work experiece. Employers who provide the three-day work experiece are also parters i this veture. The program leads to employmet for some youth. I 2008, a local costructio associatio i Otario partered with the YWCA to itroduce 30 low icome ad abused wome to builders to see a demostratio of the trades. The iitiative will be repeated ad expaded i future Demad Recruitmet strategy Very few employers described their compaies as havig a active strategy for recruitig wome. Oe medium-size employer said that the compay advertises itself as a equal opportuity employer, while others stated that they kow they could advertise i this way but do ot. Oe iformat stated that he kept a tight coectio with a pre-employmet program for electrical workers. They kow we re a good compay for diverse recruitmet ad are actively recruitig wome. People sig up for programs ad the traier kows that we re actively recruitig. May employers said that recruitmet was ot their resposibility. It was the opiio of some employers that small compaies are at a disadvatage whe it comes to recruitig o-traditioal workers due to lack of compay ifrastructure. Oe iformat i a ower compay said that, For small cotractors [the hirig of wome] is ot o the radar at all. There is o radar for the issue amog them. We meet regularly with cotractors ad uios ad talk about key performace idicators. Iformats had mixed opiios about quotas. A lot of objectios to hirig quotas were expressed due to the thikig that this has ot worked i the past, ad it could lead to the hirig of wome who are ot really iterested i costructio careers. Some iformats stated that it could also cause a backlash for wome. Others argued that it would be more effective to chage costructio workplaces i ways that icrease the attractio of wome to costructio, rather tha hirig wome ito ufriedly workplaces that would be ulikely to retai them. Employmet support The British Columbia Costructio Associatio is a example of a associatio that has take direct actio to solve the problems of recruitmet ad hirig that limit the etry of wome ito the costructio trades. The successful STEP for Wome program (described i Sectio 4) provides employmet placemet service, ogoig supports ad etworkig to wome i the costructio trades. The program was modeled o aother successful program called ISTEP (Immigrat Skilled Trades Employmet Program). STEP for Wome is supported with govermet fudig. 98 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

103 A labour iformat i Newfoudlad described a workplace program that is beig ru o a cotract basis by the Carpeters Millwrights Uio to help wome appretices fid the right traiig, to track the umber of female appretices i the provice ad to support wome i achievig iter-provicial joureyperso status. The program icludes a rage of compoets, as described below. There s a huge metorig/coachig compoet for both the employer ad the appretice. There s also a traiig compoet, like health ad safety traiig, but for geder sesitivity. It s for the full provice, from the Labour Market Agreemet for Traiig, which is a federal/provicial agreemet. It s through the Departmet of Educatio. Ecouragig uio membership I oe provice, a associatio iformat described a ew iitiative iteded to get more wome ito uios. Work is beig doe i the ower/cliet commuity. They re tryig to work with uios o a targeted recruitmet to get wome to joi the uio. It s ot formal, like a strategic documet, but there are discussios occurrig. It appears that ower compaies are takig the lead i this type of iitiative. A iformat i a ower compay stated that they work cotiuously with uios ad cotractors to ecourage the hirig of wome Retetio Idustry iformats idetified a umber of idustry practices that have bee itroduced by employers to improve the retetio of wome i the costructio idustry. Employers oted that there is a strog case to be made for a ivestmet of resources i chages to support workforce retetio. As oe labour iformat argued, I m coviced that there s bee a lot of effort wasted o recruitmet because the facilities ad attitudes i the workplace have t bee chaged. Preparatio of wome for costructio workplaces The Wome Buildig Futures program is a example of a program that rigorously prepares wome for the costructio idustry ad provides them with the ogoig supports eeded for them to deal with the challeges of the workplace ad see their appreticeship through to its completio. HR practices Oe iformat who worked i partership with the provicial costructio associatio was employed i a federally fuded program to promote youth employmet. Office space was provided by the associatio; ad this improved this iformat s ability to work ad parter with member employers because he was perceived as someoe affiliated with the associatio. This iformat reported that some compaies are so eager to hire wome that they do ot adequately scree wome applicats. Some compaies flat out will take wome if they apply, period. But we eed good hires, good fits, ad to pla for barriers to promote retetio. Therefore they should be doig pre-screeig ad referece checks. I Saskatchewa, a toolkit is beig itroduced to support costructio employers i the developmet of recruitmet ad good hirig practices. It is hoped that this toolkit will be widely adopted i Caada. The message is if we wat good workers, we have to ivest i people. We are rollig out a four-module toolkit for costructio to support compaies i strategic plaig of the compay re: workforce eeds. Re: recruitig practices, we explai what questios ca be asked based o Huma Rights. We suggest where they ca fid employees at career fairs, resume baks, ad etworkig. 99

104 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio The Saskatchewa toolkit is a huma resources best practice that defies the best compaies as those who: Recogize the importace of HR practices ad have HR staff who work directly with field staff. HR specialists coduct performace evaluatios with seior staff or project maagers to idetify issues ad problems that idicate the eed for support. Coduct a iitial iterview with appretices ad offer a good placemet with a joureyperso who is a good match for the ew employee. This is especially importat for wome. Provide a orietatio meetig to preset the compay profile, clear expectatios, itroduce ew employees to the compay website ad assig them to a perso who will be resposible for them. Have follow-up meetigs ad coduct performace reviews at three ad six moths ad cosult with the employee as to whe they do the school portio of their appreticeship. Idetify ad work through ay problems durig the first meetig with the employee about ay barriers that may eed to be addressed, for example, due to paretig ad trasportatio eeds. Several compaies described the HR practices they use to retai staff. HR tries to meet with female employees, for retetio. We meet with all our employees, but more ofte with the wome because of the cocers. It s ot traditioal, so we have to deal with it. We schedule the process. We d usually meet every four moths. It s formal ad iformal. She the HR perso sits dow with them here or goes osite. We ve also tried some group meetigs, but it s hard to get everyoe together. We ve bee havig idividual meetigs for 20 years. Smaller sized employers are ulikely to have specialized HR staff other tha a ower. Oe small-size employer who has retaied three wome tradespersos for a umber of years described the careful itroductio to the workplace he provides for each ew employee. O the first day I tell them what they ca expect from me ad what I expect of them. I tell them they ca t phoe i sick Moday because they were drikig o the weeked. I pay full beefits ad uderstad that employees eeds days off for sickess if their kids are sick. It s a o-uio shop. I make a special coditio with the oe who is a sigle mom because she is so good ad has a youg child who eeds to get to daycare. I do t allow the wome to shy away from the heavy work. I tell them you re oe of the guys ad you ll do what they do, icludig diggig ditches or whatever else, as eeded. I offer to all that they ca stay with me to joureyperso ad beyod that it s up to them. Workplace respect At the top of the list of practices described by employers who had itroduced chages to icrease the retetio of wome were family-friedly policies ad workplace-respect policies. Oe employer tied workplace respect to professioalizatio. It s tryig to break the boys club attitude. Not everyoe s comfortable just beig oe of the boys. Like at Hiberia 15 year ago. It was about beig able to throw back as good as they gave. Those compaies that have bee successful create a feelig amog the crew that they represet the firms, ad that there are professioal stadards that eed to be adhered to. I kow oe cotractor who fies the guys for swearig. 100 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

105 The Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta (COAA) Respect i the Workplace policy was metioed by a umber of iformats i various provices across Caada. It is available as a toolkit for free dowload o the COAA website. Iformats from five large-size compaies spread out across Caada idicated they were curretly adaptig ad implemetig this policy, or oe like it. We modified the COAA material, which was based o iput from owers, employers, ad uios. We put together a video ad iterviewed a umber of existig staff to get staff s ideas. We itroduced a hotlie oe year ago. It s a cofidetial phoe lie. Complaits get passed to me ad the to the appropriate HR perso. The majority of complaits were from wome, both those received face to face ad aoymously. They were about safety too. The complaits were resolved successfully. Oe employer explaied that i his compay the policy is beig itroduced i a collaborative way to esure broad buy-i. The there s a Respect i the Workplace policy ad traiig program. Agai, it s a collaboratio i the same subcommittee, with the buildig trades uio ad the idustrial costructio associatios. It s based o the COAA model, out i Alberta. We re usig it as best practice. We could do as a ower said, you must do it, but we re workig collaboratively. It s great to have buy-i from the outset. The Respect i the Workplace is i early stages of developmet. A ower idicated that costructio idustry owers are ecouragig employers to adopt the COAA policy ad are payig for traiig. Some owers are also usig the cotract biddig process to require that the policy be adopted. This is expected to have repercussios that will exted eve to the smaller subcotractors. Respect i the Workplace has bee istituted through a partership betwee our compay ad COAA. It is beig implemeted o a project-by-project basis. Employers will implemet because it is required by owers i the biddig process. Small-size employers will be brought i as well through the same process. Family-friedly policies May iformats ackowledge the eed for family-friedly policies. There were ifrequet reports by iformats that i some compaies flexible hours have bee itroduced for workers. Whe this is the case, there may oly be a limited umber of flexible positios available ad itese competitio for them. Oe iformat stated that self-employed sub-cotract employees ca have much more flexibility i their hours. Husbad-ad-wife teams Oe employer i a remote regio of Caada s North also described the success of hirig husbadad-wife teams as a retetio strategy. What I have doe is have husbad-wife teams. It s workig well for us. They go to the same site. They work together. I ve bee doig this for six years ad more people are iterested. Data collectio I a umber of provices, larger employers idicated that they are collectig baselie data o the umber of wome i the costructio trades because of the eed to report o key performace idicators. This is beig doe to assess whether the appreticeship hirig targets stipulated i work cotracts are beig met. These data also provide a baselie from which employer retetio ca be measured. 101

106 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Metorig/etworkig/affiliatio groups A umber of associatio iformats idicated that they had started a wome s group or coucil i their associatio to build opportuities for wome to move ito other roles i the idustry ad to progress i their careers. These affiliatio groups provide wome with opportuities to meet, to etwork ad to lear together. Oe of the groups described offers Gold Seal certificates ad aother periodically orgaizes a coferece for wome. Parterships Parterships are frequetly a compoet of the chages that are attractig broad iterest ad uptake. I New Bruswick, a large-size employer described a collaborative agreemet to improve the attractio ad retetio of wome i osite costructio. It is hoped that such collaborative measures ca be used to cotribute higher rates of appreticeship completio by wome. It s a agreemet of employer associatios, the buildig trades uios, ad idustrial cotractors. It s about how to work together o our costructio site. It covers attractio ad retetio. It s a appedix to all the other collective agreemets. We work collaboratively to develop the labour maagemet stadards ad programs for attractig ad retaiig the ecessary labour, retetio, productivity osite, ad safety. We re settig a appretice ratio stadard, of appretices to joureypersos. I that clause, it says every reasoable effort [will be made] to esure that wome are give appreticeship opportuities. Whe we put out cotracts, it s part of their key performace idicators. They have a commitmet to work toward it, ad it s developed through a committee about how to prepare the workforce for a more diverse labour force. There s bee o egative feedback. Aother partership was described betwee Labour ad the COAA Opportuities for Wome i Costructio project. The partership is still youg. It has two major parts: 1) it works with employers to make sure workplaces accommodate ad welcome wome, geerally ad with site ifrastructure. Respect at work is part of this, which icludes geder, race, religio, disabilities, how to deal with people with respect; ad, 2) it also makes positios available to wome. So the program works with employers Other recommeded chages Idustry iformats provided may ideas for chages to icrease wome s participatio i costructio, particularly i the trades. Some iformats had suggestios about the role employers ca play i itroducig chages to improve the retetio of wome i costructio ad about the roles various other orgaizatios ca play i that chage alog with govermet Icrease supply Sice a good umber of employers do ot believe that the costructio idustry eeds to chage to ecourage a icrease i wome s participatio, it is importat to highlight the fact that the followig suggestios curretly have oly limited buy-i i the idustry. A lot of emphasis was placed i idustry iterviews o the problem of supply, that is, o the iterest of wome i careers i costructio ad i the costructio trades i particular. Experts i idustry see that geder-role stereotypig, the social valuig of a post-secodary degree ad diploma educatio streams over appreticeship ad the correspodig devaluatio of appreticeship traiig have strog egative effects o the iterest of girls ad wome i the costructio trades. May idustry iformats are adamat that the chage that is eeded is less i the costructio idustry ad more i Caadia society i public attitudes, i schools, with teachers ad with guidace cousellors, who are failig to promote career opportuities i the costructio idustry to youth geerally, ad girls specifically. 102 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

107 Recruitmet tools As a meas of stregtheig recruitmet, a associatio iformat recommeded that employers should develop recruitmet tools ad mout them o their websites to allow idividuals male or female to evaluate their iterest i a career i costructio. Icrease pre-employmet traiig Several iformats idicated that there is far more demad for trades traiig tha there are available college seats. I oe commuity college program there is a two-to-three-year waitig list. Icreased pre-employmet traiig was recommeded; ad, employers agreed that without pre-employmet traiig, wome would less likely be hired i costructio because they ofte have had o prior exposure. Chage the image of idustry Regardless of their thoughts about the eed for workplace chages, may iformats agree that the public image of costructio eeds to chage. Most argue that this requires direct cotact with the school system as early as elemetary school i order to reach parets ad youth. May iformats are hopeful that there is a way of effectig chage ad geeratig more iterest by workig through the educatio system to chage the mids of parets, guidace cousellors ad teachers about the appeal of careers i the idustry. The big thig is marketig. We have ot marketed idustry careers properly. We have to uderstad the target audiece better ad go ito forums to reach cousellors ad parets. We ve bee attedig a aual coferece of guidace cousellors for a umber of years ad wat to preset to them. We have to target people ad get our foot i the door. The oly barrier is the guidace cousellors. The big thig is how do you reach youg high school studets. We have to go ito the schools ad promote the idustry to everyoe. I met a youg woma who said she wated to go ito costructio but her parets had forced her to study medicie. Immigrats today do t wat their kids to go ito costructio. They wat them to go ito the high professios, but the trouble is, the high professios are flooded. Whe I go to a commuity college, I m supposed to speak for 20 miutes, ad it s three hours later whe I leave. The iterest is there whe you start to talk. The pre-employmet program is 40 weeks, ad it s got 90 people. It s importat to get out to the high schools. Oce is t eough. We eed to wi over teachers ad the educatio system. It s a cultural shift that the trades are okay. Several employers suggested that the image of the trades as a vocatio of last resort must be replaced with public represetatios of work i the costructio idustry as a career of which both compaies ad idividuals are very proud. 103

108 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Aother suggestio from some iformats was that the costructio idustry must lear to positio itself to attract youg workers. A umber of idustry iformats workig i youth employmet programs are clearly buildig kowledge i this area that could be useful to the idustry at large. May iformats still argued that messagig to chage the image of the idustry must, most importatly, reach parets. Advertisig campaigs are ot eough. The attetio spa of kids today is less tha a secod. Advertisig has o impact. For example, whe WCB played safety ads i the movie theatres kids watchig laughed; they thought the ads were fuy. We have to fid ad educate parets ad get the message across that a career i costructio pays, is log term, ad has a future. May employers argued that efforts are eeded to covey to the public that costructio is a career path with may opportuities for promotio, specializatio, further educatio ad self-employmet. It s the image that costructio is t a place to go uless there s owhere else. That s a huge moutai to overcome i the idustry. You make a good livig, ad it s a lot of fu, a great future. We have to explai that simply because you trai as a pipefitter, you do t have to work o the tools for 40 years, ad you ca still work i costructio, ad eter buyig, procuremet, eve ower. Lots of opportuities exist. It s simplistic, but a lot of youg people do t realize it. They thik, weld for 40 years, but you re able to pursue other thigs. Idustry iformats agreed that geder stereotypes pose a eormous barrier that works agaist their efforts to chage the image of the costructio idustry for girls ad wome. Uio hirig Oe associatio iformat argued that uios are i a strog positio to cotribute to chage eve though, historically, they have ot targeted specific populatios for membership. There s the hirig hall. The uio has to hire wome. They might have a fair amout of cotrol. Uios have led the way i a lot of social chage. They might be able to ifluece thigs faster. Uios eed to rejig membership itake practices to idetify ad grow certai groups: wome, Aborigial peoples, ad a variety of others. Uios have prided themselves o ot discrimiatig. So whe there s a discussio about wome i the workplace, the uios say we do t discrimiate. The labour movemet ever really had this issue because they did t create it. So if employers thik there are ot eough wome i the workplace, they hire wome, ad the they re i the uio, usually three moths probatio. Idustry actio Idustry iformats were cofidet that the costructio idustry will take a straightforward actio-orieted approach to these issues to make chages happe. Some iformats suggested that it is importat to make use of media, icludig associatio uio websites ad ewsletters, ad the Costructio Sector Coucil s etwork. Others proposed that the idustry should come together ad wage a log-term media campaig of its ow to work o the problem of supply Icrease demad Madate chage Owers advocated for the adoptio by employers of a key performace idicator that would require the hirig of wome to be tracked agaist a established bechmark. 104 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

109 Chage idustry attitudes May employers stated that idustry attitudes eed to chage i order for more wome to be give a chace to eter the idustry. Oe associatio iformat suggested that it will take a lot of work to chage idustry attitudes. Recruitmet is oe thig, but the barriers eed to be addressed first. We eed a chage model for the attitudes of employers ad the workplace ad tradespersos. There s a stereotype about what costructio is, ad that it s male domiated. Most have come through the trades, as I have, ad it s really sigificatly male domiated. Attitudes i the career path eed adjustig for employers ad workers. We eed results-based programs to chage attitudes. It s a huge udertakig. Hire more wome i maagemet roles Oe employer recommeded that more wome must be selected for supervisory roles i costructio, observig that this appears to make it easier for ew wome who are hired. I have bee i HR for 35 years i costructio. The presece of female tradespersos ad wome i safety ad wome supervisors is recet. With a umber i there, it makes it easier for the ext oe to come alog Promote workplace chage to improve retetio Leadership Oe of the iformats employed i a larger compay expressed that employers have a key role to play i makig chages i this area. As oe iformat saw it, Costructio idustry employers eed to take a leadership role. Offer traiig for maagers. Become flexible workplaces. Idetify the top employers for wome. Offer daycare subsidies ad cocierge services (help arrage appoitmets, daycare, care for elderly parets). Structured traiig i appreticeship Iformats recommed that appreticeship traiig be more structured, with more guaratees that the appretices will be give the opportuities they eed to advace i their trade. If it does t have a prove traiig path, it s harder to succeed for all, but especially for wome. Say I work i a steel mill. Ad there is t the greatest traiig, but I get by because I m oe of the guys. For a woma, if there s o structure, there s a discoect, a geder gap. She ll have a harder time gettig to the poit I got to because there s o traiig method. Whe there s structure ad it s followed, there s more metorig ad oversight. Tool to assess wome-friedly workplaces The developmet of a tool was recommeded for employers, to allow the evaluatio of busiess practices from wome s perspective, somethig like a self-assessmet tool that allows a employer to ask, are we woma-friedly? We eed to become more flexible i the workplace for wome with kids by offerig part-time work ad part-time beefits. We just did that last year. We have oe woma who oly works part-time, 9 to 2:30 pm. Several iformats ackowledged that family-friedly policies are thought of as accommodatios for wome oly because wome typically assume a uequal share of the resposibility for childcare. We ve become a coutry with a huge umber of sigle parets, male or female, families. We have to accommodate that. Aroud here, costructio ever 105

110 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio accommodated the employee, though it does more today. Like overtime, it does t work today with ay of the youg people. They recogize that there s life outside of work. I have three fathers who are sigle parets, ad oe woma. I accommodate that. It does t really take aythig. If aythig, because of the flexibility, they give us more, though that s ot why we do it. It s as simple as recogizig that it s a sow day. The daycare ad the school are closed, but the job site s ope. Billy Bob calls ad says it s a sow day, the kids are t i school, I have to stay home. That s ew to us i the idustry. With our media age, it s the two-paret family, ad dad goes to work. Nothig coclusive was said about daycare, although it was raised several times, ad oe iformat recommeded that employers should provide supports to wome i locatig daycare. Aother argued that the labour pool is reduced whe employers igore the childcare issues of parets, icludig wome. Do costructio jobs have daycare? Is it the resposibility of employers to provide that? To date there has t bee a willigess to go there. So married wome with o kids or sigle wome with o kids ed up beig the pool for idustrial costructio. Address work coditios that affect wome May employers today are ackowledgig ad grapplig with the kow barriers wome face i costructio workplaces. May of the iformats iterviewed recogize the issues at stake clearly. Most compaies wo t have supports i place. There is a feelig that wome wat to be treated like me so there is o support structure. Costructio idustry eeds to seriously address chages i employmet coditios that affect wome. For example, most of our costructio sites have outdoor toilets, limited access to commuicatio, ad do t uderstad yet why they must accept wome goig home or comig i late i order to take care of a sick child. There s washroom accommodatios. As crude as it souds, costructio me typically accommodate a lot more tha wome. We had to ope our eyes, that we had a wash car with five toilets for 100 persos. We eeded pla B. Whe you see 2% i the hard trades, that s a small umber we have to accommodate. There s a cost, but it s ot huge. It is difficult to draw a coclusio based o the iterviews about whether the age of costructio co-workers is tied to the treatmet of wome o costructio work sites. Certaily, may employers suggested that it is older male tradespersos ad older me i uios who are resistig chage ad holdig oto old attitudes that exclude wome. Geerally speakig, youger owers ad youger costructio workers are much more acceptig of wome i costructio workplaces tha the older geeratio. Some of the wome who participated i the focus groups argued that they foud some older me very supportive ad less competitive toward them because they kow that there is o threat or competitio for their jobs. 106 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

111 Educatio Age aside, educatio about workplace respect policy is the key measure recommeded by iformats to chage the attitudes of employers ad uio members. It s about preparig the workforce with sesitivity traiig, ot just about geder. There s Respect i the Workplace. We have to prepare the existig workforce for the ijectio of ay ew populatio wome, Aborigial people, people from other coutries, ad so o. Existig employees eed to prepare ad uderstad. Wome comig i eed awareess of what the workplace is like. Both sides eed to be aware. Ad aware of the appropriate protocol. So cultural sesitivity traiig. Geeric approach Employers emphasized strogly ad may times i the iterviews that whe workplace policies are itroduced they must ot target wome. Our policy is meat to be geder eutral. Workplace Respect Policy is ope to all. The beefits of differet schemes part-time ad full-time are for everyoe. Materity leave has bee topped up. Whe they come back after materity leave, they have to be i the same or i a higher-level positio. We do t favour oe geder over aother. Take affirmative actio i the U.S. to assure that Blacks were hired. Oe Africa America said it was the worst thig they could have doe because it was ot well received by co-workers ad if a idividual failed, they wrecked the whole program. May iformats stated that employers must put the practices i place to demostrate the value placed o employees ad employers commitmet to workplace respect ad safety Needed supports for chage Whe asked, may iformats had o suggestios about the supports idustry may eed to itroduce to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry. This is cosistet with the fact that may employers believe that the key problem is oe of supply, ad that chages i idustry are ot ecessary Busiess case for diversity A umber of the employers iterviewed proposed that it would to helpful to develop ad to promote the busiess case for hirig wome i costructio. 8 Employers made a umber of suggestios to support their argumet that there is a busiess case for hirig wome. A umber of employers argued that the preparatio ad hirig of wome helps to esure that demad for labour i the costructio idustry ca be met domestically. Some employers argued also that it is a competitive advatage for workplaces to hire wome because this icreases the rage of viewpoits available ad ca raise the stadards of the workplace. I thik that it s good for the trades, I really do. For the balace of the job site. Say, i project maagers. We re missig out o a lot of good mids. Like wome i egieerig. Where were those mids goig to before? We eed to ope it up to good people. Aother employer stated that, the way he saw it, Costructio is a guy s world so whe a woma shows she ca do somethig as well or better the guys are challeged, they wat to be as good or better. It s competitio. 8 The Hypatia Associatio (Armour, Carmody ad Clark, 2006) produced a report titled, I the picture, a future with diversity (vol. 3) based o the fidigs of a literature review, focus groups, ad iterviews that were coducted to build a resource book of workplace strategies aimed at buildig a diverse workplace. 107

112 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio From a cost perspective, other employers offered that they saw o egative ecoomics based o hirig wome over me. Oe stated, The accommodatio we re makig is for the youger workers. For time off ivolvig wome, for the doctor or March break, we accommodate. There s o cost to schedulig. Accommodatio costs are miimal. Puttig a wall i the wash car, there s o moey i that to speak of. Some disagreemet was voiced about the eed to develop a busiess case for the hirig of wome. The busiess case for hirig wome is ca you do the job? If you ca, your geder does t matter. There may still be some diosaurs aroud who disagree but ot me i my geeratio ad youger Leadership The eed for chage champios was emphasized by a small umber of iformats who argued that idustry ower compaies should take leadership i hirig ad i workplace chage, usig cotractual obligatios as a mechaism to promote chage. Two iformats discussed this as follows: We eed to amed the paradigm. We eed strog workforce policy to be adopted across the board. We eed a zero tolerace policy to disrespect show to ayoe. This is about Respect i the Workplace best practice guidelies, which COAA has developed. This is a tested guidelie, which icludes a traiig program. Uptake by employers typically this ca oly happe at the isistece of owers who brig the program i ad admiister it. It eeds to be madated, just like safety is madated ad supported by legislatio. So I thik cliets, the owers, eed to drive policies ad measures, ad to hold the idustry to accout to grow the populatio [of wome]. For example, say we wat to double the size i the ext three years. We eed to be prepared to fud that, directly or idirectly. What that looks like is, for oe, is beig willig to pay for the cotractor to brig a first-year appretice osite ad trai them. It s oe thig to say trai them, but ot o my site The role of stakeholders Idustry associatios The suggestio was made for employers to joi ad get ivolved i their associatios ad i iitiatives that are beig promoted by their associatios. Parterships May iformats recommeded multilateral parterships betwee govermet, associatios, the Appreticeship Board, educatioal istitutios, commuity agecies ad idustry stakeholders. Employers called for cotiued support for commuity-based orgaizatios to promote the icreased iclusio of wome i costructio. The recommedatio was made for employers to get ivolved with youth ad with wome through these orgaizatios The role of govermet Oe iformat proposed that govermet could help by makig fuds available to sed kow ad trusted employees out for educatio. Aother iformat described how durig the recessio there had bee a surplus of admiistrative staff who were wome. Istead of beig made redudat, these wome were offered the opportuity to trai i heavy equipmet operatio. The wome accepted ad the effort was so successful that, at that operatio, i 2005, there were 23% female heavy equipmet operators. 108 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

113 Icetives Some iformats stated that employers eed the help of govermet to brig about workplace chages. As oe said, We ca t do it ourselves. We ve bee tryig. Although may iformats were i favour of hirig icetives, opiios were mixed. Oe iformat suggested the various forms this might take. If there was some fiacial beefit to hirig wome it would help, yes. Moey, if it s ot abused, ca make a differece. There could be tax beefits, ad recogitio. There could be programs that provide moey for daycare, subsidies [for] daycare paid to the wome or subsidies to employers to provide childcare (where applicable). Programs could beefit the employee. There could be programs that sposor traiig, or pay for tools, work boots, trasportatio, or the iterim licese for those with lower icome; the expese of etry-level equipmet ca be a barrier for some. Ifrastructure would be eeded to maage all this. Oe employer made metio of the fact that tax icetives would ot work as well for compaies reliat o the uio for hirig. Tax breaks are a good icetive to hire wome as appretices over other people. But hirig is cotrolled by the uios i uio shops. Where I am it s mostly o-uioized so icetives could have a effect. Oe employer disagreed with the idea of fudig icetives, sayig, It does t seem to drive a lot of chage i idustry, just look at appreticeships. Aother employer suggested a cost-sharig approach based o a partership betwee govermet ad idustry. Wage subsidizatio The other approach that was suggested to boost the hirig of wome i costructio was wage subsidizatio. Re: subsidies, that s a very importat part of the reasos for hirig wome. They re ot as experieced as me i the trade. You could hire them for the first three moths, ad give them a chace to prove themselves. Wome gai experiece ad hours for their jourey certificate, ad to kow where she lacks experiece ad what to work o. Maybe the federal govermet could pay more to get the experiece, cover their full wage for three moths i the higher-payig occupatios. Support for educatio Several iformats argued the eed for fudig for local associatios to help them expad their educatioal work i schools. Associatios have limited fuds because they are paid by members dues. Idustry could help tremedously to do some educatio by visitig schools. But employers ad builders are busy. It s ot easy for them to take time to do this. Icetives to support that would help. Associatios ca help. If idustry were more ivolved, it could help. If idustry was compesated for helpig out it would be better tha throwig moey at programs that do t work. But for-profits are ot eligible for lots of fudig, that s a barrier. If there was moey available, we could do more PR (X days per moth). We could make sure that the imagiatio of youth was sparked so they start thikig about the possibilities ad sayig, I ca see myself doig this job ad lovig it. It s this ecouragemet of the possibilities that is missig. Career compaies are i the busiess of traiig. The imagiatio is ot beig egaged. The educatio of uio members ad employees o the Respect i the Workplace policy is aother potetially expesive propositio. Oe iformat suggested that Huma Resources ad Skills 109

114 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Developmet Caada (HRSDC) could provide or pay for the traiig of uio members by perhaps settig up a group of traiers who could go to workplaces ad itroduce huma resources ad workplace respect good practices. I wat to see the uios admiister the traiig to every oe of their members. They would eed to make it a madatory part of iitiatio ad to backfill with existig members. Some key players i Caada have t bought i completely. The reasos why it s ot happeig i uios ad cotractors are time, the mapower, or the traiig Coordiatio ad cotiued fudig Oe iformat suggested that it would be helpful if there could be more coordiatio of all the iitiatives that are spread out across the coutry. Oe associatio iformat said that all of the various programs i Caada are fuded separately ad oe of them receives eough fudig. Cotiued fudig of programs makig a differece is crucial Forums for employers to share best practice Amog may of the iformats iterviewed, ot much was kow about practices that exist to icrease retetio i costructio workplaces. As oe associatio iformat put it, retetio comes dow to the idividual employer. There are programs to itroduce youg wome to the trades, but I have t heard a lot about successful retetio programs. Several iformats suggested that employers i the idustry eed to exchage best practices. Oe iformat said that, I m ot sure what chages are eeded i the area of hirig but, if someoe gave us ideas, we might try them. 5.3 Key fidigs: iterviews with idustry iformats Wome s represetatio i skilled trades ad costructio maagemet Most employer, associatio ad labour iformats had ot observed ay sigificat icrease i the percetage of wome employed i the costructio trades. Most employer, associatio ad labour iformats had observed growth i wome s represetatio i costructio maagemet occupatios, but ot as forepersos. Most of the micro- ad small-size employers (up to 99 employees) iterviewed did ot employ ay wome tradespersos. Most medium- ad large-size employers (100 or more employees) employed some wome tradespersos (1% to 10%), with higher rates of wome employed i medium-size compaies. Small- ad medium-size employers i a few cases employed wome i osite costructio maagemet, but all of the large-size compaies employed wome i osite maagemet positios (the rage was 1% to 30%). 110 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

115 5.3.2 Limited supply Barriers that limit the success of efforts to icrease supply Educatioal ad career pathways Youth are ot beig itroduced early eough to the trades. The educatioal pathways that should be coectig youth with career opportuities i the trades are geerally weak for youth. Eve whe these pathways are workig, they are ot workig as well for girls. Costructio idustry careers, the trades i particular, are ot beig represeted accurately to youth ad to parets as careers with progressio opportuities over the lifespa. Stereotypes Negative stereotypes of work i the costructio idustry as dirty ad discrimiatory toward wome limit the iterest of wome i costructio. Geder stereotypes cotiue to pose a sigificat barrier to the successful promotio of costructio careers to girls ad wome, particularly to girls Strategies ad good practices to icrease supply Promote careers i costructio Some idustry employers ad may associatios are very ivolved i ogoig work promotig costructio careers to studets at high schools, colleges ad trade fairs. The local efforts of costructio associatios to promote careers i costructio to high school ad college studets are reportedly showig local results. There were o reports of activity to promote careers i the trades to uiversity studets. Affect public perceptio of careers i costructio Fight the stigma of the trades as secod-class occupatios. A umber of approaches to trades professioalizatio are beig developed i Caada. There are mixed opiios about the costs ad beefits of some of these approaches, but the key ratioale for them is that professioalizatio will help promote the trades ad improve the skilled labour force. Fix broke educatioal ad career pathways A accurate uderstadig of occupatios i costructio as careers with lifelog career progressio opportuities must be promoted to girls ad to youth, parets ad wome. Rebuild pathways to the trades by chagig the image of the idustry held by those i the educatio system, which is failig to promote the trades to youth (particularly to girls) effectively. Careers i costructio should be itroduced to youth o later tha Grade 8. Expose youth to costructio careers (taster experieces) I Nova Scotia, a project likig employers with high schools to provide high school studets with a work experiece i costructio respods to the uique challeges faced by girls i the costructio idustry. Same-sex metors are provided for girls ad geder-specific metorig support is give to employers. This is a appreticeship ad work co-op good practice. 111

116 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Use recruitmet tools Recruitmet tools could be mouted o employers websites to eable prospective employees to evaluate their iterest i work i various occupatios i the costructio idustry. Prepare for employmet i the idustry Icrease the pre-employmet traiig available to wome. Parter with orgaizatios May types of parterships were described to support a icrease i the participatio of wome i costructio. Parterships are beig forged betwee employers, associatios, commuity-based wome s orgaizatios, colleges ad sometimes with labour orgaizatios. Utilize idustry stregths Haress the highly developed capacity of labour uios to itroduce ad to promote progressive chage to the area of recruitmet ad hirig. Utilize the costructio idustry s propesity to take practical actio to make the chages that are eeded o these issues Limited demad Barriers that limit demad Perceptios of wome s abilities Biases i hirig limit the hirig of wome i costructio, particularly i the trades. May idustry iformats agreed that most wome are suited to the lighter trades based o physical demads ad o workig coditios. May idustry iformats suggested that wome have uique abilities that make them a good fit with costructio maagemet occupatios ad occupatios like safety ispectio. It is ot kow from this research whether this is limitig the hirig ad retetio of wome or causig them to be promoted more ofte tha their male couterparts, or both. May iformats stated that residetial ad commercial costructio sites are workplaces that are more suitable for wome ad provide better traiig opportuities for wome. Strategies ad capacity for chage Employers with a active ageda to hire more wome appear to be doig so, but most employers do ot have a strategy to icrease the hirig of wome. May employers do ot see the recruitmet of wome to the idustry as their resposibility. The majority of associatios ad labour orgaizatios are ot ivolved i practices to icrease wome s hirig or retetio i the idustry. Small employers lack the HR ifrastructure to support the recruitmet of o-traditioals. A barrier to the hirig of more wome i uioized shops is that the availability of uioized wome is subject to uio bylaws ad to the wome represeted by uios. Availability of data to measure chage Workforce compositio data were available from most employers but ot from most costructio associatios or uios. 112 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

117 Strategies ad good practices to icrease demad Employer-uio parterships for chage Oly oe iformat described a partership that was formed betwee a employer ad a labour uio to icrease the umber of wome uio members. Cotributio of associatios Some associatios have itroduced wome s affiity groups to build opportuities for wome to etwork ad to move ito other idustry roles. Developmet ad sharig of good practices A umber of provicial costructio associatios have take the lead i developig good practices to promote the employmet ad retetio of wome. These practices have, i some cases, bee packaged i a format (for example, olie) that allows them to be made available for adoptio across the coutry. Some larger employers have itroduced a system to track the hirig of wome to moitor ad report o their hirig performace. Idustry readiess Accordig to idustry iformats, the reluctace of employers to hire wome must chage for the participatio of wome to icrease sigificatly. The busiess case for diversity, icludig the hirig of wome, eeds to be developed, i particular, that there are miimal costs ad also competitive advatages to doig so. Hirig strategies Idustry iformats maitaied that a active recruitmet strategy is eeded to icrease the hirig of wome. Some iformats argued for madatory icreases i hirig. Opiio was much divided o hirig quotas. May believe this will ot lead to the hirig of wome who will be retaied by the idustry. The retetio of wome should be cosidered a key performace idicator. Icetives to employers would be most helpful if they were based o the retetio of wome, rather tha just o the hirig of wome. Use of key idicators Employer trackig ad reportig of the umber of wome hired ad retaied is eeded to measure progress toward the goal of icreasig the represetatio of wome i costructio. Workplace hirig ad HR policies The hirig of more wome i costructio maagemet is recommeded based o merit ad experiece, ot o geder aloe. The promotio of idustry-specific HR good practices is recommeded. This icludes hirig based o appropriate screeig practices ad ot just o geder Workplace coditios ad retetio Barriers to workplace chage Idustry ackowledgemet of workplace ad employmet coditios that affect wome Some idustry iformats observed that wome eter the trades but most do ot stay for loger tha five years or make them careers. 113

118 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Idustry iformats disagreed about whether there are workplace problems of bullyig ad harassmet targetig wome. High rates of turover of wome i the costructio trades were attributed to wome leavig to start families ad iflexible workplaces that made it difficult for them to retur. Cost Some employers idicated that some of the chages that are eeded to accommodate wome (for example separate washrooms) ca be achieved at a miimum of expese. Workplace policies It appears that very few employers have developed HR practices to retai wome employees Strategies ad good practices for improvemet i workplace coditios ad retetio Exposure to costructio workplaces Most idustry iformats expressed that wome eed exposure to work i costructio workplaces to establish i advace whether the coditios will be tolerable. Appropriate preparatio of wome for idustry workplaces Programs that prepare wome for appreticeship ofte also icorporate preparatio for the hadlig of work coditios after wome are hired. The Wome Buildig Futures program i Alberta is see by idustry i that provice as doig a successful job of this. Assessmet of workplaces Tools exist that ca be used by employers to assess the friedliess of workplaces to wome. Employer buy-i for workplace chages to icrease wome s represetatio is ot assured. Employers do ot all agree that wome s represetatio would be icreased if there were chages made i idustry workplaces. Idustry ad workplace chage strategy Some iformats argued that champios are eeded to lead chage ad that idustry owers are well positioed to take o this role usig cotractual obligatios to madate chages with smaller employers. A geeric approach to workplace chage is ecessary to avoid backlash toward wome. Employees must all be educated ad also egaged i workplace chage. Workplace policies Good HR practices specific to the costructio idustry are beig developed i Saskatchewa. They will be published as a toolkit ad made widely available. Some large employers are itroducig workplace respect policies. The COAA Respect i the Workplace policy has bee adopted or adapted by a umber of large costructio compaies across Caada. Not may examples were reported of family-friedly workplace policies ad practices; however, whe such allowaces were referred to, they did ot exted to all employees. Iovative approaches Employers who hire husbad-ad-wife teams fid this is a successful practice that helps to retai wome (for example i Norther Caada). 114 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

119 5.3.5 Supports for chage Forums to share best practices Some employers called for a forum for the sharig of best practices. There were calls for more trackig ad coordiatio of the iitiatives that are beig developed i differet jurisdictios across the coutry. Idustry associatios are a ready etwork for sharig iformatio about good practices. It was recommeded that employers all get ivolved with their local idustry associatios Parterships There appears to be a tred toward the use of multi-stakeholder parterships i support of ew developmets i recruitmet ad hirig practices, workplace respect ad strategies for retetio. Idustry iformats stated that it is importat for employers to cotiue to support existig commuity orgaizatios that prepare wome for work i the costructio idustry ad develop strategies to promote their iclusio Fudig To help reduce the costs of educatio i ew workplace policies, the govermet could provide fudig for a team of traier/educators that could be called upo to provide educatio to employers. Hirig icetives are geerally well regarded, but some employers war that they ca be abused. Fudig could be provided to allow employers to build their workforce by sedig trusted employees out for educatio istead of just rewardig ew hires. Wage subsidizatio was recommeded to support the hirig of wome appretices. Icetives could be provided by govermet to ecourage the provisio of daycare ad other beefits to employees. The cotiued fudig of iitiatives that are already i place across Caada was recommeded. 115

120 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio 5.4 Perspectives of wome workig i costructio I this sectio of the report, the focus group results are reported ad recommedatios are offered based o those results Number of wome i costructio Whe asked about the umber of other wome they worked with, about half of the 32 focus group participats reported they curretly did ot work with ay other wome. Oe participat said that, after 20 years o the job, she was still the oly woma out of 85 tradespeople. Aother stated that her experieces were more varied, ad the compaies she had worked for over time had employed betwee oe woma ad 25% wome. There was discussio amog participats about whether there are more wome workig i some types of costructio, but o coclusios were reached. Oe participat who worked i ifrastructure reported that a very small umber of wome work i highway maiteace. Some participats said there are more wome i commercial costructio tha idustrial costructio because idustrial is a bit harder to break ito ad tougher o wome. Participats shared experieces about how wome are treated i various types of costructio. Oe participat i idustrial costructio reported that, o every ew project she works o, it takes a quarter of the me more tha a moth to speak to her like I m a huma. Every ew project her compay takes meas facig this challege agai. She does ot have this problem with threequarters of the me o her compay s crew, however. Aother participat said that idustrial costructio is extremely hard for me as well. Oe participat argued that idustrial ad commercial costructio sites are difficult workplaces for wome. She described a experiece o a commercial costructio site whe a male co-worker said somethig about aother woma o the job site. Look, there s aother *! ad *! over there. He said, why do t you go over ad talk to her, you must be ucomfortable. Ad I had to grit my teeth because it s a hour-ad-a-half drive out of there with him ad othig but woods so I could t say what I wated to say. I gritted my teeth ad I said, I m ot ucomfortable, are you? Some other participats who were employed i commercial ad idustrial costructio said they had o egative experieces like those described. Some participats suggested that residetial costructio may offer wome a more positive experiece; oe participat spoke about her experieces with teat improvemet, observig that the me with whom she worked i teat improvemet were more polite tha those i residetial costructio Scrutiy May participats described the pressure of the scrutiy uder which they work as wome o costructio work sites because of their small umber. O the job, wome i the trades said they were very aware that their performace had repercussios for other wome. They explaied that, whe you mess up, every time aother woma comes alog, the employers say, Oh, we had aother woma ad it did t work out. Some said they met the challege to represet other wome with pride Workig with other wome Some of the participats i the focus groups actually worked together o job sites. Oe female tradesperso who worked i a small residetial costructio compay described how well she got alog with two other wome who worked for her compay, although they all had very differet styles i the workplace. Aother participat expressed that whe she had oce worked with a experieced woma for a period, this other woma was able to poit out to her whe the me were takig advatage of her o the job. This was ot oly helpful, she felt safer i the workplace 116 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

121 due to the presece of this more experieced woma. Aother participat described how she had appealed to her employer ot to lay a female co-worker off before that co-worker had eared the hours she eeded to apply to joi the uio. A umber of wome also voiced their itolerace of wome i the workplace who took too much of a iterest i the male workers, dressed provocatively or acted helpless, for example, by askig for help carryig their tools. Oe participat idicated that their reputatios were threateed by this sort of behaviour o the job. This highlighted the fact that ot all wome who come oto costructio job sites are prepared for the expectatios of both the me ad the wome employed there. Some participats i the British Columbia focus groups were aware of the call for a critical mass of up to 15% of wome o costructio work sites. Opiios were mixed about the value of workig with other wome i costructio workplaces. Oe participat stated workig with other wome did ot make ay differece to her, sice she became a welder i part because she relates better to me. Oe participat said she had etered the trades because she did ot wat to work with wome. Aother said that she had worked o jobs where half the employees were wome ad other jobs where almost oe of the employees were wome, ad she did ot otice the differece Why wome s participatio is ot icreasig more sigificatly Focus group participats discussed the reasos why the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades is ot icreasig more sigificatly Supply Geder stereotypes May of the participats agreed that geder stereotypes ad lack of iformatio had preveted them from learig about o-traditioal occupatios i their youth. Participats argued that i some regios of the coutry geder stereotypes are stroger. Oe participat gave the followig example to illustrate how peer pressure reiforces geder stereotypes: I very particularly talk to the girls about, girls, this is a job for you. Ad usually, if they re stadig close to a boy, they blush, they drop their head, ad they wo t eve egage. So somehow, i high school, it is ot acceptable. Ad I wat to say, do you kow how much moey you ca make? How good of a life you ca have for yourself, if you chaged your idea of what is acceptable for wome to do? Weak pathways to careers i costructio May participats reported that they had ot bee made aware of career opportuities i the costructio idustry or i the trades i their youth, or had they had ay iformatio about how to eter these careers. May were ever told about opportuities i costructio whe they were i high school. Participats spoke about how difficult it had bee to get ito high school shop classes. Oe participat explaied how importat her high school shop classes had bee to her decisio to eter the trades, despite the fact that her istructor did ot ecourage her. Oe participat commeted that because her high school marks were high, it was simply assumed she would go to uiversity. Participats objected to the fact that the trades are treated as a path for idividuals who do ot go to uiversity or choose a prestigious professio. They emphasized that it is ecessary to build respect for the trades ad recogitio of the educatio, skills ad itelligece that are eeded to work i the trades. There was some discussio about the importat role played by parets i steerig their childre alog various educatioal ad career pathways. Oe participat talked about the fact that her parets had actively discouraged her from a career i the trades because they did ot wat her to be blue collar. It was oly i mid-adulthood, whe she was free to decide for herself, that she 117

122 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio decided to take up a trade. Aother said that her mother had ecouraged her to fid out about college programs whe she was at a loss i choosig a career, ad this was how she came to fid out about careers i the trades for wome. Need for more public visibility Some participats spoke about how, o the rare occasios whe they had bee visible to the public, it drew attetio because of the very small umber of wome i the trades. Oe commeted o the importace of this kid of public exposure for icreasig the umber of wome i the idustry. However, participats discussed the fact that work i costructio always takes place behid the scees. This makes it difficult for the public ad youg wome to see that there are wome workig i the costructio trades ad that these careers are a optio for them too. Participats recommeded that wome tradespersos should visit schools to speak ad be see by youg people. Educatio ad traiig Some of the participats who etered the trades at a older age foud i-class learig to be more difficult tha learig o the job because they had bee out of school for some time. This was eve true for some who had doe very well i high school. Oe participat idicated that oe of her i-class istructors had told her she should t bother with the trades. Aother appretice s istructor told her that she was takig a ma s positio. May idicated, however, that they had ot had ay egative experieces with their istructors ad that the istructors had always stood behid them Demad Discrimiatio i hirig Participats more ofte described cases of discrimiatory practice i hirig for costructio jobs. Oe participat said that eve very strog wome cadidates who applied for work at her compay did ot get hired. They speculated that employers thik wome will be more trouble tha me. A participat described the bias they had observed i hirig this way: I thik there are still a lot of employers out there, small busiesses, large busiesses, all over the place, that still, if they had a buch of resumes come i to apply for a positio they re more iclied to choose a ma for that positio tha a woma. Eve if the woma is more qualified, more fittig, more suited, completely capable, they re goig to be more iclied to choose a ma. Discrimiatio i hirig is sometimes based o the idea that me should be the family breadwiers. The followig icidet was described by oe participat to illustrate: I had a employer, my first day o the job, take me i to his office, close the door, without my uio rep, ad say to me, how do you feel about takig the food out of some ma s family s mouths? Ad I looked at him ad I said, well, I m a sigle paret. Who do you thik feeds my family? Well, he says, you re a woma. You could have a ma support you. More tha oe participat said she had bee asked durig hirig whether she was plaig to have childre, which is a illegal questio to ask durig a job iterview. Oe was asked about this i the six-moth probatio period. Aother participat said that whe she was iterviewed to joi a uio, she was asked about her plas to have childre ad was told about a female appretice who had damaged her appreticeship by gettig pregat. Participats reported that discrimiatio i hirig is sometimes also expressed i the assumptios made about the motivatio of wome seekig work o costructio sites. Participats agreed that may costructio employers believe that wome apply for work i costructio because they are lookig for husbads. A further variatio o this theme is the fact that several small-size employers told prospective employees that their wives did ot wat them to hire a woma. 118 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

123 Geder-based hirig Some participats said they kew employers who had begu hirig wome because they thought they would be good workers. Oe woma reported that she was hired because her compay had become so frustrated with ureliable employees that they decided to hire a woma. Aother participat reported that she was the first woma hired by her compay ad because the compay saw she was a hard worker, they hired the ext several wome who applied. However, all of these wome were either termiated or left the compay, which illustrated that simply hirig wome just o the basis that they are wome is ot sufficiet. O the oe had, these stories are positive because they reflect the fact that the attitudes of some employers ca chage. However, participats worried about this, perhaps because of their vulerability as the oly woma o the work site. As oe participat put it, The fact that we re wome is secodary to the fact that we do a good job. Aother participat described how a employer had termiated aother woma just short of the employmet period required to apply for uio membership. Others i the group observed that it looks good for employers to hire wome, eve if they do t keep them because it appears as though they made a effort. This could coceivably be a way of beatig cotractual requiremets to hire wome, if wome are hired but ot retaied. This is the reaso that it is importat to have the retetio of wome reflected as a key performace idicator. Hirig of appretices Woma appretices face specific challeges i fidig employers to hire them. Oe participat described the difficulty she had i tryig to fid work i the early years of her appreticeship, ad explaied that she had oly worked four moths i the first year. The cyclical ature of work i costructio ca add to the challeges of securig employmet. As well, if a appretice has a difficult time i oe compay ad tries to fid aother employer, they might have a difficult time gettig rehired. This may be more difficult i small commuities where employers kow each other. Uio hirig halls Opiios o ad experieces with the fairess of hirig practices i uios varied amog participats. May stated that uio hirig halls worked fairly well ad that their uios had served them well i fidig employmet, with oe participat reportig that she had ever bee uemployed because the uio has always foud her work. Oe woma oted that her uio had also stepped i o her behalf whe she ecoutered ufair hirig ad lay-off practices at her site. Some participats thought that wome were less likely to be set out o jobs ad more likely to sit o the hirig list. I oe group, sigificat egative experieces with uios were described by a umber of participats, who declared that they had ecoutered so much sexism i uios that they did ot pla to joi a uio. The other factor that iflueced wome s desire to belog to a uio was whether the uio had eough work for members or whether more work was goig to o-uio workers. 119

124 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Oe participat described the sese of exclusio she experieced i uios i the followig way: It s the brotherhood still. Ad they re keepig it that way. They say all the right political thigs but they do t act o it. Whe you go to apply you might as well have tossed it i their garbage ca Workplace retetio Participats discussed the impact that egative workplace experieces have o the retetio of wome i costructio. Oe participat stated that quittig is sometimes the oly optio. Sometimes you actually have to quit. You do. There s just othig to do. You ca try to deal with it. You ca try to talk with your ext perso up, your supervisor or forema, but they might be like whatever, ad really this is a huge reality that wome ed up quittig, ot cotiuig with trades because it really just is ihospitable. Aother woma said that harassmet was the reaso that she left her first trade. Participats discussed how much they ejoyed their trades but that people beig iappropriate all the time is stressful ad wears wome i the trades dow. There was strog agreemet amog B.C. participats that the idustry is ihospitable, ad ot just for wome. Participats agreed that this also affects the retetio of me i the idustry. They do the same thig to the guys that they do to us. I ve watched them shred guys o site ad I ve stood back ad goe, He s a ice guy, what s wrog with you guys. I ve watched guys walk away from this job, too, because of it. Opiio was divided about how the age of male co-workers affects the difficulties wome experiece o costructio job sites. Some participats said they foud it was easier to work with youger me because they are more acceptig of wome i costructio. Oe participat suggested that this is because youger me are more used to seeig wome o job sites. Aother participat said she foud it easier workig with older me sice youger me may be i competitio with her for her job. Other wome observed, as well, that they foud older male co-workers are willig to adapt whe they realize that havig a woma o the work site ca be successful. Geder stereotypes ad double stadards Tradeswome described the reactios they ofte received from male workers. Oe gave the followig example: They thik they re tryig to be ice whe they say, We do t really thik this is a good place for you, ad we do t really kow if you could hadle it. They thik that they re tryig to be ice to us Participats said that may me lack first-had experiece with capable wome i the trades; they have oly heard about egative icidets ivolvig female tradespersos. Oe participat said she dislikes it whe co-workers ask to talk to her as a woma, expectig her to discuss the fight he had with his wife that morig. Aother participat said that there is a double stadard i this sice me talk about their wives ad families o the job site, but the expectatio is that wome should ot discuss their families at work. Oe woma said that while she had to sped a couple of moths provig that she was ot there to screw aroud, this led to respect, to better jobs ad to her employer beig more ope-mided. Female tradespersos stated that for wome to survive i costructio, you have to work harder ad you have to work smarter. Wome comig to a costructio job site are expected to prove themselves i ways that are ot expected for me. Whe you re ew to a place ad they do t kow you, they will push your buttos every which way they ca. Ad if you ca just prove yourself i your work, that s all you have to do. The thig is, you have to prove yourself every time you walk 120 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

125 i. It does t matter how log you ve bee doig it, whe you walk ito a job where there are differet people that you have t met before, you are istatly beig tested. Ad a guy comes o ad it s just like okay, do this, ad obody asks him aythig. Harassmet Participats idicated that they experieced various forms of geder-based discrimiatio o job sites. Oe participat said that these kids of problems still come up after 20 years i the same job, ad this reiforces her covictio that she has to cotiue to work harder to prove herself ad to be stroger tha the me who cause problems. There was agreemet that it oly took a small umber of me o job sites to rui the eviromet for wome. Oe participat explaied, Niety-five percet are woderful, tolerat, acceptig me who have metored me ad taught me everythig I kow. There s always bee the 5% that I will ot forget ad they have taited it, absolutely. Detailed accouts of sexual assault were ot elicited i the focus groups, but oe participat recouted a icidet i which a co-worker grabbed her i frot of his crew. Aother participat said, I was told it was o.k. for a ma to slap my butt because after all I am i their world. I said, I do t bloody well thik so. Every woma that comes after that the guys are goig to thik that they ca do that. Referece was also made to the case of a woma o a costructio site who touched me iappropriately. The focus groups provided a opportuity for participats to share strategies for hadlig harassmet. Oe female tradesperso described how she fially left a idustrial job site completely because she was beig harassed by a couple of male co-workers. She expressed regret i retrospect that she had ot dealt with the problem sice her frieds cotiued workig o the project ad were havig trouble with the same me, who had sice bee promoted. This participat said that at the time it was happeig she was uclear whether she had grouds to take actio o these me s behaviour. Wome who experiece sexual harassmet ca be hesitat to address it because it would cause upheaval i their workplaces ad backlash agaist them. Sometimes it s very, very difficult to do that whe the eviromet is so fragile. You ve got oe tradeswoma ad a whole buch of guys. That eviromet is very fragile because it s imbalaced, ad if this woma, for ay reaso, brigs up a situatio or somethig that s happeed, you watch that horet s est shift, eh? Now you re the target. You ll be lucky if you get oe or two that ll be there for you out of all of them. Oe respodet argued that although it is difficult for wome to speak up about harassmet, takig a stad was ecessary, sice it was importat to maitai self-cofidece ad ot to have a chip o your shoulder, which are thigs co-workers ca sese. Oe participat with two decades of experiece o the tools advised that wome should documet the time, date ad other details of ay icidets of harassmet. She ecouraged wome to become aware of ad make use of workplace policies, ad she recommeded that situatios should ot be allowed to escalate to the poit where they iterfere with a woma s work or life. There was a lot of discussio amog focus group participats about the pressure o wome i the trades to fit ito costructio workplaces ad to take o the characteristics of male costructio workers. Participats debated the importace of stadig up to uacceptable behaviour versus the eed for wome i costructio workplaces to act as if they caot be goaded ito reactig to how they are treated. Oe participat stated that if a woma is harassed, Havig him charged is the worst thig you could do, you d be blackballed. I would t be able to work aywhere i the provice. This is the reaso participats also argued that workplace policies must respod to sexual behaviour i a way that is geeric; that is, workplace polices must commuicate that they are 121

126 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio desiged to apply to both me ad to wome, so that wome are ot perceived as the problem or the sole reaso for their itroductio. A umber of participats stated they had ever bee i a situatio that they could ot hadle by themselves by dealig directly with the perso istigatig the harassmet. Oe participat respoded that she sigs a humorous ad degradig sog i my head ad walks away. She said that her strategy was to embarrass those who behaved iappropriately, ad this strategy worked well for her. Oe participat argued that, although she admired wome for usig wit ad developig toughess, she did ot pla to become hardeed i order to cope with work i the costructio trades. If you wat to go ito the trades I ve heard that you have to have that attitude. I thik that eds up excludig a whole lot of wome because they thik they have to be that way. I m ot that way, ad a lot of wome are ot like that. I thik it s fatastic, ad I love it, but it s ot me. So you have to have other tactics, also. Or, you have to hope that you do t have to do that. I thik that if the ous is o you, like the woma or whoever to have that, to be able to get through it, that s just ot fair. She said she admired wome who regularly cofrot situatios; but she explaied that ot all wome are willig to make these adaptatios, ad it is clearly ot the resposibility of wome to correct these problems i the workplace. Offesive laguage Swearig ad offesive laguage o costructio job sites was the subject of lively discussio amog participats i all of the focus groups. Although participats described themselves as tryig hard to fit ito the workplace, their male co-workers ofte expected that wome s itroductio ito the workplace sigaled that they could ot cotiue behavig i the ways they always had. Oe participat gave a example of this: Their girlfried s o the job. Grrr. The wife s o the job. Grrr. My mom s o the job, I ca t swear. My little sister s o the job. She does t belog here. What do they do with us? Who are you? How do I treat you? I ca t swear aymore. A umber of participats stated that they swore too, ad this commuicated that they could fit ito the workplace. Oe participat said it was likely she iitiated some of the worst iappropriate laguage herself, sice she was t bothered by it. Several participats described how it was ofte ecessary, particularly at the outset of a ew job, to reassure male co-workers that swearig was ot a issue to them. Oe participat said to oe of her co-workers, I m ot here to chage aythig. I m here to make some moey. Say whatever you wat. Do t make it persoal, ad we ll get alog good. Aother participat described her approach as follows: You have to stop gederizig yourself. O my job site I was o loger a woma ad I was o loger a ma, I was a costructio worker who would go out there ad do the same job as everybody else. Ad my boys do t talk ay differet. I do t expect them to chage who they are because I m o site. I m ot goig to chage who I am for you. I may ot like the way you talk. I may ot like the way he talks. But at the ed of the day I have a paycheque. However, ot all of the participats were tolerat of all laguage o the job site. Some participats recouted istaces whe offesive laguage crossed the lie of tolerability, ad they took actio with a co-worker to stop it. Oe participat described a time whe she asked her co-worker to stop usig a term that offeded her. Although he did t chage his behaviour, he tried for a time to do so. Several other participats reported istaces i which they successfully cofroted their male co-workers about the use of offesive sexual laguage. Oe participat said she always let a ew 122 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

127 crew kow that she would ot tolerate some words. Whe a co-worker used the term despite this, her display of outrage prompted him to apologize ad admit that he had just wated to see how far he could push her. Oe participat recouted a time whe crew members had screamed sexual laguage at her whe she arrived o a job site, ad she shut it dow with a display of sarcastic wit. Aother participat argued that some of the sexist laguage she heard o the job site targeted her as a woma ad should be looked i the same way oe would look at racist laguage. Fittig i Participats argued that wome s ability ad willigess to fit i, icludig toleratig the treatmet wome receive i costructio workplaces, was related to their retetio o jobs ad i the idustry. Those who did ot fit i ofte left. They push you to the poit of breakig. Ad that s just the way it goes. Ufortuately, I mea, they were all ice wome, but I kew they would t have made it. Ufortuately, they foud out the hard way. It s so rarely about the actual work. I love the work. You just eed a couple of those guys that do t thik you belog there, to start wrappig it up. Ad it s ever bee about the work, or heavy liftig or aythig. What people thik it might be with wome ad trades, the barriers? It s the culture. It s ot physical, it s sociology. Oe participat who had bee a female tradesperso for a umber of years talked opely about her uwilligess to adapt to the workplace i all ways. As she explaied it, Not everyoe is willig to let go of a lot of really great femiie qualities you have to sometimes let go of. Ad that was oe thig, like okay, I wat the moey ad I wat to do well, ad I ejoy it, but I m ot willig to let go of my ideals. Like ot puttig up with bullyig ad beig reasoable about your safety. Not puttig moey always before your huma eeds. It s a idustry that ca be really harsh. It s like, you re workers, ad you re a machie. Ad a lot of guys accept that. Ad persoally, just as my ow persoal view, is that I do t thik that that s othig to do with geder I do t thik that s right. I thik that idustry should back dow from that ad have more huma eeds met. Physical stregth Participats discussed how the differece betwee me s ad wome s physical stregth is used agaist them i the workplace. For example, two participats had bee told they should ot be i the trades if they could t meet all the physical demads. Oe participat stated that, I had a guy tell me oe time that if you ca t bed ich ad a quarter pipe, the you should t be i the trade. Ad he does t kow oe woma who ca bed ich ad a quarter pipe. Well, first of all, I ca bed ich ad a quarter pipe, ad I m about 30 pouds smaller tha most of the other guys that were workig. Ad secodly, I kow guys who caot do it. Ad it s ot about stregth. It s about techique ad havig the right tools ad a little bit of brais. Because employers do ot typically utilize the uique stregths of crew members, wome i the trades are asked to do thigs they are physically uable to do, eve whe there are other crew members preset who ca complete the tasks. For example, the 6 5 guy ca lift the 3 10 coduit up to the ceilig ad they lift better. But there are some foreme that will say, o, it does t matter. You get o top of the ladder with the coduit ad make the 6 5 guy sweep the floor, just to 123

128 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio prove a poit. Just to hear me say I ca t do it so they ca say you ca t do your job. So you just do it. You have to do it util it kills you. Ad they wat you to get hurt so you have to say I m hurt ad ca t do it. A appretice described how she was told she eeded to take o additioal resposibilities if she expected to receive the ext appreticeship raise, but those resposibilities mostly ivolved physical tasks she was uable to perform. The appretice could ot see a way aroud the obstacles ad gave up o the raise. She foud she was effectively barred from advacig i her chose trade of cabietmakig. Puishmet of uique stregths Participats discussed the fact that employers seem to recogize the stregths wome brig to work i costructio. Some participats had bee told by their employers that their presece improved the workplace culture, sice me respoded to the presece of wome by swearig less ad by behavig more respectfully. However, elsewhere i the focus group discussios, wome described these chages as uwelcome to their male co-workers. Some of the wome had also heard from employers that they are more careful ad precise i their work; however, they reported that employers ad foreme ofte wated the work completed at the lowest stadard of quality to reduce time ad costs. Oe participat said she had bee reprimaded by a supervisor for welds that looked too ice. There were reports from participats that the demostratio of their uique stregths also drew egative attetio from male co-workers. We wat it to be doe exactly the right way, we do t cut corers, we do t slap it together ad close the door. Whe people ope our work, it has to look good. Because that s a judgmet of how professioal we are. Whereas the guys sort of slap thigs together ad close the doors. So whe they started brigig wome o crew, the guys would ope the doors ad say, I ca t put ay crap i there because it looks so good. Safety Participats observed that wome i the trades were ofte more iterested i workplace safety tha their male co-workers. This is oe area where participats reported they did ot try to fit i or imitate their male co-workers. Several participats stated they had worked i usafe workplaces. Oe participat said she was ridiculed by her co-workers for wearig safety gear while workig with hazardous substaces. Aother described how she had to use safety gear that did ot fit properly because the compay had fired their safety official. Oe woma had bee laid off for refusig to tolerate usafe workig coditios, ad others reported that some employers cosidered it acceptable to refuse to do usafe work. There was some agreemet that the compaies that do ot care about safety are likely to be similarly apathetic with regard to workplace coduct. 124 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

129 Oe participat explaied that wome eed smaller safety gear, givig a example of a time whe she had struggled with chemical safety gloves that slipped off her hads while she was touchig dagerous materials because they were too large. Others explaied that they would like access to wome s coveralls, ad oe participat discussed the possibility of coveralls that zip aroud the waist. Physical facilities There was strog agreemet i the British Columbia focus groups that the physical facilities available o may jobs rage from upleasat to iappropriate for wome. Oe participat expressed that porta-potties are ot sufficietly saitary for either me or for wome o a site ad that efforts should be made to address this uiversal health issue by providig a trailer uit with ruig water. Although ot all wome agreed that they eeded separate facilities, may felt that separate bathroom facilities are ecessary for a variety of reasos, icludig the fact that they use them to chage their clothig, to get out of earshot of offesive talk o breaks ad to avoid the rude commets writte o the walls of the me s washroom. Barriers to progressio i traiig Some participats i appreticeships also reported that they had ot bee give a broad rage of experieces o the job site that allowed them to fully develop the skills eeded to complete their exams ad to advace i their trade. Oe appretice described how she had a difficult time o the job where the crew was uwillig to aswer questios ad to give her the opportuity to lear the rage of tasks ad skills required. Participats discussed the fiacial difficulties associated with appreticeship. Whe wome are advised to try a secod or third trade if their first choice is ot a fit, the advice may ot be practical due to the fiacial hardships of appreticeship traiig. For some wome the icome received i appreticeship acts as a barrier to startig or cotiuig a appreticeship i the trades. This is likely to be particularly problematic for wome with family resposibilities ad limited fiacial resources. Oe participat described how, whe she left her first trade to retrai i a secod trade, this ivolved a sigificat step dow from a good wage. This ca be a real barrier for wome supportig families. Several participats also argued that wome have a tough challege i appreticeship because employers may ot be eager to support their progressio ad the wage icreases that accompay that progressio. They re goig to keep your rate dow as log as they ca so they do t have to pay you what they have to pay a ma to do your job. Ad they re goig to put a ma through quicker tha they re goig to put a woma through. Several participats spoke about wome appretices who, for a umber of reasos (such as iadequate physical stregth or the specializatio of the work doe by a employer), had received trades traiig i skills that were so arrowly specific that they fid it difficult to fid cotiuig employmet ad to ear a good wage. Oe participat idicated that she had foud iche skills that she could maage to do physically for which there was good demad, but takig this route meat she could ot ear eough to support herself ad her childre, so she had to move back home. The experieces of the participats who commeted o this suggest that overspecializatio ca lead to limited employmet opportuities ad eve to attritio. These dagers of a lack of breadth i traiig suggest that wome must have access to broad ad comprehesive skills traiig opportuities while they are appretices. Leadership ad support from maagemet Participats stated that positive workplaces for wome are the product of maagemet. It really has to start at the maagemet level, where they see the value of havig wome o crew; they do t see us as a problem that they have to solve. Oe participat expressed that it is importat to kow 125

130 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio that maagemet is available ad willig to discuss workplace issues as they come up, particularly if those i maagemet are ot ofte o the work site. Barriers post-pregacy Accordig to may participats, costructio workplaces are ofte ot supportive of wome with childre. Participats idicated that wome i the trades who get married ad have childre ofte fid it difficult to get your head back i the game after a period away from the trades. However, participats also kew of wome who left the idustry to have childre ad the retured to the trades because employers offered them part-time work to allow them to re-eter the workforce. Wome s affiliatio groups Several participats discussed the barriers they faced i orgaizig a group i their compay to support wome i the trades. I oe case, a participat was told that iformatio could ot be distributed by employers or uios to wome oly. I this particular situatio, iformatio was distributed to idividual wome usig postcards that directed wome to a website where more iformatio could be obtaied. Aother participat overcame similar barriers by allowig me to atted the group, although its focus was to support wome. She described the resistace to wome s etworkig ad metorship i her uio as a fear that perhaps wome were tryig to take over Necessary chages Icrease supply: stregthe educatioal pathways Participats said that high school studets are ot iformed about careers i costructio ad that the trades are ot promoted as strogly to wome ad girls as they are to me ad boys. The suggestio was made that youth i high schools be itroduced to exercises that explore how geder stereotypes ca limit their career choices. B.C. focus group participats discussed the eed to reach youth i high school ad elemetary school i order to geerate iterest ad awareess of careers i the trades at a early age. Participats said it is importat to reach girls with iformatio about opportuities i the trades at a age before the boys tell them that it s ot okay, like by Grade Icrease demad: employmet ad hirig Participats said that they believe employers resposes to ad expectatios of wome who are lookig for a appreticeship positio are differet from their expectatios of male appretices. Oe participat observed that employers seem to wat a assurace i advace that wome will succeed. I thik from employers there is some bias there. If a ma steps oto the work site ad asks for a opportuity to work i a etry-level positio with the goal of becomig a appretice, I thik they feel more secure takig the ma With the wome they wat a little more guaratee that this is what they ca do ad wat to do before they will ivest time i traiig them. Hirig quotas Participats disapproved of the idea of hirig quotas for wome. This was primarily because of backlash ad egative attetio they believed this would produce ad cocers that their cotributio ad skills would be less valued. Oe cautioed agaist settig targets to icrease the percetage of wome o costructio job sites without chagig the work site culture. Hirig, let s say, 15% wome, does t ecessarily chage what we re tryig to chage. It puts a buch of people i a situatio that has t chaged. Ad that is ot goig to chage it. If you re tryig to chage people s attitudes ad their beliefs ad their behaviours, it does t do that. It takes a lot more tha that to chage that. 126 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

131 However, participats commeted o the fact that targets to icrease wome i the police force i British Columbia have bee successful; ad the sizable presece of policewome o police forces likely helps challege the geder stereotypes that limit the career choices of youth. Hirig icetives Participats were supportive of icetives to support the hirig of wome. Oe participat explaied that compaies are primarily cocered with the bottom lie, ad a icetive for hirig wome at least opes the door. Oe participat suggested that icetives should also help wome who are tryig to secure work i costructio to get a start i their trade or i startig their ow busiess. Lots of guys have guy coectios, ad they give each other tools ad they give each other breaks o fidig jobs. Ad girls just do t have that, especially if you re just startig out. So I thik that if there are icetives or ay sort of moey, it should go ito wome, for startig out, opeig their ow compaies ad maybe gettig tools or weldig trucks or whatever your trade is Improve work coditios Workplace policies Oe woma with may years of experiece said that whe she started her career there were o policies i place to respod to discrimiatio; however, sice the, she had see employers brig i programs, policies ad traiig sessios to idicate that such behavior would ot be tolerated. She described these policies as huge improvemets over how thigs oce were. Others also emphasized the eed for workplace policies to support wome. Oe of the participats said her uio was itroducig a workplace iclusio policy from the Uited States. However, participats uderlied the fact that policies oly make a differece if they are implemeted ad eforced. Some of the focus group participats had atteded workplace orietatio sessios o larger jobs that iformed them of compay policies o safety, alcohol ad drugs, ad harassmet ad discrimiatio. Oe described a orietatio sessio i which it was explaied that harassmet ad whistlig at people would ot be acceptable. However, oe participat commeted that o iformatio was provided to explai whether such policies are actually followed or moitored. Several participats stated that before they started o a job, their employer istructed the me o the job site about how to respod to a woma eterig the work eviromet. Oe woma reported that her co-workers had spoke to her about that meetig with their employer, ad her lead had blamed her for the two hours of lost productivity that the meetig had cost him. Aother participat said that a meetig was held at her work site to determie whether or ot it would be acceptable to hire a woma. There was geeral cosesus that workplace policies should ot be itroduced ad discussed i ways that sigle wome out, sice this ca icrease the challeges wome face i the workplace. Educatio Oe participat oted that the RCMP moved from employig oly a very small umber of wome to employig approximately half wome ad attributed this success to the educatio ad retraiig of me. She provided the example of how police receive traiig to alter the way officers treated me ad wome i domestic abuse cases. Aother said that the costructio idustry, should really be modelig themselves after other successes. Oe female tradesperso argued that lots of me are good people; however, they say thigs that are iappropriate because they do ot kow that it is iappropriate. Participats emphasized the ecessity of educatig me, both employers ad co-workers, to treat wome equally ad stated that it might be possible to ivolve some of the me i leadig workplace chage, sice may me are 127

132 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio already supportive of havig wome i the idustry. Some participats stated that without educatio about respect i the workplace, other chages desiged to icrease wome s participatio i costructio will ot have much chace of success. Family-friedly policies Participats discussed the eed for family-friedly work policies that would allow more flexibility for wome with childre, uderstadig that such policies also beefit sigle fathers. Participats emphasized repeatedly that it is importat ot to target wome i chages to workplace policy, sice this ecourages expressio of resetmet toward wome osite. Chages must be geeric ad ot be see to be motivated oly by the fact that there are wome o costructio work sites. Oe participat who was a sigle paret was told by her boss o her first day of work that if she eeded a day off for her child, she could tell him ad leave. She attributed his uderstadig ad flexibility to the fact that he was also a sigle paret. Aother participat described the arragemets that were made by her employer to allow her to retur to work after startig a family. However, more participats reported havig the opposite experiece ad oe said she felt she was pealized for havig kids. Participats reported that most costructio workplaces do ot have family-friedly policies. Oe participat stated that she had bee uable to fid a daycare that was available at 6:00 a.m., ad thus her mother-i-law had to retire to care for her child. Participats idicated that flexible hours are uusual ad ulikely to become more commo i future, particularly i idustrial or commercial costructio. Oe participat, however, suggested that residetial costructio might be more flexible i this regard. Progressio opportuities Participats spoke about the opportuities for advacemet for wome i the costructio idustry. There was geeral agreemet that there were may opportuities, ad a couple of participats oted that they were waitig for people to retire from those positios. May felt that those who have abilities advace i the costructio idustry. Aother commeted that those who care ed up ruig jobs ad that wome ted to care. Oe participat idicated that oe of her supervisors was eager for her to assume supervisory resposibilities because she was a woma, sice he believed that wome have the best reviews. Aother said that she had bee ruig jobs eve as a secod-year appretice Supports Locatig employmet Some of the experieced participats i the focus groups idicated that they could rely o etworkig with other co-workers ad with people with whom they had atteded school to fid work. Some said this was the oly reliable method of fidig work. However, more participats talked about the challeges of locatig work. Oe participat explaied the difficulty she had fidig her first job after her first level of modular traiig. There had bee o supports available from her traiig program, ad she evetually foud work by callig all of the shops i the phoe book for her trade. So there was o coectio for me, there was o poitig me i the right directio. Whe it came dow to it, I defiitely felt completely o my ow whe I was out there lookig for my first employmet. Aother participat talked about the challeges of maitaiig employmet. I really wat to try a experimet, just to chage my ame ad use like Jack. No, seriously. I m uemployed right ow, ad I ve applied for jobs, like may of us have. Well over 100 resumes, probably close to 200 ow, all across Caada for may, may jobs. May, may positios for which I m totally qualified, 128 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

133 overqualified, that s exactly what I do. I m ot ecessarily a labourer, but I could do it for $10 a hour. I just received oe phoe call two days ago. Participats stressed the importace of supports to help them secure ad maitai employmet. Metorship Some of the iformats iterviewed emphasized that metorig is vital for wome to be retaied i the idustry. Cocer was also voiced by a umber of participats that metorship o the job site could icrease the likelihood that wome i the trades will be perceived as ot fittig i. Wome s affiliatio groups Wome i oe of the focus groups talked about the value of the focus group to them because they do ot ofte have a opportuity to speak to oe aother about the challeges they face i their careers. Participats i a uioized cotext felt it was importat to orgaize a group for wome despite resistace to this idea. 5.5 Key fidigs: focus groups with wome i costructio Limited supply Barriers that limit supply Educatioal pathways May girls are ot receivig iformatio or ecouragemet about career paths i costructio while i high school or later. The closure of high school shop classes is a broke lik i the educatioal pathway to work i costructio Recommedatios to icrease supply Promotio To help overcome the power of socializatio ad the ivisibility of wome i the trades, female tradespersos should have a role i speakig to youg people about careers i costructio. Flexible arragemets with employers ad fudig to cover lost wages will be eeded to support this. Educatioal ad career pathways Costructio trades/maagemet must be preseted as career opportuities for girls ad wome, ad childre should lear about these opportuities throughout their educatio from a youg age. Uio membership Employers should support employees i meetig the time requiremets that eable them to joi uios. Fiacial icetives Fiacial icetives are supported to help wome get started i the costructio trades or toward self-employmet ad to help wome overcome the fiacial barriers experieced durig appreticeship. 129

134 05 Good practice i support of diversity: perspectives of idustry ad of wome i costructio Limited demad Barriers that limit icreased demad Hirig practices Discrimiatory hirig practices appear to be prevetig wome from securig ad maitaiig employmet i costructio. Wome appretices face added challeges i fidig employers who are willig to hire them. Discrimiatio i hirig combied with difficult workplaces implies that may wome require support ad assistace to fid ad maitai employmet. Wome workig i costructio wat employers to kow that hirig wome based o geder aloe is ot a effective hirig strategy. While some participats believe uio hirig practices made hirig decisios fairer for everyoe, icludig wome, others argued that discrimiatio affects the hirig process withi the uios Recommedatios to icrease demad Hirig quotas could be effective, although there are some cocers that they could also produce a backlash agaist wome o costructio sites. Icetives to promote the hirig of wome are viewed favourably by wome workig i costructio Work coditios ad retetio Workplace coditios are likely key factors i the attritio of female tradespersos. Although some wome are promoted ad move ito other positios withi the idustry, it is likely that may others are ot retaied log eough to take advatage of the opportuities for advacemet Workplaces ad work coditios Barriers i appreticeship Wome experiece discrimiatio i both the school-based ad work-based portios of their appreticeships, which is cosistet with other research o appreticeship. Low wages i appreticeship are a barrier for sigle mothers. Geder segregatio I costructio workplaces, wome work uder the pressure of itese scrutiy with the uderstadig that their performace has repercussios for other wome. Usafe workig coditios likely cotribute to the attritio of wome trades workers. Wome experiece discrimiatio ad harassmet o job sites, icludig sexual harassmet. The lack of recourse to address discrimiatio ad harassmet appears to be the cause of some wome leavig costructio jobs ad the idustry. There ca be very little support from maagemet whe a icidet like sexual assault occurs. Wome are expected to fit i o costructio job sites, ad this ofte icludes beig expected to tolerate behaviour ad laguage may wome fid uacceptable. 130 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

135 Emphasis o differeces i ability Although employers appear to recogize wome s stregths as workers, these same attributes are differeces that are likely to be puished by male co-workers ad may ot be coducive to the way work is beig doe. Employers do ot typically utilize the uique stregths of idividuals ad this cotributes to the fact that physical stregth is used agaist wome to prevet them from progressig i their trade. Family-friedly policies Wome who start families ofte fid it hard to retur to work i costructio because of the lack of flexible hours ad other arragemets that allow them to fulfill paretig resposibilities Recommedatios for workplace chage to improve retetio Appreticeship Appreticeship moitorig is eeded to esure that employers comply with the requiremets of appreticeship with regard to pay raises, as well as to provide appretices with the opportuities to acquire skills ad to release employees for study periods. Some mechaism is eeded to esure that employers provide appretices with the opportuities to master the rage of skills ecessary to advace i their trade. Good practices ad workplace policy Good huma resource policies ad supportive maagemet are ecessary to create a positive workplace culture. Workplace policies should be itroduced to ecourage iclusive ad respectful workplaces. However, policies must be eforced i order to be meaigful. There is a eed for the improvemet of workplace safety across the idustry. Safety gear must fit the perso wearig it; smaller gear is eeded due to wome s smaller size. Required clothig, such as coveralls, could be improved so that they are appropriate to the employees wearig them. Flexible hours are eeded by employees (ot just wome) with paretig resposibilities. Separate washroom facilities are required by may wome. Workplace chage strategies Workplace chage must be led ad supported by maagemet. Wome caot be held resposible for brigig about ecessary chages i the workplace based o icreased umbers. Workplace policies must be commuicated to everyoe withi the orgaizatio. May wome will ot be retaied uless me o job sites are educated ad workplace culture improves. Wome eed to be educated i how to hadle icidets that threate their safety ad performace. It is very importat for workplace chage to avoid targetig wome as the reaso for the chage. 131

136 06 Coclusios XX TITLE HERE Despite slow icreases i the participatio of wome i the costructio sector, wome oly costituted 12.6% of the Caadia costructio idustry workforce i 2006 ad 4% i the costructio trades. There was a slight icrease i the represetatio of wome i some trades betwee 2001 ad 2006; however, the represetatio of wome i may trades was still less tha 2% i The umber of wome i registered appreticeships tripled betwee 1996 ad 2007; however, growth i the proportio of wome i registered appreticeships was small (7.5% i 1996 ad 10.6% i 2007). There was zero growth i the rate of female appreticeship completios (1.8% i 2007 compared to 1.7% i 1996). The rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry i Caada resembles that i may idustrialized atios aroud the globe, with the exceptio of Germay where the percetage of both me ad wome employed i the costructio idustry is markedly higher tha i other coutries. May idustry iformats iterviewed for this research agreed that wome have aptitudes ad abilities that make them best suited to professios such as egieerig, the lighter costructio trades, ad occupatios that ivolve skills such as customer relatios, huma relatios, commuicatio, project maagemet, site ispectio, ad health ad safety. This may accout for higher levels of wome employed i costructio egieerig, ispectio, ad health ad safety ispectio, ad lower rates of wome employed i the costructio trades. May girls also see themselves as lackig the itelligece ad the ability for sciece, trades ad techology careers ad do ot receive ay exposure to these skills areas to build cofidece or to ecourage a exploratio of these areas of opportuity. Twety-three percet (23%) of youg wome surveyed for the 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey, who were ot employed i costructio, idicated they were at least slightly likely (18% were fairly or very likely) to cosider a career i costructio i future i either the trades or i maagemet, with more expressig a iterest i maagemet careers. This report provides iformatio about the age, marital status, educatio, icome, ad geographic locatio of these wome that ca be used to target wome ad to geerate more iterest amog the remaider of wome who are ot reached with iformatio about costructio careers. Half of the youg wome surveyed by the 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Survey had ever received ay iformatio about careers i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet, ad most were ot well iformed about the salaries wome ear i costructio trades/maagemet. Two-thirds of Caadia high school girls pla to complete uiversity, ad very few (4% of girls ad 12% of boys) expect their highest educatioal attaimet will be a appreticeship. The low levels of youth iterest i the trades highlights the problem of supply that the costructio idustry faces i Caada ad elsewhere aroud the globe. It is well documeted by iteratioal research that girls are beig systematically streamed away from sciece, trades ad techology careers by the very educatioal pathways that are iteded to expose them to available career opportuities i sectors such as the costructio idustry. May youg wome ad me choose to eter a trades appreticeship as a secod or third career choice after workig or pursuig higher educatio. More systematic ad purposeful recruitmet of female (ad male) trades appretices from this pool of cadidates is suggested i additio to efforts to repair educatioal pathways to these occupatios. 132 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

137 Critical mass theory suggests that although icreased recruitmet may icrease the umber of wome i previously segregated occupatios, their retetio likely depeds o more tha just a icrease i their umber. Scott Moss (2004) argued that the percetage of wome i the workplace ca be take as a proxy for employers treatmet of wome ad, further, that wome ot oly choose ratioally to eter workplaces that support a diversity of both geders i order to avoid discrimiatio, they also exit workplaces i which they experiece discrimiatio. These argumets are supported by the fidigs of the 2008 Costructio Sector Coucil Wome i Costructio Survey, which foud that three-quarters of the youg wome surveyed rated beig treated equally at work, the equal represetatio of wome, opportuities for advacemet, ad flexible work hours as highly ifluetial cosideratios i career decisio makig. The key questios addressed i iterviews with idustry iformats ad with wome workig i costructio trades/maagemet were: 1) Why is wome s participatio ot icreasig more sigificatly i costructio trades/ maagemet? 2) What good practices exist to support the icreased participatio of wome i costructio? 3) What else is recommeded to support wome s icreased participatio i the costructio trades/ maagemet? 4) What supports do employers eed to support icreased rates of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry? The coclusio that was reached based o iterviews with idustry iformats was that may large- ad medium-size costructio compaies are makig iroads i hirig wome i otraditioal costructio occupatios; fewer small-size employers (less tha 100 employees) employed wome i these occupatios, although those that did reported that this was workig well. Most medium- ad large-size employers (100 or more employees) employed some tradeswome (the rage was 1% to 10%), with the highest rate of wome i medium-size compaies. Large-size compaies were the most likely to employ wome i osite costructio maagemet (the rage was 1% to 30%). These fidigs may suggest treds but caot be geeralized to the whole populatio of costructio employers i Caada without systematic quatitative data collectio. This research provided three broad aswers as to why the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry has ot icreased more sigificatly. Iformatio ad recommedatios about the good practices that are eeded by idustry to address the problems of supply, demad ad retetio were also compiled. 6.1 Supply May employers poited to the very limited supply of girls ad wome iterested i ad adequately prepared for costructio workplaces to accout for limited icreases i wome s employmet i the costructio idustry. Most idustry experts observed that social biases at work, such as 133

138 06 CONCLUSIONS egative career stereotypig ad geder stereotypig, are persistet barriers to growth i the rate of wome s participatio i costructio. Focus group fidigs verified that wome are still experiecig the effects of geder stereotypes, reiforced by the fact that, as girls, they ofte received o exposure to opportuities i trades careers. Iformats suggested a umber of solutios to the problem of supply. Iformats wat to see cotiuig promotioal work to fix broke educatioal pathways ad the biases ad perceptios of idustry careers as secod class ad as dead-eded, rather tha as careers that provide lifespa progressio opportuities. Idustry employers ad associatio represetatives observed that their presetatios to high school youth ad youg wome i colleges appear to be producig some ecouragig local results. Wome i costructio argue the ivisibility of wome i the trades supports the geder stereotypig of careers i the trades ad that the solutio to this is for wome to take a role i the work of promotig these careers. Wome employed i the costructio trades would eed flexibility i work hours ad fiacial remueratio for lost work time to eable this. The research highlighted the fact that there are o systematic data to reflect the prospect of wome s success i various costructio careers that would provide girls ad wome with reliable iformatio to support argumets for the appeal of these occupatios. Data to reflect the career progressio of wome i costructio careers are ot available. Some idustry iformats recommeded icreasig pre-appreticeship programmig to prepare a greater umber of wome to eter the trades. May also emphasized that wome must be exposed to costructio workplaces prior to takig up careers i the idustry i order to decide whether the work coditios are tolerable. Also emphasized was the eed for pre-appreticeship programmig that prepares wome appropriately so that they are prepared for the challeges of work i largely geder-segregated workplaces. Idustry i Alberta has made large fiacial commitmets to support programmig of this kid where the Wome Buildig Futures program ot oly provides work-hardeig preparatio as part of pre-appreticeship traiig, but also provides cotiuig support to wome after they are hired. Adequate pre-screeig ad work-hardeig i preappreticeship programmig selects out those wome who are ot suited to work i the geder-segregated trades, ad ca also provide assuraces to employers that the wome they are hirig are prepared adequately for the work. 6.2 Demad Focus group fidigs suggested that there are barriers that limit wome s etry ito the costructio idustry. These barriers iclude discrimiatio i hirig ad barriers i educatio ad traiig i trades appreticeships. There are a umber of questios to cosider o the demad side of the discussio about wome s participatio i costructio, particularly i the trades. For example, is idustry really coviced that wome belog equally i all of the costructio trades? May idustry iformats suggested that the majority of wome are best suited to the lighter trades ad that wome geerally have the skills that make them a good fit to work o the maagemet side, such as project maagemet, site supervisio, costig ad estimatig, ad safety ad ispectio. The focus o wome s uique stregths likely provides a clue to uderstadig ot oly the limited growth i the participatio rates of wome i may trades, but also the higher rates of wome s participatio i some other occupatios such as health ad safety, ad ispectio. It is likely, too, that employers uderstadig of wome s abilities iflueces ot oly the hirig of wome but also the willigess of employers to make ivestmets to retai wome i the costructio trades. Some idustry iformats are pressig for chages o the demad side that would require employers to commit to hirig more wome. These iformats argued that a clear recruitmet 134 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

139 strategy is eeded to icrease the hirig of wome, while may employers stated that they do ot believe it is the job of employers to recruit wome to the costructio idustry. Idustry iformats disagreed about the desirability of hirig quotas. Costructio owers suggested that they are i the positio to take leadership o the hirig of wome because hirig quotas could be required i biddig o idustry cotracts. Most idustry iformats believed that the hirig of wome could be icreased if fiacial icetives were offered to employers. However, some idustry experts wared that such icetives could be abused ad that the real idicator of improved hirig is the retetio of wome, ot just icreased hires. 6.3 Retetio The limited retetio of wome i the trades likely accouts for the limited represetatio of wome i the trades ad also i osite maagemet, sice trades careers are the pathway to work i osite costructio maagemet. Data were ot available to reflect the retetio rates of wome or of me i costructio trades ad i osite maagemet. However, fidigs showed that although some wome are promoted ito positios that allow them to work off job sites, ad a few persist, may wome are ot beig retaied. Idustry iformats reported that most wome do ot ted to stay i the trades loger tha five years ad that may leave to start families ad the are uable to retur because of iflexible work policies that make it difficult to fulfill paretig resposibilities. Focus group participats provided aother picture of the problem of retetio: usatisfactory work coditios that lead wome to leave the idustry. May employers were ot coviced there are sigificat problems of geder-based harassmet ad bullyig o job sites. However, may wome who participated i focus groups described problems of harassmet ad bullyig, usafe workig coditios o the job, ad lack of workplace policies ad maagemet support to provide recourse to address such workplace problems whe they occur. Some wome i the trades also described barriers to uio membership by employers who appeared ot to be supportive of the aspiratios of tradespersos to gai uio status. There was oe reported case as well of uio resistace to wome s efforts to orgaize a woma-oly support group i their trade. Wome i the trades who participated i focus groups also reported that there are fairly serious barriers to wome s progressio i the idustry s appreticeship system ad i uio membership that cotribute to the attritio of wome. Wome trades appretices eed assuraces from employers that they will be give access to the opportuities eeded to acquire the skills they are required to master i order to advace i their chose trade. Moitorig is also eeded to esure that the wage icreases outlied i appreticeship cotracts are beig awarded appropriately ad that wome are give the work release to eable them to complete the i-school portios of appreticeship. Some idustry stakeholders, particularly those employed i larger compaies ad i idustry associatios, called for improved workig coditios to support the retetio of skilled costructio wome. Descriptios of eeded workplace chages by wome i the trades who participated i focus groups were echoed i idustry iformats calls for workplace safety, workplace respect ad family-friedly policies, stroger leadership by employers ad maagemet, good hirig ad HR practices to assure that wome are ot hired o the basis of geder oly, careful educatio of all employees i ew policies ad practices, followed by moitorig to esure that policies make a meaigful differece. The good practices ad recommedatios that have bee documeted by this research have also received support i other Caadia research literature. 135

140 06 CONCLUSIONS 6.4 Good practices Wome who participated i focus groups had little to o exposure to the good practices that were described by idustry iformats, which suggests that such chages are i the very early stages of developmet ad uptake by employers. A widespread campaig to promote these practices across Caada will be eeded for chage to occur at all levels of idustry. Multi-stakeholder parterships are playig a icreasig role i supportig the developmet of good practices ad stadards ad may prove useful i this effort. The etwork of local costructio associatios, i cojuctio with provicial associatios, could also act as a distributio system to eable iformatio about good practices to reach small- ad medium-size employers. It is likely based o what was heard i idustry iformat iterviewig that employer uptake will ot be uiformly strog across the idustry. Good practices to icrease supply: Employers ad idustry associatio represetatives actively promote careers i costructio by givig presetatios at high schools, colleges ad trades fairs. Programs that have bee developed to expose girls to work i trades ad techology iclude the Saskatchewa Girls Explorig Trades ad Techology camps ad the Toroto Discover Egieerig program. Employers ad idustry associatios provide fuds for scholarships for wome eterig or advacig i costructio careers. Pre-appreticeship programs provide traiig to prepare wome for etry to the costructio trades. The British Columbia Istitute of Techology Trades Discovery Program is a example of this. I Alberta, employers have partered with commuity orgaizatios to provide sigificat fudig to support the preparatio of wome for the skilled trades. Examples iclude the Wome Buildig Futures program ad the Vermilio/YWCA Skills Traiig Cetre. Good practices to support hirig/employmet: Some pre-appreticeship programs provide support to wome appretices that exteds beyod traiig to hirig ad maitaiig employmet. The Wome Buildig Futures program i Alberta ad the Wome Ulimited project i Nova Scotia are both examples of this. Aother approach to the provisio of support to wome seekig employmet i costructio is the Skilled Trades Employmet Program (STEP for Wome) i British Columbia. This program, which was iitiated by the British Columbia Costructio Associatio, with fudig by the provicial govermet, provides metorship, places wome i employmet ad provides ogoig employmet support. Good practices to icrease retetio: Various toolkits are beig developed ad made available via the Iteret to support the spread of good idustry practices ad stadards. Two examples are the Costructio Ower s Associatio of Alberta (COAA) Respect i the Workplace toolkit a stadardized policy that eables compaies to assess worksites; to promote awareess, traiig ad commuicatio; ad to develop mechaisms to address bullyig, harassmet ad violece ad the huma resources toolkit uder developmet i Saskatchewa to improve the hirig ad retetio of wome employees. The trackig of wome hired i costructio ad the developmet of idicators to reflect the umber of wome hired ad retaied by employers was recommeded. Idustry iformats ad wome i the trades who participated i focus groups idetified a umber of supports that could be helpful i efforts to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio 136 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

141 trades ad osite maagemet. May employers did ot have ideas to offer about the supports employers might eed. Idustry iformats called for forums to share best practices ad for more trackig ad coordiatio of iitiatives that are beig itroduced across the coutry. Fudig i the form of hirig icetives payable to employers was viewed favourably by idustry iformats, but some employers wared about the potetial for abuse. Other suggestios were to provide icetives for retetio rather tha hirig ad to provide icetives to support the retraiig of already trusted (existig) employees. Other forms of fudig were proposed as well, icludig icetives to ecourage the provisio of daycare ad other employee beefits ad the subsidizatio of appretice wages, as well as the provisio of fudig to develop a team of federal traiers who could be called upo by idustry across the coutry to provide educatio i ew workforce policies. Several key issues were emphasized related to chage maagemet. Both iformat iterviews ad focus groups emphasized that a geeric approach to workplace chages should be take to avoid targetig wome ad to prevet backlash for wome. A thorough uderstadig of the precarious positio of wome i geder-segregated workplaces is eeded to itroduce workplace chages, eve those that are expected to improve the umber of wome ad to improve coditios that affect wome adversely. A busiess case for diversity should be developed ad used, cosistet with oe developed by the Europea Commissio (2005), as the basis for a idustry-wide drive for chages i this area. All of the itervetios that support chages i supply, demad ad retetio will eed to be i place ad workig together for real chage to occur. Clearly, it will be ecessary to haress the costructio idustry s propesity for actio-orieted strategy i order to iitiate ad maitai mometum toward the chages recommeded i this research. 137

142 Refereces A Commitmet to Traiig ad Employmet for Wome (ACTEW) (2007, December). Wome i the labour market: Employmet facts from ACTEW. Toroto, Otario: Author. Adeyemi, A.Y., Ojo, S.O., Aia, O., & Olaipeku, E.A. (2006). Empirical evidece of wome uder-represetatio i the costructio idustry i Nigeria. Wome i Maagemet Review, 21(7), Agapiou, A. (2002). Explorig the attitudes of school-age childre, their parets ad educators to career prospects i Scottish costructio idustry. Equal Opportuities Iteratioal, 2(8), Aderso, L.S., & Gilbride, K.A. (2004). Discover egieerig follow-up surveys: Assessmet/ evaluatio of recruitmet programs. Paper preseted at the CCWESTT Coferece, Brock Uiversity, Otario. Aderso, L.S., & Gilbride, K.A. (2003). Pre-uiversity outreach: ecouragig studets to cosider egieerig careers. Global Joural of Egieerig Educatio, 7(1), Aderso, L.S., Gilbride, K.A., & Stewart, M.F. (2006). Image of egieerig amog Caadia secodary school studets. Paper preseted at the CCWESTT Coferece, Calgary, Alberta. Adrews, C.L, Mecum, S., & Wilkis, L. (2003). Recruitig wome to the trades: Marketig strategies that work!! Maui Ecoomic Developmet Board, Wome i Techology Project. Adrews, C.L., & Wilkis, L. (2001). Aimig at systemic chage by addressig equity head o. Maui, Hawaii: Wome i Techology Project, Maui Ecoomic Developmet Board. APCO worldwide. (2004, Jauary). Promotig skilled trades ad appreticeship project. Phase I Report Summary. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Appreticeship Forum. Armour, N. (2003). Chagig laes: Wome i sciece ad techology. Presetatio at the Geder ad Sciece ad Techology (GASAT) Associatio G11 Coferece: Geder Sciece, Techology ad Ecoomic Paradigm Shift, i Mauritius. Armour, N., Carmody, C., & Clark, D. (2006, Jauary). I the picture a future with wome i trades, sciece ad techology. Volume three. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Hypatia Associatio. Armour, N., Carmody, C., Clark, D., Maicom, A., & Nicoll, E. (2001). The Hypatia Project: Promotig wome i sciece ad techology. Nova Scotia: The Secodary School Hypatia Workig Groups. Arsla, G., & Kivrak, S. (2004, November). The lower employmet of wome i Turkish costructio sector. Buildig ad Eviromet, 39(11), BC Costructio Associatio (BCCA). (2008, Jue). Step for Wome Pilots Metorig Project. Bulleti, 9,1, 1. Bell, D., & Bezaso, L. (2006, July). Career Developmet Services for Caadia Youth: Access, Adequacy ad Accoutability. Pathways to the Labour Market. Series No 1. Work Network. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Policy Research Networks Ic. Bell, D., & O Reilly, E. (2008, February). Makig bridges visible: A ivetory of iovative, effective or promisig Caadia school-to-work trasitio practices, programs ad policies. Ottawa, Caada: Work ad Learig Kowledge Cetre. Beett, J.F., Davidso, M.J., & Gale, A.W. (1999). Wome i costructio: A comparative ivestigatio ito the expectatios ad experieces of female ad male costructio udergraduates ad employees. Wome i Maagemet Review, 14(17), Berger, J, Motte, A., & Parki, A. (2007). The price of kowledge. Access ad studet fiace i Caada (3 rd Ed.). Ottawa, Caada: Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio. Available olie at: THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

143 Bezaso, L. (2008, March). Career developmet. From uder-represeted to iclusive: Opeig doors to post-secodary participatio. Ottawa, Caada: Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio. Bolad, B. (2005, April). At a sail s pace: The presece of wome i trades, techology ad operatio i Newfoudlad ad Labrador. St Joh s, Newfoudlad: Wome i Resource Developmet Committee. Braudy, M. (2004). What eeds to chage to get more wome ito appreticeship? No more lip service! (Revised). Origially published i (1994) J. Scae, P. Stato, ad M. Scheider (Eds.), Strategies That Work: Wome i Trades, Techology ad Applied Sciece. Toroto: Gree Drago Press. Available (revised) olie at: What_eeds_to_Chage.htm Braudy, M. (Forthcomig, 2009). Me ad wome ad tools: Reflectios o male resistace to wome i trades ad techology. Black Poit, Nova Scotia: Ferwood Publishig. Brisbois, R., Orto, L., & Sauders, R. (2008, April). Coectig supply ad demad i Caada s youth market. Pathways to the Labour Market Series No 8. CPRN Research Report. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Policy Research Networks. Browarski, S. (2007, December). From baby boom to labour cruch: Quebec s impedig labour shortage. Ottawa, Caada: Coferece Board of Caada. Caadia Appreticeship Forum. (2004a, Jauary). Accessig ad completig appreticeship traiig i Caada: Perceptios of barriers. A cosultatio report. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Caadia Appreticeship Forum. (2004b, Jauary). Accessig ad completig appreticeship traiig i Caada: Perceptios of barriers experieced by wome. A cosultatio report. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Caadia Appreticeship Forum, & Skills/Compéteces Caada. (2006, December). Buildig Caada s future. Fial report. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Appreticeship Forum. Caadia Appreticeship Forum, & Skills/Compéteces Caada. (2005, October). Skilled trades ad appreticeship awareess ad perceptio study. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Appreticeship Forum. Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades, ad Techology. (2004, November). Wome i SETT (Sciece, Egieerig, Tades, ad Techology) Buildig Commuities Phase I fial report. Mississauga, Otario: Author. Caadia Coucil of Professioal Egieers. (2006, November). Caadia egieers for tomorrow: Treds i egieerig erolmet ad degrees awarded 2001 to Ottawa, Caada: Author. Caadia Huma Rights Commissio. (1999). The compliace audit update: Abstract from December 1999, Volume 9, Number 12 issue of the bulleti. Valuig Diversity: Employmet Equity i Caada s Chagig Workforce. Available olie at: compliace_audit-e.asp Caadia Labour Cogress. (2008, Jauary). A campaig for wome s ecoomic equality. Equality oce ad for all! Wome i the workforce: Still a log way from equality. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Charow Lior, K., & Wortsma, A. (2006, March). Reewig appreticeship: Iovative approaches. Toroto, Otario: The Toroto Traiig Board. Che, M., & Carr, M. (2004). Globalizatio, social exclusio, ad geder. Iteratioal Labour Review, 143(1-2). 139

144 Refereces Chileshe, N. (2007, September). Geder iflueces o factors affectig career decisio-makig withi the South Africa costructio idustry. Paper preseted at the Built Eviromet Educatio Aual Coferece (BEECON), Where Idustry ad Practice, the Professios ad Educatio Meet. Clark, D., Martell, A., Wetzell, B., & Wheato, M. (2009, Jauary). O the level: Wome workig i trades ad techology. A employer s guide to creatig respectful workplaces. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Hypatia Associatio. Coferece Board of Caada. (2007). Otario s loomig labour shortage challeges: Projectios of labour shortages i Otario, ad possible strategies to ecourage uused ad uderutilized huma resources. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Available olie at: uploads/2008/03/coferece_board_report.pdf Coferece Board of Caada. (2005, September). The labour market iformatio (LMI) program: Actig o huma resource iformatio to build ad maitai capacity i the Caadia costructio idustry. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Available olie at: BoardWise2PIEODLKBHDHMCLMDCCDGHCMM /060-06%20LabourMkt%20 Ifo%20Prgm-CS.pdf Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta. (2004). Workplace Respect model policy. Available olie at: ModelPolicyadToolkit/tabid/122/Default.aspx Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta. (2005) Workplace Respect toolkit. Available olie at: ModelPolicyadToolkit/tabid/122/Default.aspx Costructio Sector Coucil. (2009, July). Costructio lookig forward: Natioal summary. A assessmet of labour markets from 2009 to Ottawa, Caada: Author. Costructio Sector Coucil. (2004a, Witer). Future labour supplies for Caada s costructio idustry. Ottawa, Caada: Author. Costructio Sector Coucil. (2004b, Witer). Traiig Caada s costructio workforce: Meetig the idustry s eeds. Ottawa: Author. Craw, M., Clarke, L., Jefferys, S., Beutel, M., Roy, K., & Griblig, M. (2007, February). The costructio idustry i Lodo ad diversity performace. Lodo, Eglad: Greater Lodo Authority. Cummig, J.J. (1997). Attractig girls ad wome studets to o-traditioal areas. Queeslad Joural of Educatioal Research, 13. Eiseberg, S. (1999). We ll call you if we eed you: Experieces of wome workig costructio. Ithaca, New York: Corell Uiversity Press. Equal Opportuities Commissio. (2006, March). Free to choose: Tacklig geder barriers to better jobs. Oe year o progress report EOC s Ivestigatio ito traiig ad workplace segregatio of wome ad me. Machester, Great Britai: Author. Equal Opportuities Commissio. (2005a, March). Free to choose: Tacklig geder barriers to better jobs. Eglad fial report. EOC s Ivestigatio ito traiig ad workplace segregatio of wome ad me. Machester, Great Britai: Author. Equal Opportuities Commissio. (2005b, March). Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig. Practical guidace based o examples of actios take by traiig providers to ope up o-traditioal opportuities for wome ad me. Machester, Great Britai: Author. 140 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

145 Etzkowitz, H., Kemelgor, C., Neuschatz, M., Uzzi, B., & Alozo, J. (1994). The paradox of critical mass for wome i sciece. Sciece, 266(5182), Europea Commissio. (2008, October). Cotiuig the diversity jourey: Busiess practices, perspectives, ad beefits. Luxembourg: Europea Commuities. Europea Commissio. (2005). The busiess case for diversity: Good practices i the workplace. Luxembourgh: Europea Commuities. Fielde, S.L., Davidso, M.J., Gale, A.W., & Davey, C.L. (2000). Wome i costructio: The utapped resource. Costructio Maagemet & Ecoomics, 18(1), Fielde, S.L., Davidso, M.J., Gale, A.W., & Davey, C.L. (2001). Wome, equality ad costructio. Joural of Maagemet Developmet, 2(4), Gale, A. (1994). Wome i o-traditioal occupatios: The costructio idustry. Wome i Maagemet Review, 9(2), Glass, J. (2004). Blessig or curse? Work-family policies ad mother s wage growth over time. Work ad Occupatios, 31, 3, Greed, C. (2002, December). Wome i the costructio professios: Achievig critical mass. Geder, Work ad Orgaizatio, 7(3), Greed, C. (2000). Wome i the costructio professios: Achievig critical mass. Geder, Work ad Orgaizatio, 7(5), Greee, C.K & Stitt-Gohdes, W. (1997). Factors that ifluece wome s choices to work i the trades. Joural of Career Developmet, 23(4), Helwig, A.A. (1998) Occupatioal aspiratios of a logitudial sample from secod to sixth grade. Joural of Career Developmet, 24, 4, Hypatia Project. (2002, February). Choosig future occupatios i sciece, techology ad trades: Perceptios of high-school studets. Nova Scotia: The Secodary School Hypatia Workig Groups. Isightrix Research Ic. (2007, February). Saskatchewa advaced educatio ad employmet: Graduate outcomes of class. Saskatoo, Saskatchewa: Author. K. Tompkis ad Associates, Ltd. (2008, March). Pre-trades traiig for orther wome: A ivetory of existig pre-trades traiig programs for wome i the Yuko Territory, the Northwest Territories, ad Nuavut Territory. Yellowkife, Northwest Territories: The Adult Learig, Literacy, ad Essetial Skills Program, Huma Resources ad Social Developmet Caada. K. Tompkis ad Associates Ltd. (2006, Jue). Preparig orther wome for careers i trades ad techical occupatios i the Northwest Territories ad Nuavut: A prelimiary model for program developmet ad delivery. Fial report. Yellowkife, Northwest Territories: Northwest Territories Federatio of Labour. K. Tompkis ad Associates Ltd. (2005, April). We ca hold up the world! Wome i trades ad idustry occupatios i the Northwest Territories ad Nuavut. Yellowkife, Northwest Territories: Northwest Territories Federatio of Labour. Kater, R.M. (1977). Some effects of proportios o group life: Skewed sex ratios ad resposes to toke wome. America Joural of Sociology, 82(5), Lagese, V.A. (2007). The stregth of umbers: Strategies to iclude wome i computer sciece. Social Studies of Sciece, 37(1), MacDoald, A. (2006). Alberta s labour shortage: Just the tip of the iceberg. Ottawa, Caada: Coferece Board of Caada. 141

146 Refereces Madse, K. (1999). Yuko wome i appreticeship ad trades. Whitehorse, Yuko Territory: Norther Research Istitute. Available olie at wome_i_appreticeship_report.pdf Maicom, A., Armour, N., Sewell, R., & Parsos, D. (2004a, December). I the picture a future with wome i trades, sciece ad techology. Volume oe. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Hypatia Associatio. Maicom, A., Armour, N., & Parsos, D. (2004b, December). I the picture a future with wome i trades, sciece ad techology. Volume two. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Hypatia Associatio. Mayer, H., & Braid, K. (2007, April). A wiig ticket: Wome i trades i British Columbia ad Yuko. Paper preseted at the Coferece, Tradeswome: A Wiig Ticket, Vacouver, British Columbia. McLea, D. (2003). Workplaces that work: Creatig a workplace culture that attracts, retais ad promotes wome. Ottawa, Caada: Federal/Provicial/Territorial Miisters Resposible for the Status of Wome. Miller, L., Pollard, E., Neathey, F., Hill, D., & Ritchie, H. (2005). Geder segregatio i appreticeships. Machester, Eglad: Equal Opportuities Commissio. Misko, J. Nguye, N., & Sauders, J. (2007). Doig a appreticeship: What youg people thik. Adelaide, Australia: Natioal Cetre for Vocatioal Educatio Research (NCVER). Moss, S.A. (2004). Wome choosig diverse workplaces: A ratioal preferece with disturbig implicatios for both occupatioal segregatio ad ecoomic aalysis of law. Harvard Wome s Law Joural, 27(1), Müller, Has-Werer. (2007). Compedium of good practices of diversity ad o-discrimiatio i Europea crafts, small ad medium sized eterprises ad their orgaizatios. Brussels, Belgium: (UEAPME). Mutadwa, E. Sigauke, N., & Mugaiwa, C. (May 2008). Urba wome s participatio i the costructio idustry: A aalysis of experieces from Zimbabwe. Joural of Iteratioal Wome s Studies, 9(3), New Zealad Coucil for Educatio Research. (2008, September). Tradig choices: Youg people s career decisios ad geder segregatio i the trades. Miistry of Wome s Affairs, Govermet of New Zealad. Otario s Workforce Shortage Coalitio. (2008). The challege ahead: Avertig a skills crisis i Otario. Report o Cosultatios across Otario. Available olie at: about-the-coalitio/ Orto, L. & Harvey, A. (2008, October). Ehacig the flow of supply ad demad iformatio amog traiig istitutios, studets, ad employers. CPRN Research Report. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Policy Research Networks. Overed, V., Emerso, C.J., & Hollett, S. (2008, May). Success i trades ad techology: Welcomig wome ito trades ad techology workplaces A checklist of strategies ad employers workshops. Paper preseted at the 12 th CCWESTT Coferece, Guelph, Otario. Pereira, A., Shiewald, B., Wise, A., Yates, S., & Youg R. (2007, Jue). Movig i the right directio: Labour mobility, labour shortage ad Caada s huma potetial. Vacouver, British Columbia: Actio Caada. Polsler, G. & Paier, D. (2003). Determiats of the vocatioal orietatio of girls. A empirical aalysis of Styria schools. Summary report. Graz, Niesebergergasse: Zetrum für Bildug ud Wirtschaft. 142 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

147 Powell, A., Bagilhole, B. M., & Daity, A. R. J. (2006). The problem of wome s assimilatio ito U.K. egieerig cultures: Ca critical mass work? Equal Opportuities Iteratioal, 25(8), Prairie Research Associates, Ic. (2002, October). Geder equality i the labour market fial report: Lessos leared. Statistics Caada Catalogue o. SP-AH E. Ottawa, Caada: Evaluatio ad Data Developmet, Strategic Policy, Huma Resources Developmet Caada. Pyper, W. (2008, October). Skilled trades employmet. Perspectives. Statistics Caada. Catalogue o X. Ottawa. Sauders, R. (2006, October). The labour cruch: waste ot, wat ot. CPRN Policy Brief. Caadia Policy Research Networks, 8. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Policy Research Networks. Available olie at: Sauders, R. (2008, September). Pathways for youth to the labour market: A sythesis report. Pathways to the Labour Market Series No 9. CPRN Research Report. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Policy Research Networks. Sculle, J. (2008, Jauary). Wome i male domiated trades: It s still a ma s world. Regia, Saskatchewa: Saskatchewa Appreticeship ad Trades Certificatio Commissio. Shao, M., & Kidd, M.P. (2001). Projectig the tred i the Caadia geder wage gap : Will a icrease i female educatio acquisitio ad commitmet be eough? Caadia Public Policy, 37(4), Solvig Norma Ope School BC & Lidsay Lagill Idustry Traiig Authority. (2006, March). Alterative trades traiig: Best practices from across Caada. British Columbia: Idustry Traiig Authority. Statistics Caada. (2008, September). The Daily: Registered appreticeship traiig programs. Available olie at: Statistics Caada. (2006, March). Wome i Caada: A geder based statistical report (5th Ed.). Miister of Idustry. Statistics Caada Catalogue o XIE. Available olie at statca.ca/eglish/freepub/ xie/ xie.pdf Thurairajah, N., Amaratuga, D., & Haigh, R. (2007, September). Wome s educatioal attaimet ad their experieces i costructio educatio. Paper preseted at the Built Eviromet Educatio Aual Coferece (BEECON), Where Idustry ad Practice, the Professios ad Educatio Meet. WageGap Reductio Iitiative. (2007). Resource Guide: How to recruit ad retai wome workers i o-traditioal workplaces. New Bruswick: Author. Watt-Malcolm, B. (2005, Jue). Employers ad Caada s policy iitiatives to promote wome i the skilled trades. Paper preseted at the IWPR Eighth Iteratioal Wome s Policy Research Coferece, Whe Wome Gai, So Does the World, Washigto, DC. Wheato, M. (2008, November). Workig it out. Wome describe their employmet experieces i trades ad techology. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Hypatia Associatio. Whittock, M. (2002). Wome s experiece of o-traditioal employmet: is geder equality i this area a possibility? Costructio Maagemet ad Ecoomics, 20(5), Wome i Leadership Foudatio. (2007, September). Wome i costructio trades: A strategic pla to promote wome. Vacouver, British Columbia: Idustry Traiig Authority of British Columbia. Wome i Resource Developmet Committee. (2006, Jue). A geder les o appreticeship: The impact o geder sesitivity traiig o appreticeship. Ottawa, Caada: Caadia Appreticeship Forum. Available olie at: 143

148 Refereces Wome i Resource Developmet Committee (2002, Jue). Appreticeship report. St. Joh s, Newfoudlad: Author. Yoder, J.D. (1991). Rethikig tokeism: Lookig beyod umbers. Geder ad Society, 5(2), Zywo, M.S., Gilbride, K., & Gudz, N. (2000). Iovative outreach programs to attract ad retai wome i udergraduate egieerig programs. Global Joural of Egieerig Educatio, 4(3), Zywo, M., Gilbride, K., Hiscocks, P.D., Waale, J.K., & Keedy, D.C. (1999). Attractig wome ito egieerig A case study. IEEE Trasactios o Educatio, 42(4). 144 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

149 Appedix A: research questios ad methods of data collectio Research questios i. What is the curret level of wome s participatio i costructio occupatios i Caada? ii. How does this compare to global treds i wome s participatio i the costructio sector? iii. Are there differeces i the retetio rates of me ad wome i appreticeships i costructio? iv. How do Caadia wome aged choose careers? Are there differeces betwee youger ad older wome? v. What is the level of iterest i ad choice of costructio occupatios (icludig both trades ad maagemet) ad what ca be leared about the factors that ifluece those choices? vi. What is latest kowledge about the barriers/factors that accout for the limited icreases i Caadia wome s participatio i the costructio trades/osite maagemet despite successful programs to improve? vii. What workplace or traiig program characteristics cotribute to a icrease i wome choosig, eterig, ad persistig i costructio occupatios? viii. is there evidece of cultural chages i the workplace that are cotributig to a icrease i wome s participatio? ix. What practices have bee developed to icrease wome s participatio i costructio i Caada? What is the success of these practices? x. What good practices have bee developed to icrease wome s participatio i costructio iteratioally? Data collectio methods Literature review Secodary data aalysis Secodary data aalysis Key iformat iterviews Survey Literature review Key iformat iterviews Focus groups Literature review Key iformat iterviews Focus groups Literature review Key iformat iterviews Focus groups 145

150 Appedix B: proportio of female appreticeship registratios i Caada, Year Major trade group* Geder Total major trades groups Both sexes 165, , , , , , , , , , , ,555 Female 12,480 13,305 14,365 15,675 17,465 20,030 21,760 24,280 25,775 28,755 32,960 38,070 % Female Buildig costructio trades Both sexes 32,530 32,135 32,555 35,610 38,120 40,935 46,225 52,355 58,965 66,675 75,575 80,205 Female ,175 1,320 1,480 1,645 2,035 2,530 2,950 % Female Electrical, electroics ad related trades Both sexes 28,270 28,205 28,840 30,475 32,555 36,435 39,645 42,415 45,430 49,435 54,395 59,945 Female ,010 1,055 1,110 1,205 1,425 1,770 % Female Metal fabricatig trades Both sexes 33,840 35,875 38,055 40,390 44,105 47,425 49,905 52,695 54,655 60,370 68,770 76,685 Female ,030 1,095 1,325 1,760 2,110 % Female Motor vehicle ad heavy equipmet trades Both sexes 35,580 37,950 38,595 39,865 41,975 43,940 46,155 49,885 52,835 57,755 64,930 69,875 Female ,085 1,155 1,360 1,645 1,915 % Female Idustrial ad related mechaical trades Both sexes 14,235 14,670 14,905 16,020 16,555 17,725 18,590 19,690 19,890 21,055 23,170 24,125 Female % Female Other trades Both sexes 3,120 3,490 4,000 4,230 4,675 5,460 6,225 6,995 8,120 9,045 11,715 15,615 Female ,275 1,420 1,780 2,300 2,810 3,475 4,115 4,915 5,980 8,115 % Female Food services Both sexes 16,885 18,035 18,175 18,910 20,120 22,155 23,345 25,275 26,235 27,470 29,615 32,100 Female 9,090 9,660 10,090 11,020 12,190 13,620 14,340 15,815 16,300 17,530 19,180 20,735 % Female Source: Statistics Caada, Registered Appreticeship Survey Data * Trades groups are based o Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio (NOC) 146 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

151 Appedix C: proportio of female appreticeship completios i Caada, Year Major trade group* Geder Total major trades groups Both sexes 16,075 16,370 16,465 18,545 18,395 18,475 16,690 18,520 19,705 20,555 20,855 24,495 Female 1,940 1,905 1,985 2,070 2,155 2,065 1,585 2,020 2,185 2,225 2,235 2,780 % Female Buildig costructio trades Both sexes 2,290 2,005 1,925 2,180 2,025 2,080 2,045 2,550 2,590 2,965 3,190 3,915 Female % Female Electrical, electroics ad related trades Both sexes 2,830 2,565 2,500 2,760 2,700 3,105 3,090 2,835 3,520 3,755 4,110 4,580 Female % Female Metal fabricatig trades Both sexes 3,365 3,630 3,880 4,225 4,230 4,195 3,845 4,445 4,785 4,735 4,605 5,355 Female % Female Motor vehicle ad heavy equipmet trades Both sexes 3,405 3,655 3,750 4,230 4,870 4,545 3,955 4,275 4,130 4,470 4,425 5,340 Female % Female Idustrial ad related mechaical trades Both sexes 1,440 1,545 1,490 2,220 1,670 1,805 1,630 1,930 2,055 1,955 1,985 2,125 Female % Female Other trades Both sexes Female % Female Food services Both sexes 2,540 2,700 2,625 2,575 2,585 2,445 1,835 2,130 2,265 2,315 2,100 2,705 Female 1,740 1,730 1,705 1,740 1,855 1,765 1,230 1,585 1,715 1,735 1,645 2,140 % Female Source: Statistics Caada, Registered Appreticeship Survey Data * Trades groups based o Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio (NOC) 147

152 Appedix D: female labour force participatio by idustry sector (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Cesus 2001 Cesus 2006 Idustry category Caada Female (%) Caada Female (%) All idustries* 15,576, ,861, Agriculture, forestry, fishig ad hutig 567, , Miig ad oil ad gas extractio 169, , Utilities 118, , Costructio 879, ,069, Maufacturig 2,174, ,005, Wholesale trade 686, , Retail trade 1,754, ,917, Trasportatio ad warehousig 774, , Iformatio ad cultural idustries 417, , Fiace ad isurace 635, , Real estate ad retal ad leasig 259, , Professioal, scietific ad techical services 982, ,122, Maagemet of compaies ad eterprises 15, , Admiistrative ad support, waste maagemet ad remediatio services 605, , Educatioal services 1,021, ,150, Health care ad social assistace 1,511, ,716, Arts, etertaimet ad recreatio 303, , Accommodatio ad food services 1,046, ,126, Other services (except public admiistratio) 748, , Public admiistratio 904, , Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2001 ad Cesus 2006, Labour Force, 15 years ad over * Categories are based o North America Idustry Classificatio System (the category, Idustry ot applicable was excluded) 148 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

153 Appedix E: female labour force participatio by occupatioal category (Caada Labour Force Survey, ) Proportio of females i the labour force (%) Natioal occupatios classificatio C Natural ad applied scieces ad related occupatios H Trades, trasport ad equipmet operators ad related occupatios Cotractors ad supervisors i trades ad trasportatio Costructio trades Other trades occupatios Trasportatio ad equipmet operators Trades helpers, costructio, ad trasportatio labourers ad related occupatios I Occupatios uique to primary idustry J Occupatios uique to processig, maufacturig ad utilities Machie operators ad assemblers i maufacturig, icludig supervisors Labourers i processig, maufacturig ad utilities Source: Statistics Caada Labour Force Survey Note: Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio for Statistics (NOC ad NOC-S) 149

154 Appedix F: female participatio i major trades groups ad atural scieces (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Occupatioal category Labour force 2001 Female participatio rate 2001 Female participatio rate 2006 Labour force Participatio (%) 2006 Participatio (%) C Natural ad applied scieces ad related occupatios 1,003, , ,108, , C0 Professioal occupatios i atural ad applied scieces 548, , , , C1 Techical occupatios related to atural ad applied scieces 455,645 92, , , H Trades, trasport ad equipmet operators ad related occupatios 2,294, , ,550, , H0 Cotractors ad supervisors i trades ad trasportatio 123,595 8, ,245 8, H1 Costructio trades 351,380 11, ,455 17, H2 statioary egieers, power statio operators ad electrical trades ad telecommuicatios occupatios 172,805 7, ,255 6, H3 Machiists, metal formig, shapig ad erectig occupatios 218,230 8, ,830 9, H4 Mechaics 345,355 7, ,030 7, H5 Other trades 133,660 33, ,625 26, H6 Heavy equipmet ad crae operators, icludig drillers 109,815 2, ,360 3, H7 Trasportatio equipmet operators ad related workers, excludig labourers 508,150 48, ,365 55, H8 Trades helpers, costructio, ad trasportatio labourers ad related occupatios 331,635 34, ,135 41, Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2001 ad 2006, Labour Force, 15 years ad over Note: Occupatioal categories are based o Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio (NOC) ad Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio for Statistics (NOC-S) 150 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

155 Appedix G: proportio of female labour force participatio by occupatio (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) Cesus 2001 Cesus Occupatio/trade Both sexes Female Female (%) Both sexes Female Female (%) Icrease or decrease (%) A371 Costructio maagers 55,540 3, ,320 4, A372 Residetial home builders ad reovators 28,050 1, ,465 2, c031 Civil egieers 37,955 3, ,360 5, c032 Mechaical egieers 30,515 2, ,045 3, c033 Electrical ad electroics egieers 31,640 2, ,705 3, c051 Architects 12,800 2, ,960 3, c052 Ladscape architects 2, , c053 Urba ad lad use plaers 6,660 2, ,085 3, c054 Lad surveyors 8, , c131 Civil egieerig techologists ad techicias 10,930 1, ,915 1, c132 Mechaical egieerig techologists ad techicias 11, , c134 Costructio estimators 12,045 1, ,455 1, c151 Architectural techologists ad techicias 6,165 1, ,220 2, c152 Idustrial desigers 9,795 2, ,250 2, c153 Draftig techologists ad techicias 30,840 7, ,530 8, c154 Lad survey techologists ad techicias 3, , c155 Mappig ad related techologists ad techicias 6,130 2, ,985 2, c162 Egieerig ispectors ad regulatory officers 4, , c163 ispectors i public ad evirometal health ad occupatioal health ad safety 13,640 4, ,080 6, c164 Costructio ispectors 9, ,310 1, H011 Supervisors, machiists ad related occupatios 6, , H012 cotractors ad supervisors, electrical trades ad telecommuicatios occupatios 12, , Cotiued o ext page 151

156 Proportio of female labour force participatio by occupatio (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) (cotiued) Cesus 2001 Cesus Occupatio/trade Both sexes Female Female (%) Both sexes Female Female (%) Icrease or decrease (%) H013 Cotractors ad supervisors, pipefittig trades 4, , H014 cotractors ad supervisors, metal formig, shapig ad erectig trades 7, , H015 Cotractors ad supervisors, carpetry trades 14, , H016 Cotractors ad supervisors, mechaic trades 17, ,165 1, H017 Cotractors ad supervisors, heavy costructio equipmet crews 23, , H019 cotractors ad supervisors, other costructio trades, istallers, repairers ad servicers 20, ,335 1, H1 Costructio trades 351,385 11, ,455 17, H11 Plumbers, pipefitters ad gasfitters 61, ,655 1, H111 Plumbers 36, , H112 Steamfitters, pipefitters ad sprikler system istallers 20, , H113 Gasfitters 4, , H12 Carpeters ad cabietmakers 147,340 3, ,905 4, H121 Carpeters 125,435 1, ,530 2, H122 Cabietmakers 21,895 1, ,375 1, H13 Masory ad plasterig trades 54,445 1, ,725 2, H131 Bricklayers 16, , H132 Cocrete fiishers 9, , H133 Tilesetters 6, , H134 Plasterers, drywall istallers ad fiishers, ad lathers 22, ,040 1, H14 Other costructio trades 88,475 6, ,165 9, H141 Roofers ad shiglers 16, , H142 Glaziers 7, , H143 Isulators 7, , H144 Paiters ad decorators 41,620 4, ,225 7, Cotiued o ext page 152 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

157 Proportio of female labour force participatio by occupatio (Caada Cesus 2001 ad 2006) (cotiued) Cesus 2001 Cesus Occupatio/trade Both sexes Female Female (%) Both sexes Female Female (%) Icrease or decrease (%) H145 Floor coverig istallers 14, , H211 Electricias (except idustrial ad power system) 61,370 1, ,390 1, H212 Idustrial electricias 29, , H311 Machiists, ad machiig ad toolig ispectors 53,510 2, ,075 2, H312 Tool ad die makers 17, , H321 Sheet metal workers 19, , H322 Boilermakers 4, , H323 Structural metal ad platework fabricators ad fitters 10, , H324 Iroworkers 9, , H325 Blacksmiths ad die setters 1, H326 Welders ad related machie operators 101,530 3, ,520 4, H411 Costructio millwrights ad idustrial mechaics (except textile) 66, ,900 1, H412 Heavy-duty equipmet mechaics 42, , H413 Refrigeratio ad air coditioig mechaics 14, , H421 Automotive service techicias, truck mechaics ad mechaical repairers 128,905 1, ,995 2, H611 Heavy equipmet operators (except crae) 75,270 1, ,725 2, H621 Crae operators 12, , H622 Drillers ad blasters Surface miig, quarryig ad costructio 3, , H821 Costructio trades helpers ad labourers 112,650 7, ,095 12, H822 Other trades helpers ad labourers 12,555 1, , i016 Supervisors, ladscape ad horticulture 8,370 1, ,435 1, i212 Ladscapig ad grouds maiteace labourers 88,070 13, ,495 20, Source: Statistics Caada, Cesus 2001 ad Cesus 2006 Note: Trades groups based o Natioal Occupatioal Classificatio (NOC) 153

158 Appedix H: ew Zealad Huma Rights Commissio recommedatios The followig recommedatios were icluded i the 2008 New Zealad report, Tradig Choices: Youg People s Career Decisios ad Geder Segregatio i the Trades. 1. Work with Moder Appreticeship Co-ordiators i developig strategies to ecourage the recruitmet of youg wome, Mãori, Pacific people ad people with disabilities ito Moder Appreticeships as supported by Sectio 15 of the Moder Appreticeship Traiig Act Ecourage the Govermet to promote Moder Appreticeships to parets as a pathway for youg wome, Mãori, Pacific people ad people with disabilities i ay idustry. 3. Support curret idustry iitiatives (Idustry Traiig Orgaisatios ad idustry represetatives) regardig the recruitmet of youg wome, Mãori, Pacific people ad people with disabilities through secodary schools for Moder Appreticeships. 4. Ecourage the Tertiary Educatio Commissio to make reportig agaist targets for more diverse participatio, a cotractual requiremet for Moder Appreticeship Co-ordiators as supported by Sectio 13(1) of the Moder Appreticeship Traiig Act Ask the Tertiary Educatio Commissio to esure prospective Moder Appreticeship Co-ordiators udertake traiig i diversity ad geder awareess before udertakig co-ordiator roles. 6. Work with champios of equity issues withi Idustry Traiig Orgaisatios to provide ideas, role models ad best practice for reducig barriers to participatio. 7. Support the provisio of icetives, icludig fiacial icetives, for the recruitmet of youg wome, Mãori, Pacific people ad people with disabilities, where particular Idustry Traiig Orgaisatios have made a commitmet to diversity. 8. Support the Idustry Traiig Federatio (ITF) i its cotiued show-casig of case studies addressig equity issues. 9. Support a review of the fudig criteria for Moder Appreticeships so that it aligs with the itetios of the Idustry Traiig Act 1992, Sectio 13b, which specifically ecourages the promotio of traiig to people to whom such traiig has ot traditioally bee available. 10. Esure that iformatio ad marketig of the Moder Appreticeship scheme is relevat to commuity groups that focus o employmet issues for wome, Mãori, Pacific Peoples, ethic miorities ad people with disabilities. 11. Ecourage the Associate Miister for Educatio (Tertiary Educatio), who has resposibility for the Moder Appreticeships scheme to lead iitiatives to icrease participatio rates of diverse groups. 12. Ecourage relevat Govermet departmets to icrease the umber of public sector appreticeships of wome, Mãori, Pacific people ad people with disabilities. 154 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

159 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Career aspiratios ad choices are closely tied to the decisios youg people ad adults make about educatio ad traiig. I tur, the participatio of wome i the labour force is closely tied to levels of educatioal attaimet. I 2006, 61% of Caadias 15 years or older who held a appreticeship or trades certificate or diploma were male; 39% were female. However, whe educatioal attaimet statistics were examied i the field of costructio aloe, females 15 years ad older held oly 1% of total appreticeship ad trades certificates/ diplomas ad college/cegep or other o-uiversity certificates/diplomas. Caadia males hold 99% of these credetials i the field of costructio. A questio that is frequetly asked about plas to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio idustry is: What is the umber of wome who have a iterest i careers i the costructio idustry? To uderstad more about the career choices of Caadia youth, secodary data aalyses were performed o data from the Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Survey of Secodary School Studets (2005) ad the Caadia Appreticeship Forum (CAF) Survey. Educatioal attaimet Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Survey of Secodary School Studets To explore a umber of questios related to the educatioal ad future decisio makig of studets i secodary school, secodary data, draw from the Caada Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Survey of Secodary School Studets (2005), was aalysed. This survey was admiistered i differet formats to studets i grades 6 to 8 ad grades 9 to 12 i British Columbia, Alberta, Maitoba, New Bruswick, ad Newfoudlad ad Labrador. Studets were fairly evely distributed across all these grade levels. The fial sample of survey participats icluded 14,329 studets. Half of the participats were female ad 11% of the total sample was Aborigial. The survey asked studets about their parets educatio, school experieces, educatioal aspiratios, paretal expectatios for their educatio, ad the grade they were i whe they first made a decisio about cotiuig with post-secodary educatio. Studets i grades 9 to 12 were asked additioal questios about their kowledge of fiacig for post-secodary educatio, ad about the returs ad value of post-secodary educatio. Secodary aalyses for this project were performed oly o questios related to studets educatioal aspiratios, paretal educatio, paretal expectatios, ad the time whe the decisio was first made about pursuig postsecodary educatio. Studets educatioal aspiratios Whe asked about the highest level of educatio they expected to complete, more female studets (65% of females; 49% of males) idicated that they expected to complete a uiversity degree. Almost a quarter of the whole sample of studets (21% of females; 23% of males) expected to complete a college diploma or certificate. A small proportio of studets (8% of females; 13% of males) expected high school to be the highest level of educatio they would complete i their lifetime. The smallest percetage of studets i ay category, however, was the percetage of female studets (4%) who expected to complete a appreticeship i the future. More boys (12%) tha girls (4%) said they expected to complete a appreticeship i future (Figure 1). 155

160 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Figure 1: Studets expectatios for their future educatioal attaimet Female Male Percetage High school Uiversity degree Appreticeship College/techical istitute diploma or certificate Expected level of educatioal attaimet Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad missig resposes. Aborigial studets educatioal aspiratios differed i some ways from those of o-aborigial studets. More Aborigial studets (16% of females; 23% of males) expected high school to be the highest lifetime level of educatio they would attai, compared to 7% of female ad 12% male o-aborigial studets. A smaller proportio of Aborigial studets female (53%) ad male (36%) expected to complete a uiversity degree, compared to o-aborigial female (67%) ad male (50%) studets. About a quarter of Aborigial studets (23% of females ad 24% of males) expected to ear a college credetial, similar to o-aborigial female (21%) ad male (23%) studets. Six percet (6%) of female Aborigial studets ad 12% of males expected to complete a appreticeship, compared to 3% of female ad 12% of male o-aborigial studets. Paretal expectatios Differeces could be observed betwee the reported expectatios of parets ad the studets expectatios for their ow highest level of future educatioal attaimet. The expectatios of studets who expected to complete uiversity or college more ofte matched their parets expectatios for their educatioal attaimet, compared with studets who expected to complete a appreticeship. Eighty-seve percet (87%) of studets who expected to ear a uiversity degree reported that their parets had similar expectatios of them, while 70% of studets who expected to ear a college diploma or certificate reported that their parets also expected them to achieve a college-level educatio. By cotrast, just over half the studets who expected to complete a appreticeship reported that their parets expected them to do the same (50% of females; 56% of males). Some of the studets who expected their highest level of future educatioal attaimet to be a appreticeship reported that their parets expected them to ear a uiversity (17%) or college (16%) credetial istead, ad 12% of these studets reported that their parets expected them oly to go as far as high school. Paretal educatio There is ample evidece to suggest that paretal educatio is a strog predictor of studets decisios about post-secodary educatio (Berger, Motte, ad Parki, 2007). Whe the paretal educatio of studets was compared for various levels of educatioal aspiratio, the fidig was 156 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

161 that the parets of studets who expected to complete college or uiversity credetials had more educatio tha those of studets who aspired to complete a appreticeship. Compared to studets who expected to complete a appreticeship, more studets who expected to complete uiversity had parets who had also completed uiversity (37% of mothers; 35% of fathers) or college (13% of mothers; 14% of fathers) tha studets who expected to complete a appreticeship or a college credetial (Figure 2). A third of the studets who plaed to complete uiversity had parets (37% mothers; 35% fathers) who had completed high school or less, while oly 3% had mothers ad 12% had fathers who had completed a appreticeship or received some appreticeship traiig. Fewer studets who expected to complete a college credetial had parets (22% mothers; 20% fathers) who had completed a uiversity degree compared to studets who expected to complete uiversity, ad a similar proportio had parets who had completed a college credetial (13% mothers; 15% fathers). Compared to studets expectig to complete uiversity, more studets who expected to complete a college credetial had parets (53% mothers; 46% fathers) who had a high school educatio or less. A similar proportio had parets who had completed a appreticeship or received some appreticeship traiig (3% mothers; 15% fathers) compared to studets who expected to get a uiversity degree. Figure 2: Educatioal attaimet of parets of female studets who expected to complete a appreticeship Mothers Fathers Percetage of parets High school or less Uiversity degree Appreticeship program College diploma/certificate Some post-secodary Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig. Paretal educatio Compared to studets who were plaig to complete uiversity or college, female studets who were plaig to complete appreticeships less ofte had parets who held a uiversity degree (16% mothers; 10% fathers), while a similar proportio had parets who held a college credetial (13% mothers; 12% fathers). About half of respodets plaig to complete appreticeships had parets (52% mothers; 49% fathers) who had completed high school or less, similar to studets who plaed to complete a college credetial. Somewhat more female studets who were plaig to complete a appreticeship had parets (13% mothers; 24% fathers) who had some appreticeship traiig or a completed appreticeship compared to studets who expected to complete uiversity or college. The overall fidig of these comparisos supports what is kow from previous research, amely that paretal educatioal is predictive of studets educatioal aspiratios. Parets appear to ecourage their childre to attai levels of educatio either similar to or higher tha their ow. 157

162 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio These fidigs should be cosidered i cojuctio with fidigs related to the ifluece parets reportedly have o studets educatioal decisio makig, which are reported i the ext sectio. Pathways to post-secodary educatio Studets i all grades were asked what they expected to do right after graduatig from high school. Thirty-ie percet (39%) of studets expected to start uiversity immediately after completig high school, 17% expected to start college immediately, ad 6% plaed to start a appreticeship immediately. Sevetee percet (17%) of studets expected to take time off to work before cotiuig their studies, ad 14% expected to take time off before work ad further studies. Oly 4% plaed to start work immediately with o plas for further study, ad a very small percetage (1%) expected to start a family immediately. Somewhat more female tha male studets expected to go to uiversity right after high school (46% of females; 32% of males). Cosistet with this, somewhat fewer female studets (14% compared to 20% of male studets) plaed to take some time off to work before cotiuig their studies. Factors that ifluece studets educatioal decisios Studets i all grades were asked whe they first made a fial decisio about cotiuig i some form of post-secodary educatio. Notable is the fact that 10% fewer female studets (27%) compared to male studets (37%) made a decisio about their future educatio i Grade 6. By Grade 9, 52% of female studets ad 62% of male studets had reached a decisio about their future educatio. Twety-eight percet (28%) of female studets ad 23% of male studets had ot reached a decisio. Table 1: Factors that affect studets decisios about what to do after high school Strogly ifluetial people ad other factors Female studets who expect to complete a appreticeship (%) Female (%) Male (%) Frieds Parets Guidace cousellors Teachers Uiversity or college represetatives Brothers or sisters Role model that is admired Creative talet or ability Ejoymet of a course at school Success i a course at school Persoal iterests Likely fiacial rewards Cost of post-secodary Program etrace requiremets Likelihood of employmet based o a particular post-secodary program THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

163 The survey asked studets i grades 9 to 12 the extet to which various people ad factors iflueced their decisios about what they plaed to do right after high school. Studets plas after completig high school do ot equate to career decisios, but the questio icluded several optios suggestig that the questio was related to preparatio for future work. Several observatios ca be made about the results (Table 1). First, quite a umber of factors ca strogly ifluece studets decisios about what they will do after high school. Secod, a very similar proportio of male ad female studets reported that the people ad factors metioed i the survey had a strog if ot very strog ifluece o their decisios about the educatio they expected to get i future. A fairly equal proportio of female (79%) ad male studets (73%) idicated that their persoal iterests had a strog ifluece o their decisio about what they wated to do after high school. The ext greatest percetage of male ad female studets idicated that their strogest iflueces were parets ad their ejoymet or success i a course at school. Slightly more female studets (53%) tha male studets (47%) idicated that the likelihood of fiacial rewards was a strog or very strog ifluece o their decisios. Other factors such as the likelihood of employmet after post-secodary educatio, program etrace requiremets, a persoal talet, ad the cost of post-secodary educatio were rated as strogly ifluetial factors by 30% to 45% of both male ad female studets. More tha half the studets, both female (57%) ad male (57%),idicated that the ejoymet of a course i school was a strog or very strog ifluece o their decisio about what they would do beyod high school. Somewhat fewer female studets who expected to complete a appreticeship idicated that their success i a course i school (52%) or ejoymet of a course at school (48%) was a strog ifluece o what they decided to do after high school. A possible cotributor to the fact that fewer girls who had decided to complete a appreticeship after high school reported that a course they had take i school cotributed to this decisio, may be the fact that ot all schools provide female studets with the opportuity to sample courses i appreticeable programs. Caadia Appreticeship Forum Survey of Appretices Geder aalyses were performed o secodary data draw from the Caadia Appreticeship Forum Survey of Appretices to explore questios related to the characteristics ad experieces of appretices i traiig. Appretices takig i-class traiig i public ad private istitutios were surveyed betwee 2006 ad 2007 to ivestigate the factors that ifluece decisios to eter registered appreticeships, the difficulties of eterig a appreticeship, costs ad fiacial supports available to appretices, ad the expected beefits of completig a appreticeship program. The survey was commissioed by the Caadia Appreticeship Forum as part of a larger study about returs o ivestmet i appreticeship traiig. 159

164 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Table 2: Represetatio of females i appreticeship by trade Appreticeship Females (% by trade) Appreticeship Females (% by trade) Automotive service techicia 7 Ladscaper 57 Cabietmaker 50 Machiist 16 Carpeter 3 Metal fabricator 43 Costructio electricia 6 Motorcycle mechaic 50 Cook 49 Paiter/decorator 13 Electroics techicia 36 Partsperso 22 Electroic assembler 60 Plumber 2 Hairstylist 92 Refrigeratio ad air coditioig mechaic Heavy-duty equipmet techicia 2 Tilesetter 11 Idustrial istrumet mechaic 7 Tool ad die maker 19 Idustrial mechaic (millwright) 7 Welder 6 2 Of the total sample of 2,244 appretices, 11% were female ad 87% were male (2% did ot idetify their geder). Seve percet (7%) of survey respodets were Aborigial (11% of female survey respodets ad 7% of male respodets). Almost all of the appretices surveyed (93%) were less tha 44 years of age. The average age of female appretices was 30 years; male appretices were 27 years o average. I the survey sample as a whole, 90% of appretices had at least completed high school. A large majority of appretices of both geders (96% females; 97% males) idicated that they expected to complete their appreticeships. The distributio of wome appretices i the various trades categories is preseted i Table 2. The trades i which oe of the female appretices surveyed were registered are ot listed i Table 2. Female appretices represeted at least 45% of appretices i the followig programs: cabietmaker, cook, electroic assembler, hairstylist, motorcycle mechaic, ad ladscaper. Betwee 15% ad 44% of appretices i the followig programs were female: electroics techicia, machiist, metal fabricator, partsperso, ad tool ad die maker. Female appretices represeted less tha 15% of appretices i the followig programs: automotive service techicia, carpeter, costructio electricia, heavy-duty equipmet techicia, idustrial istrumet mechaic, idustrial mechaic (millwright), paiter/decorator, plumber, refrigeratio ad air coditioig mechaic, tilesetter, ad welder. Paretal educatio of female appretices Similar to the fidigs of the Milleium Scholarship Foudatio Secodary School Survey, the CAF Survey of Appretices foud that very few female appretices had parets who were joureypersos (2% mothers; 12% fathers) or who had atteded or completed a appreticeship (4% mothers; 6% fathers). About half (51 to 52%) of the female appretices surveyed had parets with a high school educatio or less. About a fifth had parets (15% mothers; 22% fathers) who held a college credetial, ad less tha a teth had parets (6% mothers; 8% fathers) who held a uiversity degree (Figure 3). 160 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

165 Figure 3: Educatioal attaimet of parets of female appretices Fathers Mothers Some post-secodary 6 8 Completed college/techical diploma/certificate Paretal educatio Joureyperso Atteded/completed appreticeship Completed uiversity degree High school Did ot complete high school Percetage of parets Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig, ad missig ad do ot kow resposes. Pathways to registered appreticeship Oly 7% of female appretices had eared a uiversity degree or diploma i the past, but 35% had eared some post-secodary credits. Twety-six percet (26%) had previously completed a college-level certificate, diploma, or applied degree. Seve percet (7%) of female appretices had completed aother appreticeship ad 8% were joureypersos. Forty-five percet (45%) had doe some previous appreticeship traiig. Appretices were asked whether they had take ay trades, techical, or pre-appreticeship programs before registerig i their curret appreticeship programs. The results are preseted i Table 3. Of the total sample of 2,244 appretices, about 35% of female ad male respodets had take oe of these programs prior to registerig i their curret appreticeship programs. The geders were ot differet i this regard. Table 3: Programs take prior to eterig registered appreticeship Programs take or completed previously Female appretices (%) Male appretices (%) Trade or vocatioal or techical high school program High school appreticeship program 15 9 High school co-op program or work experiece program (e.g., OYAP, RAP, etc.) Pre-appreticeship exploratory program (e.g., Wome i Trades ad Techology) College trade program (e.g., cook) Private school (e.g., hairdressig)

166 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Whe asked about prior work experiece, 85% of female ad 75% of male appretices idicated that they had worked full-time durig the time betwee high school ad the start of their appreticeship. Almost 50% of female ad 60% of male appretices had worked i less tha five jobs sice high school. The remaider had worked five or more jobs sice leavig high school. Almost half (47%) of the female appretices surveyed idicated that it had bee 10 years or more sice they had atteded high school. For aother 21%, it had bee betwee five ad 10 years sice high school, ad for a further 29% of female appretices, it was less tha five years sice they had completed high school. A smaller proportio of male appretices (33%) idicated that it had bee as log as 10 years sice they atteded high school. For about a third of male appretices, it had bee betwee five ad 10 years (32%) or less tha five years (33%). These results are cosistet with the fact that the surveyed female appretices were several years older o average. Appretices were most heavily represeted i the followig order: 1) by studets who had chose to work right after completig high school; 2) by studets who chose to go to college after high school; ad, 3) by studets who chose to atted uiversity after high school. Whe asked whether a appreticeship had bee their first choice after completig high school, 70% of female appretices ad 60% of male appretices idicated that it had ot bee their first choice. This is cosistet with the iformatio gathered about appretices previous educatio. Whe asked what their first choice had bee followig high school, 38% of female appretices respoded that work had bee their first choice, 34% said college, ad aother 20% said uiversity. Similarly, 44% of male appretices stated that work had bee their first choice, 33% idicated college, ad 17% said uiversity. Eve after havig possibly completed a degree, certificate, or diploma, these idividuals evetually chose to eter appreticeships. Factors that iflueced the decisio to eter a registered appreticeship Appretices were asked whether they kew people, such as parets, close relatives, frieds, or co-workers, who worked i the skilled trades. May of the appretices kew people who did. The frequecy was fairly similar for both geders. About a quarter of female appretices ad a third of male appretices had a paret who worked i a skilled trade. Forty percet (40%) of female appretices ad 44% of male appretices idicated that they had aother close relative who worked i a skilled trade. Fifty-five percet (55%) of female ad 61% of male appretices had a fried workig i the skilled trades, ad 36% of female ad 32% of male appretices had a co-worker who worked i the skilled trades. Appretices idetified may reasos (Figure 4) for havig registered i their traiig programs. Almost half of female appretices idicated that their expectatio of good pay ad a steady job were major reasos. A good proportio of male appretices also gave these reasos, although slightly more males said that their expectatio of a steady job was a major reaso, while slightly fewer males tha females said that their expectatio of good pay was a major reaso. About a third (30%) of female appretices stated that their iterest i the trade was a major reaso ad aother quarter of female appretices said that they had eeded a ew job or hoped to ow their ow busiess. About a fifth of female appretices said that uio affiliatio, uio beefits or dislikig their last job was a major reaso for eterig a registered appreticeship. More male appretices (almost 70%) stated that their iterest i a particular trade was a major reaso for registerig i their curret appreticeship program. More male appretices stated that they had a job i a trade previously ad a employer had suggested that they eter a registered appreticeship. 162 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

167 Figure 4: Reasos for registerig i the curret appreticeship program Male Female Hoped to ow a busiess Needed a job Required by law 3 7 Employer required it 5 9 Reasos for eterig appreticeship Employer suggested it Uio beefits Uio affiliatio Iterested i the trade Fiacial assistace to buy tools Had a job i a trade Disliked former job Expected steady job Expected good pay Percetage of appretices The survey asked about other factors (Figure 5) that iflueced appretices decisio to register i their appreticeship program. The factors that were strogly ifluetial were similar for male ad female appretices. The three factors that were cosidered very ifluetial by the most appretices were kowig other tradespeople, kowledge from aother job, ad havig a related hobby. Appretices were asked about ay cousellig they had received related to eterig a appreticeship, ad whether that cousellig positively or egatively iflueced their decisio to eter a appreticeship (Table 4). The majority of female appretices had maily received cousellig related to eterig a registered appreticeship program from family or frieds, someoe workig i the trade or a employer. 163

168 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Figure 5: Other factors that iflueced decisio to eter a appreticeship Male Female Advertisig or media 6 7 A hobby Other factors Other tradespeople Role model i class High school co-op or work experiece Kowledge from prior job High school or vocatioal course Percetage of appretices Very few of the surveyed appretices, male or female, received cousellig that egatively iflueced their decisio to eter a registered appreticeship. Somewhat more male appretices received positively ifluetial cousellig from family (64%) or other tradespeople (60%), but roughly half the female appretices surveyed received cousellig that had a positive ifluece o their decisio from these sources. Table 4: Ifluece of cousellig received by female appretices Source of cousellig Noe received (%) Positive ifluece (%) Negative ifluece (%) High school guidace cousellor High school teacher College or uiversity teacher or placemet officer Someoe workig i a trade Family or frieds A employer A uio A joit traiig committee Support ad assistace orgaizatio Caada Employmet Cetre A provicial govermet appreticeship or career cousellor Iteret Other media icludig TV/radio/ewspaper College or traiig istitutio THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

169 Experieces securig a appreticeship Survey respodets were asked about their satisfactio with various aspects of the process they wet through to eter a registered appreticeship. The survey asked respodets how satisfied they were with the etry requiremets, the cooperatio of the sposorig employer, fidig a sposor to sig them up, ad the cooperatio of govermet appreticeship cosultats. A large majority of female (94%) ad male (93%) appretices idicated that they were satisfied with the etry requiremets. Most were also satisfied with the cooperatio of the sposorig employer (92% females; 84% males), the cooperatio of govermet appreticeship cosultats (82% females; 76% males), the fact that they had to fid a sposor to sig them oto a registered appreticeship (85% females; 78% males), ad the level of difficulty of fidig a employer for the appreticeship (87% females; 91% males). Table 5: Circumstaces that cotributed to the difficulty of fidig a sposor Cosiderably ifluetial or very ifluetial Female appretices (%) Male appretices (%) No oe was hirig appretices There was o work i the trade at the time Had isufficiet experiece i the trade Discrimiatio based o race, geder, ethicity or disability Of those respodets who had difficulties eterig appreticeships, 20% of female ad 20% of male appretices idicated that they had difficulty fidig a employer to sposor their appreticeship. Respodets were asked to what degree a umber of circumstaces o oe was hirig, o work i the trades, isufficiet experiece ad discrimiatio cotributed to their difficulty fidig a employer to sposor their appreticeship. Respodets ratigs of the cotributio of these circumstaces to their difficulties are preseted i Table 5. Female appretices reported difficulty fidig a sposor due to a slowdow i hirig (89%) ad a slowdow i their trade (43%) (compared to 65% ad 37% of males respectively). A similar proportio of male (59%) ad female (53%) appretices attributed the difficulty of fidig a sposor to havig isufficiet experiece i the trade. More female (30%) tha male (13%) appretices idicated that discrimiatio based o race, geder, ethicity or disability had cotributed to their difficulty. 165

170 Appedix I: Pathways to careers i costructio Figure 6: Other factors that created difficulties eterig appreticeships Male Female Had to get o a waitig list Lack of sufficiet cotacts i the trade Difficulties joiig the uio 6 10 Other difficulties Employers ot followig the rules Discrimiatio Lack of appropriate etry requiremets Not eough seiority to qualify 6 10 Lack of iformatio about how to apply Percetage of appretices Fially, the CAF survey asked respodets to idetify other difficulties they ecoutered while settig up their curret appreticeship. Up to a quarter of appretices rated the factors listed i Figure 6 cosiderably or very ifluetial o their decisio to eter a appreticeship. These other factors icluded difficulty gettig o a waitig list (12% females; 20% males), lack of iformatio about how to apply (15% females; 23% males), lack of cotacts i the trades (17% females; 25% males), lack of seiority (6% females; 10% males), lack of appropriate etry requiremets (4% females; 8% males), employers ot followig the rules (9% females; 3% males), difficulty i joiig the uio (6% females; 10% males), ad experieces of discrimiatio (10% females; 12% males). 166 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

171 Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey INTRODUCTION The purpose of this survey is to uderstad the factors that ifluece wome s career choices ad obtai wome s opiios about careers i the costructio idustry, either i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet. S1. Please cofirm your age. a. Less tha 18 years THANK AND TERMINATE b. 18 to 19 years c. 20 to 24 years d. 25 to 29 years e. 30 to 34 years f. 35 years+ THANK AND TERMINATE EDUCATION 1. What is the highest level of educatio you have completed? a. Less tha High School b. High School Diploma or equivalet c. Some College or Uiversity courses (o Certificate, Diploma, or Degree) d. Appreticeship Certificatio e. Appretice Joureyperso f. Public or Private Commuity College Certificate or Diploma g. Uiversity Bachelor s Degree (e.g., B.A., B.Sc., B.Ed.) h. Master s Degree (e.g., M.Ed., M.A., M.Sc., M.B.A.,) i. Professioal Degree (e.g., M.D.) j. Doctoral Degree (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., Sc.D.) k. Other Specify 2. Are you curretly erolled i a educatio or traiig program? a. Yes (Cotiue) b. No, but pla to i the future (skip to Q4) c. No, ad do ot pla to i the future (skip to Q5) 3. Please idicate what educatio or traiig program you are erolled i curretly? a. High School upgradig b. Appreticeship Certificatio c. Appreticeship Joureyperso d. Public or Private College Certificate or Diploma program e. Uiversity Bachelor s program f. Uiversity Master s program g. Uiversity Doctoral program h. Other Professioal Degree (e.g., MD) i. Courses or traiig to upgrade (ot for a certificate, diploma, or credetial) j. Other. Specify 167

172 Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey 4. What is the highest level of educatio or traiig you pla to complete i the future? a. No further plas at preset b. High School Diploma or equivalet c. Appreticeship Certificatio d. Appreticeship Joureyperso e. Public or Private College Certificate or Diploma program f. Uiversity Bachelor s Degree g. Uiversity Master s Degree h. Uiversity Doctoral Degree i. Other Professioal Degree (e.g., MD) j. Courses or traiig to upgrade or develop skills (ot for a certificate, diploma, or credetial) k. Other. Specify 5. Were you ever a registered trades appretice? a. Yes b. No CAREER DECISIONS 6. How much does each of the followig cosideratios ifluece your choice of career? [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS] a. Scholarship opportuities b. The required traiig or educatio is iexpesive c. Opportuity to trai o the job while earig a icome d. Possibility of promotio e. Salary f. Beefits g. Log-term security h. Flexible work hours i. Ejoymet of daily work tasks j. The career matches my skills or aptitudes k. Prestige of the career l. Availability of wome role models m. Opportuity to be a role model. Wome are equally represeted o. Wome are treated equally p. Opportuity to be self-employed RESPONSE OPTIONS: No ifluece Slightly ifluetial Fairly ifluetial Very ifluetial 168 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

173 7. Thikig of your choice of career, how appealig or uappealig is each of the followig to you persoally? [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS] a. Work i a office or similar settig b. Work ivolves iteractig with customers or the public c. Work ivolves beig physically active d. Workig with my hads e. Work requires creativity f. Travellig is a required part of the work g. Relocatio to aother part of the provice or coutry to get work RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very Uappealig Fairly Uappealig Slightly Uappealig Neither Appealig or Uappealig Slightly Appealig Fairly Appealig Very Appealig 8. How much has each of the followig actually iflueced your decisio to eter a particular career? [RANDOMIZE ITEMS] a. Parets b. Spouse or life parter c. Family members ot icludig parets or spouse/parter d. Frieds e. Job fair i high school f. Job fair i college or uiversity g. Experiece i co-op, summer job, or youth appreticeship h. A course i high school i. A course i college or uiversity j. Teacher (high school, college, uiversity) k. High School guidace cousellor l. Cousellor i a adult career service, college, or uiversity m. Beig offered a job or traiig opportuity. Media (e.g., ewspapers, televisio, magazies, advertisig) RESPONSE OPTIONS: No ifluece Slightly ifluetial Fairly ifluetial Very ifluetial 169

174 Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey 9. Please idicate whether you thik the followig workplace characteristics are more likely i small, medium, or large-size compaies? [RANDOMIZE ITEMS] a. Higher salaries b. More job security c. Better beefits d. More opportuities for promotio e. Better educatio ad traiig opportuities f. More flexible hours g. Better represetatio of wome h. Policies are more supportive of wome i. Supervisors ca be more flexible with employees RESPONSE OPTIONS: Small (less tha 100 employees) Medium-size ( employees) Large-size (500+ employees) No differece based o size 10. How appealig or uappealig is each of the followig to you persoally? [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS] a. A career i a costructio trade (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) b. A career i a costructio maagemet occupatio (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.) RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very Uappealig Fairly Uappealig Slightly Uappealig Neither Appealig or Uappealig Slightly Appealig Fairly Appealig Very Appealig 170 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

175 11. Have you ever received iformatio from ay of the followig sources about career opportuities for wome i the costructio trades (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) or i costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.)? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY) [RANDOMIZE ITEMS] a. Media (advertisig, TV, movies, etc.) b. Parets c. Family members ot icludig parets d. Teacher e. High School guidace cousellor f. A cousellor i adult career services, college, or uiversity g. Someoe I kew i the costructio idustry h. Frieds i. A course i high school j. A course i college or uiversity k. High School job fair or idustry presetatio at my school l. College or uiversity job fair m. Other. Specify. I did ot receive iformatio from ay source 12. To what extet did each of the followig ecourage or discourage you from cosiderig a career i a costructio trade (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) or i a costructio maagemet occupatio (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.)? [RANDOMIZE ITEMS] a. Parets b. Other family members ot icludig parets or spouse/parter c. Spouse or life parter d. Frieds e. Teacher f. High School guidace cousellor g. Cousellor i a college, uiversity, or commuity career service h. Someoe who worked i the costructio idustry i. High School job fair or idustry presetatio at my school j. College or uiversity job fair k. Beig offered a work or traiig opportuity l. Metorship program m. Media (e.g., ewspapers, televisio, magazies, advertisig) RESPONSE OPTIONS: Strogly discouraged Fairly discouraged Slightly discouraged Neither ecouraged or discouraged Slightly ecouraged Fairly ecouraged Strogly ecouraged 171

176 Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey 13. Do you curretly work i a costructio trade (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) or i a costructio maagemet occupatio (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.)? a. Yes (GO to Questio 16) b. No (Cotiue) 14. [ONLY IF NO IN Q13] Did you ever cosider eterig a career i a costructio trade (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) or i a costructio maagemet occupatio (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.)? a. Yes b. No 15. [ONLY IF NO IN Q13]Regardless of past decisios, how likely are you to cosider each of the followig i the future? [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS] a. A career i a costructio trade (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) b. A career i costructio maagemet (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.) RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very ulikely Fairly ulikely Slightly ulikely Neither likely or ulikely Slightly likely Fairly likely Very likely 16. Have you kow ay wome who worked i the costructio idustry, i a costructio trade or i costructio maagemet? a. Yes b. No 17. Has ay member of your family worked i the costructio idustry, i a costructio trade or i costructio maagemet? a. Yes b. No 18. Please rate how strogly you agree or disagree with the followig statemets. [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS] a. Where I live, there are lots of jobs i costructio for wome b. There is job security i the costructio idustry c. I have the skills or aptitude for work i costructio d. Wome do ot ear good salaries i costructio e. Wome have good opportuities for advacemet i the costructio idustry f. Wome ad me do ot have equal talet for the costructio trades (e.g., Electricia, Plumber, Welder, Roofer, Bricklayer, Ladscaper, etc.) g. Wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., Project Maager, Maager, Supervisor, Estimator, etc.) h. Not may employers i costructio wat to hire wome 172 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

177 i. Work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome j. It is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios k. It is possible to work flexible hours i costructio l. It is possible to trai o the job i the costructio idustry while earig a icome m. Work i costructio ca be dagerous RESPONSE OPTIONS: Disagree strogly Disagree moderately Disagree slightly Neither agree or disagree Agree slightly Agree moderately Agree strogly WORK AND EMPLOYMENT 19. What was your mai activity i 2008, that is, the activity you spet the most time o? a. Full-time employmet b. Part-time employmet c. Full-time school d. Part-time school e. Workig ad goig to school f. Carig for family g. Lookig for employmet h. Other. Specify 20. How may jobs do you have curretly? a. Noe (Go to Questio 23) b. Oe c. Two d. Three e. More tha three jobs [DO NOT ASK Q21 IF Q19 EQUALS CARING FOR FAMILY OR LOOKING FOR EMPLOYMENT ] 21. Which of the followig best describes your mai job curretly? Your mai job is the oe where you work the most. a. Self-employed b. Permaet full-time employmet c. Permaet part-time employmet d. Temporary employmet (I do occasioal work or I am hired for a limited time period) e. Seasoal employmet (I am employed oly durig a certai time of year) f. Other. Specify 173

178 Appedix J: Wome i Costructio Survey 22. O average, how may hours do you work each week (all jobs combied)? a. Less tha 15 hours per week b. Betwee 16 ad 30 hours per week c. Betwee 31 ad 40 hours per week d. Betwee 41 ad 50 hours per week e. More tha 50 hours per week 23. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you/were you i your curret (or most recet) occupatio or mai job? RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very dissatisfied Fairly dissatisfied Slightly dissatisfied Neither satisfied or dissatisfied Slightly satisfied Fairly satisfied Very satisfied 24. Which of the followig icome groups would best represet your expected gross aual icome for 2008? Please idicate your persoal icome, ot your household icome. a. Less tha $19,999 b. $20,000-$29,999 c. $30,000-$39,999 d. $40,000-$49,999 e. $50,000-$59,999 f. $60,000-79,999 g. $80,000 or more BACKGROUND INFORMATION 25. What is your marital status? a. Sigle b. Married/Commo law c. Divorced/Separated d. Other 26. Do you have depedet childre livig with you? a. Yes b. No 27. Are you Native or Aborigial (First Natios, Métis, or Iuit)? a. Yes b. No 28. What is your citizeship status? a. Caadia Citize b. Refugee c. Permaet Residet or Laded Immigrat d. Temporary Worker e. Other 174 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

179 29. What is the highest level of educatio completed by your mother or female guardia? a. Less tha High School b. High School Diploma or equivalet c. Some College or Uiversity courses (No Certificate, Diploma, or Degree) d. Appreticeship Certificatio e. Appretice Joureyperso f. Public or Private College Certificate or Diploma g. Uiversity Bachelor s Degree h. Master s Degree i. Doctoral Degree j. Other Professioal Degree k. Other 30. What is the highest level of educatio completed by your father or male guardia? a. Less tha High School b. High School Diploma or equivalet c. Some College or Uiversity courses (No Certificate, Diploma, or Degree) d. Appreticeship Certificatio e. Appretice Joureyperso f. Public or Private College Certificate or Diploma g. Uiversity Bachelor s Degree h. Master s Degree i. Doctoral Degree j. Other Professioal Degree k. Other 31. I what provice or territory of Caada do you live (or if you are temporarily ot livig i your home provice but pla to retur there, what is your home provice)? a. Newfoudlad ad Labrador b. Nova Scotia c. Price Edward Islad d. New Bruswick e. Quebec f. Otario g. Maitoba h. Saskatchewa i. Alberta j. Nuavut k. Northwest Territories l. Yuko m. British Columbia 32. To the best of your kowledge, which of the followig best describes the place where you live? a. Rural/Small Tow (populatio: less tha 10,000) b. Tow or small city (populatio: 10,000 up to just uder 50,000) c. Metropolita cetre (populatio: 50,000 up to just uder 250,000) d. Large metropolita cetre (populatio: 250,000 or more) We thak you for your time ad iterest i completig this survey for the Costructio Sector Coucil. (END OF SURVEY) 175

180 Appedix K: characteristics of respodets employed i costructio trades/ maagemet Characteristics Employed i costructio trades/ maagemet (%) Not employed i costructio trades/ maagemet (%) Age = 93 = 1, years years years years Educatio = 93 = 1,197 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio 11 1 Joureyperso College credetial Uiversity udergraduate degree Uiversity graduate degree 4 2 Educatioal status ad plas = 93 = 1,197 Curretly erolled i educatio Plas to cotiue educatio i future No plas to cotiue educatio Educatioal aspiratios = 75 = 788 No further plas 4 4 High school or equivalet 17 7 Appreticeship certificatio 9 3 Appreticeship joureyperso 11 2 College credetial Uiversity degree Other professioal degree 4 5 Upgradig (o-credetial) 5 9 Materal/female guardia s educatio = 93 = 1,197 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 5 2 College credetial Uiversity degree Cotiued o ext page 176 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

181 Characteristics of respodets employed i costructio trades/maagemet (cotiued) Characteristics Employed i costructio trades/ maagemet (%) Not employed i costructio trades/ maagemet (%) Pateral/male guardia s educatio = 93 = 1,197 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 8 8 College credetial 8 13 Uiversity degree Livig i rural/urba settigs = 93 = 1,197 Rural or small tow Tow or small city Metropolita cetre Major metropolita cetre Icome (all jobs combied) = 93 = 1,197 < $20, $20,000 to $ $30,000 to $39, $40,000 to $49, $50,000 or more 24 9 Mai job = 76 = 770 Self-employed 11 6 Permaet full-time employmet Permaet part-time employmet Temporary employmet 1 8 Seasoal employmet 9 4 Hours worked per week (all jobs combied) = 82 = 883 < 15 hours hours More tha 50 hours 18 6 Number of jobs = 93 = 1,197 Noe Oe Two 23 9 Three 5 1 More tha three 1 0 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow resposes. 177

182 Appedix L: characteristics of respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio Characteristics Respodets who had cosidered a career i the costructio trades or costructio maagemet Yes (%) No (%) Age = 274 = years years years years Educatio = 274 = 923 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 2 1 College credetial Uiversity degree Educatioal aspiratios = 216 = 572 No further plas 2 4 High school or equivalet 7 6 Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 7 4 College credetial Uiversity degree Upgradig (o-credetial) Materal or female guardia s educatio = 274 = 923 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 0 2 College credetial Uiversity degree Pateral or male guardia s educatio = 274 = 923 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 9 7 College credetial Uiversity degree Livig i rural/urba settigs = 274 = 923 Rural or small tow Tow or small city Metropolita cetre Major metropolita cetre Cotiued o ext page 178 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

183 Characteristics of respodets who had cosidered a career i costructio (cotiued) Characteristics Respodets who had cosidered a career i the costructio trades or costructio maagemet Yes (%) No (%) Depedet childre = 274 = Icome (all jobs combied) = 274 = 923 < $20, $20,000 to $ $30,000 to $39, $40,000 to $49, $50,000 or more 6 10 Mai job = 171 = 599 Self-employed 9 6 Permaet full-time employmet Permaet part-time employmet Temporary employmet 10 8 Seasoal employmet 5 4 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow values. 179

184 Appedix M: characteristics of respodets likely to cosider careers i costructio i the future Characteristics Fairly or very likely to cosider a career i the future i: Costructio trades (%) Maagemet (%) Age = 59 = years years years years Educatio = 59 = 106 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 3 2 College credetial Uiversity degree 5 14 Educatioal aspiratios = 49 = 82 No further plas 4 2 High school or equivalet 4 0 Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 16 9 College credetial Uiversity degree Upgradig (o-credetial) 6 10 Mother/female guardia s educatio = 59 = 106 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 0 0 College credetial Uiversity degree Father/male guardia s educatio = 59 = 106 High school or less Some college or uiversity Appreticeship certificatio or joureyperso 9 8 College credetial Uiversity degree Livig i rural/urba settigs = 59 = 106 Rural or small tow Tow or small city Metropolita cetre Major metropolita cetre Cotiued o ext page 180 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

185 Characteristics of respodets likely to cosider careers i costructio i the future (cotiued) Characteristics Fairly or very likely to cosider a career i the future i: Costructio trades (%) Maagemet (%) Number of jobs = 59 = 106 Noe Oe Two Three 0 1 Depedet childre = 59 = Icome (all jobs combied) = 59 = 106 < $20, $20,000 to $29, $30,000 to $39, $40,000 to $49, $50,000 or more 5 7 Mai activity i 2008 = 59 = 106 Full-time employmet Part-time employmet 14 9 Full-time school Part-time school 2 1 Workig ad goig to school 5 6 Carig for family/homemaker Lookig for employmet 2 1 Mai job = 35 = 78 Self-employed 3 9 Permaet full-time employmet Permaet part-time employmet Temporary employmet 3 8 Seasoal employmet 0 5 Note: Percetages may ot add to 100 due to roudig ad do ot kow values. 181

186 Appedix N: Attitudes of those iterested i careers i costructio trades/maagemet Cosidered a career i costructio trades/maagemet Fairly or very likely to cosider a career i the costructio trades Fairly or very likely to cosider a career i costructio maagemet Yes No Likely Ulikely Likely Ulikely Attitudes ad beliefs Agreed (%) Agreed (%) Agreed (%) 1. Where I live, there are lots of jobs i costructio for wome = (s) = (s) = 23 52* = * = 36 56* = * 2. There is job security i the costructio idustry = 81 75*** = *** = 25 80** = ** = 37 84*** = *** 3. I have the skills or aptitude for work i costructio = 98 80*** = *** = 33 88*** = *** = 54 80*** = *** 4. Wome do ot ear good salaries i costructio = 38 45* = * = 23 56* = * = 31 58** = ** 5. Wome have good opportuities for advacemet i the costructio idustry = (s) = (s) = 29 72** = ** = 39 72** = ** 6. Wome ad me do ot have equal talet for the costructio trades (e.g., electricia, plumber, welder, roofer, bricklayer, ladscaper, etc.) = (s) = (s) = (s) = (s) = 52 39*** = *** 7. Wome ad me have equal talet for costructio maagemet occupatios (e.g., project maager, maager, supervisor, estimator, etc.) = ** = ** = (s) = (s) = 56 95* = * 8. Not may employers i costructio wat to hire wome = 85 86** = ** = (s) = (s) = 49 86** = ** 9. Work i costructio is ot physically difficult for wome = (s) = (s) = 28 68*** = *** = 43 58*** = *** 10. It is difficult for wome to succeed i male-domiated occupatios = ** = ** = (s) = (s) = 49 84** = ** 11. It is possible to work flexible hours i costructio = 89 63*** = *** = 25 84*** = *** = 46 70*** = *** 12. it is possible to trai o the job i the costructio idustry while earig a icome = *** = *** = ** = ** = 43 95** = ** 13. Work i costructio ca be dagerous = *** = *** = (s) = (s) = ** = ** * p <.05, ** p <.01, *** p <.001, (s) = o-sigificat 182 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

187 Appedix O: Associatios ad orgaizatios supportig Caadia wome i costructio Caadia Associatio of Wome i Costructio Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig Sciece ad Techology (CCWESTT) (Wome i SETT iitiative) Caadia Costructio Wome Costructio Owers Associatio of Alberta (COAA) Egieers Caada, Wome i Egieerig iformatio about metorig programs provided o the websites of some provicial associatios Hypatia Associatio: Geder Equity i Sciece ad Techology Otario s Workforce Shortage Coalitio Society for Caadia Wome i Sciece ad Techology Wome Etrepreeurs of Caada (WEC) liks wome etrepreeurs; provides research o wome etrepreeurs; promotes etrepreeurship amog wome Wome s Ecoomic Equality (WEE) Society Wome s Eterprise Ceter Wome i Leadership Foudatio Wome i Trades ad Techology (WITT) (SASKWITT) (Kooteay WITT) (YukoWITT) 183

188 Appedix P: excerpts from Free To Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs (EOC, 2005a) The Uited Kigdom Equal Opportuities Commissio (EOC) released several reports (EOC, 2005a, 2005b, & 2006) to documet the fidigs of a multi-phase project called The Free to Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs Project. This project ivestigated the segregatio of me ad wome i work ad traiig, idetified key systemic barriers to the equal participatio of o-traditioals i vocatioal educatio, ad developed a comprehesive actio pla to address systemic barriers. The followig passages have bee extracted from the EOC (2005a) report titled, Free to Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs. Eglad Fial Report - EOC s Ivestigatio ito Workplace Segregatio ad Appreticeships. Phase 1: Key recommedatios The U.K. Govermet s plaed overhaul of the appreticeship scheme should iclude actios that address systemic barriers to takig o o-traditioal recruits. As part of this, the appreticeship scheme should be made more trasparet through better data collectio, ad immediate actio should be take to put all existig geder data o appreticeship frameworks ad pay i the public domai. 1. A atioal strategy should be developed, drive by a high-level alliace across govermet, to esure a cosistet approach from all relevat parties to tacklig geder segregatio i traiig ad work. This should icorporate effective icetives for leverig real chage, icludig targets for measurig progress. It should iitially focus o appreticeships ad vocatioal educatio but the govermet should look more widely, with the EOC ad employers, at ways of tacklig occupatioal segregatio. Icetives for chage The govermet should set a high-level target or targets to break dow occupatioal segregatio i appreticeships ad vocatioal educatio. This should be backed up by a rage of effective icetives ad levers for chage at each operatioal level, from the Departmet for Trade ad Idustry (DTI), Departmet for Educatio ad Skills (DfES) ad Learig ad Skills Coucils (LSC) to schools ad employers which might iclude: tighteig up ispectio requiremets across all levels of the delivery chai, from the DTI to schools ad traiig providers, ad the itroductio of equality idicators across sectors to measure the extet of geder segregatio. Specific icetives should be offered, either through LSC fudig or i the form of tax breaks, for employers who offer appreticeships traiig to wome i skill shortage sectors (liked to offer ad completio). At the traiee level, there should be icetives for traiees to make atypical choices (also liked to etry ad completio). Procuremet Govermet ca lead by example ad idetify the extet of geder segregatio across the public sector; provide a breakdow of the appreticeship scheme by umber, sector, geder, disability ad age; ad, itroduce greater accoutability o equality by requirig cotractors to sigal their commitmet to supportig ad deliverig appreticeships through their supply chai with equality clauses itegral to appreticeship targets. 184 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

189 2. The govermet s plaed overhaul of the appreticeship scheme should iclude actios that address systemic barriers i the frameworks for atypical recruits. As part of this, the appreticeship scheme should be made more trasparet through better data collectio ad immediate actio should be take to put all existig geder data o appreticeship frameworks ad pay i the public domai. Steps should be take as a matter of some urgecy to put data o registratios (ad ideally completios) by geder, separately for all appreticeship frameworks, i the public domai. A iitial audit of pay rates for appretices should be published ad made available to Coexios ad schools as a matter of urgecy ad this should be followed by subsequet moitorig. Regular surveys of employmet ad appreticeship traiig patters, pay gaps, qualificatio levels ad skills shortages by geder, race ad disability, should be published regularly. Creatig more govermet-fuded, project-based appreticeship groups ad group traiig schemes, rather tha just sigle employer placemets for sectors domiated by small busiesses providig a stable locatio, ad metorig ad support for atypical traiees ad sigle-sex groups, to ecourage retetio i o-traditioal sectors. Icreasig flexible delivery to meet the eeds of wome, Black ad ethic miorities, ad disabled traiees. Esurig that youth appreticeships are structured ad delivered with the clear objective of breakig stereotypes. This is a excitig opportuity to shape youth appreticeships as taster courses, with youg people experiecig a rage of differet vocatioal opportuities with at least oe atypical taster course ad with exposure to good role models ad careers advice. Offerig short o-traditioal taster courses ad accreditatio of prior experiece for adult appreticeships, which are likely to be attractive to those returig to the labour market, ad to people curretly i work. Extedig the atioal miimum wage (NMW) to appreticeships. Other recommedatios 1. Learig ad Skills Coucils should: Collect ad make available aual data o appreticeship frameworks by sector, geder, race ad disability. Set atioal ad local targets or other effective icetives to reduce geder segregatio o appreticeships. Itroduce traiig for employers ad providers to improve recruitmet practices, ad traiig ad workplace culture. Promote the positive outcome of local iitiatives. Facilitate atioal dissemiatio of local successes. 2. Sector Skills Coucils should: Make geder targets a itegral part of sector recruitmet targets ad ot a add-o. Coduct regular audits of pay rates across appreticeship sectors ad publish these. 185

190 Appedix P: excerpts from Free To Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs (EOC, 2005a) Develop ad deliver project-based appreticeship groups for small employers who are reluctat to trai, as a alterative to sigle-employer placemets. Ru campaigs that re-package the five sectors cosidered by this report for atypical target audieces icludig youg people i schools. 3. The Adult Learig Ispectorate should: Focus o the achievemet of idividual providers i attractig ad retaiig atypical appreticeships. Coduct area ispectios by Adult Learig Ispectorate (ALI) ad the Office for Stadards i Educatio, Childre s Services ad Skills (Ofsted) to report o geder patters i recruitmet across whole LSC areas. 4. Coexios should: Esure that the curret review of the careers guidace process icludes a commitmet to offer wider choice to youg people ad support for those who choose o-traditioal careers. Provide iformatio o atypical work sectors to youg people makig vocatioal choices, icludig the differet fiacial rewards for appreticeship ad employmet. 5. Schools should: Put more focus o challegig stereotyped subject choices ad targetig boys ad girls directly with iformatio about a wide rage of opportuities icludig o-traditioal traiig ad work, or work experiece. Set geder targets as part of the etry targets for vocatioal Geeral Certificates of Secodary Educatio (GCSE). 6. The Cofederatio of British Idustry, Federatio of Small Busiesses ad Trades Uio Cogress should: Promote the reductio of occupatioal segregatio ot just as a equality issue, but also as a productivity ad busiess issue amog employers. Phase 2 Occupatioal segregatio ad barriers to chage Phase 2, which is the mai focus of the Free to Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs Eglad Fial Report, was desiged to gather further evidece o: the reasos for occupatioal segregatio ad the barriers to chage, especially i terms of the attitudes, aspiratios ad experieces of youg people; delivery ad practice i educatio, careers advice ad traiig; ad, the practices ad attitudes of employers. We also wated to idetify strategies ad solutios to remove these barriers, focusig o best practice, ad i Eglad to provide additioal evidece o segregatio i wider vocatioal educatio ad traiig, at the request of the Secretary of State for Educatio ad Skills. Fidigs: Barriers to chage The ivestigatio looked at the compoets of the curret educatio to traiig to work system which are behid this geder segregatio. This is what we foud: a educatio system that fails to support etry to o-traditioal employmet via vocatioal routes; a appreticeship ad vocatioal traiig system that fails to support o-traditioal recruits; a lack of coordiated ad cosistet actio amog employers; ad, lack of a atioal strategy to tackle occupatioal segregatio. 186 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

191 Deliverig chage: Recommedatios of the ivestigatio Idividuals, employers ad the ecoomy would all beefit from reduced geder segregatio, ad there is a balace to strike i sharig the costs ad resposibilities of achievig it. Breakig dow these barriers will require a atioal ageda with actios for educators, traiers, employers ad uios coordiated at high level by govermet. The actio required is comprehesive ad far-reachig. 1. Deliverig a educatio system that wides choice ad supports vocatioal routes ito o-traditioal employmet The govermet eeds to put i place a ew atioal ageda that opes up choice ad opportuity ad challeges the myths ad stereotypes that form from a early age. Every school child should be etitled to a persoal careers iterview with a teacher or adviser who has bee traied to ope up choices, challege geder stereotypig ad promote o-traditioal work opportuities. Careers educatio should become statutory ad subject to ispectio o geder equality. There should be a ew strategic focus i work-related learig o wideig opportuity, with work experiece policy ad practice revised so that each pupil is offered two placemets, oe a o-traditioal oe. To address the difficulties i securig work experiece placemets: Every employer i the sectors covered by this ivestigatio should be ecouraged to offer at least oe o-traditioal placemet. Sector Skills Coucils (SSCs) should work with Educatio Busiess Parterships ad school coordiators to source college-simulated work eviromets ad project-based appreticeships ad traiig for o-traditioal placemets. Steps should be take to improve policy, delivery ad practice for the ew youth vocatioal optios to address the emergig geder splits. The itervetios, such as tryig out work before makig a fial choice ad fiacial icetives, that girls ad boys said would ecourage them to choose atypical traiig or work, should be tested. 2. Deliverig a appreticeship ad vocatioal traiig system that ecourages the take-up of atypical recruits The govermet s ogoig developmet of the appreticeship scheme should iclude actios to address the systemic barriers to takig o atypical recruits. Vocatioal traiig schemes, whether appreticeships or beyod, should be desiged with the eeds of atypical traiees i mid, usig best practice idetified i this ivestigatio. This would mea: tasters for youg ad adult appreticeships; that youg people ad adult wome traiees have more support to fid adequate work placemets, possibly through small employers sharig traiees ad by project-based traiig; ad, there beig support etworks for atypical traiees about traiig ad appreticeship schemes. Sector Skills Coucils (SSCs) should use partership agreemets betwee employers ad traiig providers to: deliver skills eeded for the sector to address geder segregatio, make geder targets a itegral part of sector recruitmet targets, ad develop projectbased appreticeship groups for small employers as a alterative to sigle employer placemets. SSCs should be able to draw dow public fudig via these agreemets to meet equality objectives, icludig both ecouragig wome to apply for o-traditioal traiig ad tacklig what employers should do. 187

192 Appedix P: excerpts from Free To Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs (EOC, 2005a) Learig ad Skills Coucils, SSCs ad traiig providers should work with employers to: rebrad traiig ad work opportuities ad redefie skills i male-domiated sectors i ways that will resoate with both sexes, ot just their traditioal audiece; ad, test the itervetios that employers said may ecourage them to take o more mioritygeder appretices ad traiees. 3. Deliverig proactive actio by employers that is joied up ad sustaied The reductio of occupatioal segregatio, ot just as a equality issue but also as a busiess ad productivity issue, should be promoted amog employers i the sectors covered by this ivestigatio, by the Cofederatio of British Idustry (CBI), Trade Uio Cogress (TUC) ad their learig ad skills parters, ad employers should be ecouraged to: trai, recruit ad retai wome i o-traditioal sectors; re-skill wome employees the extesio of Employer Traiig Pilots provides the opportuity for a ew atioal focus o the i-house traiig of wome i o-traditioal skills; ad, offer at least oe o-traditioal work experiece placemet. I additio, these actios should be take: Busiess leaders ad major employers should support ad promote better, more flexible employer practices that would help ad ecourage more wome to eter male-domiated sectors. Trade uios should expad their efforts to challege occupatioal segregatio by icreasigly icludig this o the ageda i collective bargaiig, for example whe egotiatig re-traiig. Give that compaies are ow reportig o huma capital where this is material to their performace as part of Accoutig for People, the reportig should iclude progress toward geder equality recogizig that good equality practice is material to good performace. 4. Deliverig atioal strategies to put tacklig segregatio at the heart of policies to raise productivity ad skills The govermet should develop the atioal strategy, drive by a high-level alliace ad liked to key ecoomic ad skills strategies, to promote joied-up delivery of actio to tackle geder segregatio i traiig ad work. The strategy should icorporate effective icetives for leverig real chage, icludig targets, with moitorig ad evaluatio for measurig progress. The strategy should provide the framework for actig o the recommedatios of both phases of this ivestigatio with dedicated fudig ad resource support. Challegig job segregatio should be built ito atioal procuremet policy. The Treasury s Wome i Eterprise Iitiative should iclude a focus o attractig wome ito the sectors that are experiecig skills shortages. I particular, this focus should be icluded i the Small Busiess Service Pla that will detail cocrete steps to meet the ew Wome i Eterprise target. The Natioal Childcare Strategy should highlight the beefits of attractig more me ito childcare. 188 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

193 Measurig chage It is importat as part of the govermet s atioal strategy ad actio pla to moitor progress o maximizig idividual choice ad potetial ad for meetig employer ad ecoomic eed. We suggest that this moitorig ad evaluatio should focus by geder o: qualificatios, kowledge ad skills acquired i school academic ad vocatioal subject ad optio choices, work experiece placemets, qualificatios gaied post-school destiatios work, further educatio or vocatioal traiig, higher educatio, other destiatios job choice at etry to the workforce, o returig pay rates o etry to work, after re-etry Examples of best practice 1. Examples of U.K. Learig ad Skills Coucil (LSC) good practice iclude: ecouragig employers/work-based traiig providers to make a commitmet to iterviewig o-traditioal applicats who meet their selectio criteria; developig local marketig activities, such as publicity materials ad drama productios to raise awareess ad take-up of opportuities; LSCs workig with parter orgaisatios such as SSCs to provide hads-o activities, work experiece ad taster days; ad, providig metorig ad support programs for o-traditioal traiees. 2. Some traiig providers ecourage ad facilitate participatio by o-traditioal traiees by: settig more flexible traiig hours to fit aroud wome s carig resposibilities; subsidizig childcare, either directly or via a allowace, to offset costs; offerig persoal developmet modules to help o-traditioal traiees build cofidece ad assertive behaviour; dedicatig a staff member to helpig o-traditioal traiees fid work placemets ad supportig them through the placemets; ecouragig employers to offer flexible-hours placemets to accommodate carig resposibilities, as does the Wome s Traiig Network i the ICT idustry; offerig me-oly itroductory childcare courses, ad those aimed at icreasig participatio by Black ad ethic miority males; ad, usig sigle-geder traiig to ope up traiig possibilities to wome from a wider rage of backgrouds, such as those whose religios make it difficult for them to mix with me. 3. Some examples of career services good practice iclude: udertakig group work with 12-year-old childre to challege ad discuss attitudes ad the ifluece of commuity, frieds ad parets; ruig eveig sessios with Year 11 childre ad their families, ad ecouragig parets to sit i o iterviews to ecourage support for o-traditioal choices; ivolvig male childcare workers, ad others i o-traditioal occupatios, i What s My Lie-style quizzes i schools; producig promotioal material posters, mousemats, leaflets, to get across the message, You ca dare to be differet!; ad, 189

194 Appedix P: excerpts from Free To Choose: Tacklig Geder Barriers to Better Jobs (EOC, 2005a) iitiatig a actio-based pilot project to implemet positive career choice, free from geder bias or stereotypes. 4. Some employers are: offerig flexible hours to accommodate carig [there is evidece that small employers ad large employers across all the ivestigatio sectors have bee able to meet differet workig patters, ofte to the beefit of their cliets ad busiess]; providig travel ad childcare support; establishig buddyig ad metorig to address isolatio ad lack of cofidece; settig clear expectatios of stadards of behaviour for employees (e.g., oe large costructio employer tackled persistet harassmet by gettig rid of the offedig male employee); ad, establishig good liks with local schools icludig offerig work experiece placemets, sigle-geder taster days ad ope days. 190 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

195 Appedix Q: excerpts from Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig (EOC, 2005b) A 2005 report from the U.K. Equal Opportuity Commissio (EOC), titled, Actio for Chage: How Traiig Providers ca Break Dow Geder Segregatio i Vocatioal Educatio ad Traiig, describes the objectives ad phases of the Freedom to Choose project. That project set out, first, to idetify actios that could be take to help break dow geder stereotypig i the U.K. appreticeship framework, ad, secod, to idetify barriers to wider chage ad actios to address geder stereotypig, with support from U.K. Learig Skills Coucils. The report documets good practice for promotig chage ad provides iformatio about the followig: actio poits ad iitiatives that traiig providers ca take to ivolve stakeholders (icludig o-traditioal recruits, schools, careers advice agecies, employers ad busiess); ways i which traiig ca be structured to esure o-traditioal traiees are adequately represeted ad supported; ad, details of orgaisatios ad resources that ca assist i breakig dow geder stereotypes i traiig provisio. 1. Ivolvig stakeholders a) What traiig providers ca do to attract o-traditioal recruits Implemet measures ( targets ) to recruit atypical traiees ad moitor applicatios by geder. (See Practice i Actio 1) Work with schools ad careers advice agecies to icrease participatio of traiees i o-traditioal sectors. (See Practice i Actio 1, 2 ad 3) Offer traiig places to all atypical recruits who meet the key selectio criteria. (See Practice i Actio 3) Moitor assessmet tests by geder to esure tests are ot actig as a barrier to recruitmet of atypical traiees. (See Practice i Actio 1 ad 3) Improve access to iformatio about traiig opportuities ad Appreticeship places, by workig i partership with the Sector Skills Coucils (SSCs) ad other key stakeholders such as the Regioal Developmet Agecies. (See Practice i Actio 4) Provide taster sessios as part of the Etry2Employmet programme, which prepares youg people of school age for etry ito work or appreticeships. (See Practice i Actio 5) Work with schools to give hads-o opportuities for youg people to experiece differet vocatioal areas, icludig taster days or weeks, summer schools or studet appreticeships. (See Practice i Actio 2, 6, 7, ad 9) Iclude withi the maistream curriculum work that challeges occupatioal stereotypes held by youg people, prior to makig traiig schemes choices. (See Practice i Actio 2, 7, ad 8) 191

196 Appedix Q: excerpts from Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig (EOC, 2005b) 1. Ivolvig stakeholders a) What traiig providers ca do to attract o-traditioal recruits Practice i Actio 1 Practice i Actio 2 Practice i Actio 3 Practice i Actio 4 Practice i Actio 5 Practice i Actio 6 Practice i Actio 7 Practice i Actio 8 Practice i Actio 9 moitorig settig targets steadily icreasig targets proactive promotio to o-traditioal geder taster opportuities iformal/fu settigs targetig female recruits guarateed places assessmet to esure correct etry level improvig the iformatio available to o-traditioal recruits offerig work experiece as part of E2E ad promotig it widely evets ad away days as a taster female role models taster days for schools talks to sigle sex groups studet appreticeships discussio to challege stereotypes, broade horizos makig the traiig eviromet more familiar b) What traiig providers ca do to get employers o board Work with employers to icrease their awareess of equal opportuity issues, especially i recruitmet ad selectio. Atypical traiees ofte face discrimiatory attitudes that block access to work placemet opportuities. (See Practice i Actio 10 ad 11) Ecourage employers, especially those i the private sector, to implemet equal opportuities policies ad coduct traiig o these policies for maagers. This will meet their legal obligatios as well as provide the orgaisatioal advatages of a diverse workforce. (See Practice i Actio 11) Promote the busiess case for diversity to employers, highlightig the advatages that wome ca brig to a busiess. Our research foud that 70% of employers thought atypical recruits could brig positive beefits to the busiess, ad 80% said a better geder mix would create a better rage of skills ad talets. (See Practice i Actio 12) Challege egative views amog employers about recruitig atypical appretices Cosider providig help with resources if cost is raised as a barrier. Liaise with placemet employers to ecourage them to adopt flexible workig practices that accommodate the particular eeds of wome traiees. (See Practice i Actio 13) Ecourage employer ivolvemet i courses to raise their awareess of atypical traiees ad to icrease studets employability. (See Practice i Actio 14) 192 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

197 1. Ivolvig stakeholders b) What traiig providers ca do to get employers o board Practice i Actio 10 Practice i Actio 11 Practice i Actio 12 Practice i Actio 13 Practice i Actio 14 free semiars for employers best practice resources ad helplie for employers turig shortage ito a marketig tool flexible work hours egotiated with employers fudig ivolvig employers icreasig employability of studets 2. Reviewig the structure of traiig programs b) What traiig providers ca do to support ad eable atypical recruits to participate i traiig Cosider providig sigle-sex traiig courses i o-traditioal skills to ecourage more atypical cadidates to udertake traiig without the fear of beig udermied, ridiculed, or isolated. (See Practice i Actio 17, 18 ad 20) Use wome-oly traiig to target wome from miority ethic backgrouds who for religious or cultural reasos are uable to trai with me. (See Practice i Actio 21) Publicity material for courses should feature ad explicitly welcome the atypical geder. Materials oly featurig oe geder or ethic group ca sed a sigal that the course is ot suitable for or welcomig to those who are ot featured. Set up support mechaisms such as metorig to prevet work-based appretices feelig isolated, thus reducig the chaces of them failig to complete their traiig. (See Practice i Actio 15, 19 ad 22) Provide flexible course hours to fit i with wome s childcare arragemets or other resposibilities. Wome with childre are ofte excluded from traiig because of iflexible course hours. This may require esurig start/fiish times fit aroud school hours ad allowig time off durig local school holidays. (See Practice i Actio 20) Cosider subsidizig childcare, either by offerig o-site childcare or a childcare allowace paid to a childcare provider to offset the cost to traiees. (See Practice i Actio 20) Offer persoal developmet modules that help atypical traiees build cofidece ad assertive behaviour that is ofte eeded to succeed i o-traditioal idustries. (See Practice i Actio 20) Look at providig pre-etry skills traiig i basic umeracy, literacy ad Eglish as a secod laguage, to create a iclusive learig eviromet. (See Practice i Actio 16) Dedicate resources to helpig atypical traiees fid work placemets, as this has bee idetified as a major barrier to completig o-traditioal qualificatios. Wome i o-traditioal traiig ofte fid it harder to secure work placemets tha me due to discrimiatory or stereotypical attitudes. Look at extra provisio that may eable atypical traiees to compete better i the job market. This should iclude all aspects of the job applicatio process, icludig writig letters ad CV s, completig applicatio forms ad practisig iterview skills. (See Practice i Actio 18 ad 20) 193

198 Appedix Q: excerpts from Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig (EOC, 2005b) Offer sigle-sex itroductory courses, to ecourage more of the o-traditioal sex to apply for traiig places. (See Practice i Actio 17, 18 ad 20) Employ members of the o-traditioal sex as traiers ad i developmet roles to help ecourage ad support atypical traiees. It is importat that traiees have someoe they ca idetify with ad feel comfortable to approach to discuss issues. (See Practice i Actio 19 ad 20) Get ivolved i settig up project-based traiig to icrease recruitmet, traiig ad support of o-traditioal appretices. (See Practice i Actio 22) 2. Reviewig the structure of traiig programs What traiig providers ca do to support ad eable o-traditioal recruits to participate i traiig Practice i Actio 15 Practice i Actio 16 Practice i Actio 17 Practice i Actio 18 Practice i Actio 19 Practice i Actio 20 Practice i Actio 21 Practice i Actio 22 providig ogoig support via metors offer basic skills traiig me oly itroductory childcare courses wome oly costructio courses support with basic ad job search skills same sex traiers ad metors flexible course hours persoal developmet childcare facilities busiess support meetig the eeds of Black ad ethic miority wome project-based traiig supportig o-traditioal traiees i a group eviromet providig flexibility i work-based traiig 3. u.k. orgaizatios ad resources that ca assist traiig providers to challege geder stereotypes JIVE JIVE (Joit Itervetios) Parters is a atioal Europea Social Fud project led by Bradford College, which aims to create cultural chage i egieerig, costructio ad techology by addressig the barriers that prevet wome from pursuig careers i these sectors. Workig with LSCs, traiig providers, careers professioals ad employers, JIVE has a rage of strategies desiged to help girls succeed i male-domiated sectors. U.K. Resource Cetre for Wome i Sciece, Egieerig ad Techology UKRC is a dyamic hub that provides accessible, high quality iformatio ad advisory services to employers, professioal bodies, Sector Skills Coucils, careers professioals ad higher ad further educatio to promote best practice i the recruitmet, retetio ad progressio of wome i SET ad the built eviromet. Let s Twist Project A atioal project ru by Bradford ad Ilkley College to ecourage ad support wome ad girls ito egieerig ad costructio careers. 194 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

199 The GERI project The GERI (Geder Equality ad Race Iclusio) cosortium was formed to help LSCs, traiig providers, schools, careers advisers ad employers to tackle geder ad ethic stereotypig. Wome i sciece, egieerig ad techology Govermet-ru campaig that provides posters, videos, magazies ad teachig materials. Wome ad Maual Trades Produces videos ad teachig packs. WISE WISE (Wome Ito Sciece ad Egieerig) promotes these sectors as career optios to girls ad wome across the U.K., through brochures, posters, websites, a video, hads-o courses ad presetatios. The campaig works with teachers, careers advisers, parets, employers, politicias ad the media. Geder ad achievemet website gederadachievemet Departmet for Educatio ad Skills website for teachers, local educatio authorities ad others with a iterest i geder differeces ad related areas of achievemet. Sciece Year Iitiative to raise awareess amog youg people aged of the wide rage of subjects ad careers that are uderpied by sciece ad techology. Ivestigatio recommedatios Phase 2 of the Equal Opportuity Commissio s (EOC) ivestigatio ito occupatioal segregatio idetified may actios traiig providers ca take to address geder stereotypig with the support of U.K. Learig ad Skills Coucils (LSCs), icludig: developig traiig schemes to meet the particular eeds of o-traditioal traiees icludig flexible workig hours, sigle sex traiig, ad support mechaisms/metorig of o-traditioal traiees; improvig access to iformatio about traiig opportuities, by workig i partership with key stakeholders icludig Sector Skills Coucils (SSCs); providig taster sessios icludig the Etry2Employmet programmes; workig with schools to provide opportuities for youg people to experiece differet vocatioal areas such as taster days; devisig pilot schemes to test the itervetios that employers said may ecourage them to take o more miority-geder appretices ad traiees; workig with employers to rebrad traiig ad work opportuities ad re-defie skills i male-domiated sectors i ways that will appeal to both sexes; workig with employers to icrease their awareess of equal opportuities issues ad the busiess case for diversity; dedicatig resources to helpig o-traditioal traiees fid work placemets; ad, employig members of the o-traditioal sex as traiers ad i developmet roles. 195

200 Appedix Q: excerpts from Actio for chage: How traiig providers ca break dow geder segregatio i vocatioal educatio ad traiig (EOC, 2005b) LSCs ca further promote equality through the requiremets they place o, ad the support they provide to traiig providers, icludig: collectig ad makig available to youg people aual data o Appreticeship frameworks by sector, geder, race ad disability, alog with appreticeship pay rates; settig atioal ad local measures (targets) or Equality ad Diversity Impact Measures (EDIMs) to reduce geder segregatio i Appreticeships; itroducig traiig for employers ad traiig providers to improve recruitmet practices ad traiig ad workplace culture; promote the positive outcomes of local iitiatives (EOC, 2005a); ad, facilitate atioal dissemiatio of local successes (EOC, 2005a). 196 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

201 Appedix R: Wome i Leadership Foudatio Actio Pla The followig excerpt 9 is from the Wome i Leadership Foudatio report titled, Wome i Costructio Trades: A Strategic Pla to Promote Wome. Recommedatios ad actio steps to attract/recruit wome I. Employers ad uios Exteral commuicatios 1. Give presetatios i schools about workig i the trades Icorporate a stroger message marketig trades to girls i geeric trades presetatio 2. Promote your compay as a female friedly compay that values equal opportuity whe goig to schools with speakers, advertisig at career fairs, ad postig job ads Strive to achieve a better female/male ratio o site Highlight equal opportuity values whe fillig out questioaire for top 100 Best Employer list Utilize WITT s Strategies Checklist to create a work eviromet welcomig to everyoe 3. Modify compay websites, have realistic pictures of wome workig i the trades Iform those resposible for hirig to portray realistic pictures of trades wome Professioal developmet 4. Esure there are career developmet/advacemet opportuities available to wome Employ or promote use of appreticeship cousellors Establish a appreticeship cotract siged by employer ad appretice Educate trades wome how to promote themselves at their job Icetives 5. Break dow stereotypes by employig more wome o site Icrease umbers of female workers ideally to at least 15% Employ more wome i leadership roles Offer more up frot traiig ad skills developmet at the begiig of work cotract II. Schools ad educatioal istitutios Elemetary ad high school educatio 6. Promote trades at elemetary school, make youg girls aware that trades are a possibility for them i the future. Parter with Idustry Traiig Authority (ITA) ad idustry to provide resources ad tools to create a Tool Box Presetatio for all elemetary school age girls Hold a coferece with schools from all over B.C. highlightig careers i trades 7. Ecourage girls to take trades courses i high schools Develop a poster campaig i partership with BCIT, ITA ad idustry employers highlightig female role models i costructio trades Parter with ITA at career fairs ad have costructio trades discussio groups targetig girls 9 Excerpted with permissio from the Wome i Leadership Foudatio. 197

202 Appedix R: Wome i Leadership Foudatio Actio Pla 8. Employ more wome teachig the trades Distribute the limited umber of opportuities evely betwee me ad wome 9. Amed trades class curriculums to iclude a visit from a female joureyperso Build parterships with employers ad govermet to facilitate trades wome visitig the classrooms. For example, egage employers to fud their tradeswome to go ito schools. I partership with govermet ad employers develop a speaker s etwork of trades wome available to go ito schools. I partership with govermet ad employers create a stadard presetatio for all speakers 10. Promote the idea of wome i the trades to all high school career cousellors Lauch a campaig to all high school career cousellors outliig the beefits of ecouragig girls to go ito the trades Sed out wome i trades promotioal DVD to all career cousellors Colleges/educatioal istitutios 11. Address lack of awareess o how to get fudig for traiig Put iformatio about fudig o college/educatioal istitutio websites Idetify other sources of fudig Parter with BC Costructio Associatio s Step for Wome ad Caadia Costructio Wome to create a tool-kit highlightig sources of fudig ad post sources o all idustry related websites Ecourage studets to apply for fudig 12. Esure there are cotiuous employmet traiig programs ad/or workshops for wome (BCIT/ACCESS) about workig i the costructio trades. Iclude a opportuity to try workig with tools ad have specific iitiatives targetig Aborigial ad immigrat wome. Esure whe fudig levels drop that employmet traiig programs are ot the first cut Roadmap where trades jobs ca lead i the future (utilize idustry websites such as Vacouver Regioal Costructio Associatio) Parter with Caadia Coalitio of Wome i Egieerig, Sciece, Trades ad Techology 13. Esure trades teacher traiig is more accessible to trades people Icrease access to teachig trades programs by creatig better trasfer agreemets for people with trades qualificatios 198 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

203 III. Govermet/Idustry Traiig Authority (ITA) 14. ITA: Stregthe promotioal programs aimed at ecouragig girls to take trades classes i the schools Direct fuds towards a promotioal DVD ad poster campaig highlightig success stories of wome workig i costructio trades to be used as part of a larger marketig campaig Icrease female participatio i ACE-IT programs 15. ITA: Put resources towards the creatio of a stadard presetatio highlightig wome i costructio trades Parter with BCCA Step for Wome ad Caadia Costructio Wome 16. B.C. Govermet: Fiace icetives so wome ca get the experiece to get their foot i the door. Icrease tax credit amout for all appretices ad for employers who hire appretices 17. B.C., Federal ad Local Govermet: Create more daycare spaces/have better access to daycare Icrease provicial ad local govermet fudig for daycare optios, ad i particular fud ceters to ope earlier 18. B.C., Federal ad Local Govermet: facilitate the employmet of more female trades teachers Icrease fudig to trades programs i schools, colleges ad educatioal istitutios IV. Workig i partership: employers, schools/educatioal istitutios, ad govermet/ita Iformatio dissemiatio 19. Dissemiate more iformatio about jobs/what it is like i trades / Provide iformatio about the challeges that wome will face workig i the costructio trades but do t istill fear. Advertise the trades to wome through a marketig campaig that showcases wome i the trades Promote the opportuities i other lesser kow trades / Promote opportuities to try ew thigs Metorig programs, female role models ad wome s etworks 20. Icrease exposure to female metors ad metorig programs Showcase more female role models i the idustry Ecourage the developmet of metorship relatioships 21. Developmet ad fud metorig opportuities for wome i costructio Parter with BCCA Step for Wome ad utilize electroic metorship programs to reach wome all over B.C. Offer bouses to trades wome who act as metors Parter with the Skills Task Force of the local Board of Trades ad Chamber of Commerce 22. Create a wome s etwork of trades wome, fud mothly meetigs of this etwork. Parter with BCCA Step for Wome ad Caadia Costructio Wome ad provide resources 199

204 Appedix R: Wome i Leadership Foudatio Actio Pla Fudig 23. Fid ways to fud wome s appreticeship programs Dissemiate iformatio o fudig opportuities 24. Fud a iitiative for female trades people to act as role models by tradeswome goig ito high schools 3-4 wome at a time. As part of this joit iitiative, prepare a video of female tradeswome workig o site which ca be circulated to high schools ad colleges/traiig istitutes. Esure hoorariums are provided to female trades workers for their time Parter with Skills B.C. 25. Offer more scholarship opportuities for trades educatio Provicial govermet match scholarship fudig provided by employers Cotiue scholarship iitiatives such as Secodary School Appreticeship Scholarship Recommedatios ad actio steps to retai wome I. Employers ad uios Iteral commuicatios 1. Treat wome exactly as me are treated o site Do ot sigle wome out as differet i ay way o the job site Utilize WITT s Strategies Checklist 2. Recogize stregth does ot have to be a limitatio; everyoe has their abilities ad their stregths Parter with Health Caada ad Work Safe B.C. to provide fudig for stregth traiig such as fud memberships at the YWCA 3. Develop clear ati-bullyig iitiatives with clearly stated cosequeces if these policies are violated Use term ati-bullyig istead of ati-harassmet Esure ati-bullyig iitiatives are eforced 4. Address the lack of idividual recogitio o job sites Create recogitio programs for workers Professioal developmet 5. Create a eviromet of success ad equal opportuity for all workers Pay for traiig ad pay for overtime Address lack of support at traiig level from employers Trai supervisors to uderstad the value of equity Provide a educatio allowace Icrease follow up/feedback betwee employee ad employer Offer career developmet programs give wome a idea of where they might wat to go life beyod the tools istructig, ispectig, maagerial roles, etc. Provide laguage traiig pertiet to job site for immigrat workers o site 200 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

205 Retetio strategies for wome 6. Utilize retetio strategies for wome Esure more wome o site to avoid isolatio ad support wome idirectly Utilize the buddy system Put wome workig where there are other wome Promote female role models to ecourage youger workers Develop female-friedly workplaces Icetives 7. Provide excellet icetive optios Provide better daycare optios/flexible work schedule Offer a good beefits package Create icetive programs such as paid family days Esure pay equity/diversity of work/good workig eviromet II. Schools ad educatioal istitutios Colleges/traiig istitutes 8. Reduce wait times to gai access to trades courses, particularly beyod level oe of appreticeships Icrease fudig ad resources for trades programs 9. Teach coflict resolutio ad commuicatio traiig as part of the trades course curriculum Icrease fudig ad resources for trades programs III. Govermet/Idustry Traiig Authority (ITA) 10. B.C., Federal ad Local Govermet: Provide better daycare optios Federal, Provicial ad Local Govermets to fud more daycare optios by creatig more daycare spaces available ad fudig earlier opeig hours 11. Fiace icetives so wome ca get work experiece Icrease tax credit amout for all appretices ad for employers who hire appretices IV. Workig i partership: employers, schools/educatioal istitutios, ad govermet/ita Iformatio dissemiatio 12. Liaise with etworks for Aborigials, wome, immigrats, ad youth Dissemiate poster campaig, DVD promotig wome i trades ad work i collaboratio to promote wome i costructio trades Metorig programs, female role models ad wome s etworks 13. Ivestigate ways to chage social attitudes ad to couteract the stereotypes that exist i the trades Work towards hirig 15% more wome i costructio trades by Provide life-log learig opportuities Parter with traiig istitutios, private sector ad govermet agecies to provide life-log learig opportuities for wome workig i costructio trades 201

206 Appedix R: Wome i Leadership Foudatio Actio Pla Fudig 15. Fud a ogoig wome s etwork of trades wome that starts i traiig, ad cotiues ito etry level career. Fud a aual forum for this wome s etwork Parter with BCCA Step for Wome ad Caadia Costructio Wome ad provide resources 16. Create ad fud metorship programs Parter with BCCA Step for Wome ad Caadia Costructio Wome ad provide resources 17. Support ad fud appreticeship cousellors to assist appretices ad build relatioships with idustry stakeholders Update ad dissemiate appreticeship hadbook 202 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

207 Appedix S: iformatio letters used i recruitmet of participats Iformatio letter set to idustry employers Hello, The Costructio Sector Coucil is coductig a study called the State of Wome i Costructio i Caada. Oe goal of the research is to idetify the chages that are possible to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet occupatios. It is expected that by icreasig the rate of wome s participatio, the costructio idustry will be supported i repleishig the skilled workforce that is due to retire over the ext decade. The Educatioal Policy Istitute (EPI Caada) has bee cotracted by the Costructio Sector Coucil to coduct iterviews with key iformats i the costructio idustry to idetify the followig: 1) successful practices that have bee developed by idustry employers to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 2) challeges facig employers i makig chages to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 3) chages that are possible ad likely i future to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 4) the eeds of costructio idustry employers to support such chages. EPI Caada is coductig idividual telephoe iterviews with costructio idustry employers ad others workig i the idustry. Uderstadig the experiece of costructio idustry employers across Caada is very importat to the success of this research. Your iput would be valuable to this study. We are ivitig you to take part i a telephoe iterview that we suggest will be 30 to 45 miutes i legth, to be scheduled at your earliest coveiece. A copy of the iterview questios is icluded at the ed of this letter. Please sed us a suggestig some times whe you are available for a iterview. Wome i Costructio: key iformat iterview questios The followig iterview questios were desiged to gather iformatio about the chages that are possible to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad osite costructio maagemet i Caada. 1. Approximately how may people did your compay employ i the last 12 moths? How may are employed i i) the costructio trades ad ii) i osite costructio maagemet? 2. Approximately what percetage of those employed i the skilled trades i your compay i the last 12 moths were wome? What about i maagemet occupatios? 3. Have you see ay chage i the percetage of wome employed i the costructio trades or i osite costructio maagemet i your compay? 4. Has your compay itroduced ay recruitmet, hirig, workplace, or retetio practices to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades or i osite costructio maagemet? If so, what were the chages, how successful were they, ad why? 203

208 Appedix S: Iformatio letters used i recruitmet of participats 5. What do you thik employers eed to do to recruit, hire, ad retai wome i costructio trades ad osite maagemet? 6. What do you see as the mai reasos why the percetage of wome i costructio is ot icreasig more sigificatly i the costructio trades or i osite costructio maagemet? 7. What do you thik wome eed to do to be successful i costructio trades or maagemet occupatios? 8. Are you aware of recruitmet, hirig, workplace, or retetio practices that have bee itroduced by other idustry employers or other orgaizatios to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet? If so, what were the chages, how successful were they, ad why? 9. What help does the idustry eed to support chages i the workplace that could icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet? 10. Ca you recommed the ames of ay other idustry employers, cotractors, or uio represetatives who would be iterested i speakig to us for this research? 204 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

209 Iformatio letter set to idustry associatios ad labour orgaizatios Hello, The Costructio Sector Coucil is coductig a study called the State of Wome i Costructio i Caada. Oe goal of the research is to idetify the chages that are possible to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet occupatios. It is expected that by icreasig the rate of wome s participatio, the costructio idustry will be supported i repleishig the skilled workforce that is due to retire over the ext decade. The Educatioal Policy Istitute (EPI Caada) has bee cotracted by the Costructio Sector Coucil to coduct iterviews with key iformats i the costructio idustry to idetify the followig: 1) successful practices that have bee developed by idustry employers or other idustry orgaizatios to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 2) challeges facig employers ad other orgaizatios i makig chages to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 3) chages that are possible ad likely i future to icrease the rate of wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet; 4) the eeds of the costructio idustry to support such chages. EPI Caada is coductig idividual telephoe iterviews with costructio idustry employers ad others workig i the idustry. Uderstadig the experiece of costructio idustry employers ad those i other key orgaizatios across Caada is very importat to the success of this research. Your iput is valuable to this study. We are ivitig you to take part i a telephoe iterview that we suggest will be 30 to 45 miutes i legth, to be scheduled at your earliest coveiece. A copy of the iterview questios is icluded at the ed of this letter. Your participatio is completely volutary ad cofidetial. Your ame ad the ame of your orgaizatio will ot appear i ay report of our fidigs. Please sed us a suggestig some times whe you are available for a iterview if you ca participate. Wome i Costructio: key iformat iterview questios The followig iterview questios were desiged to gather iformatio about the chages that are possible to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad osite costructio maagemet i Caada. 1. I the last 12 moths, approximately how may members did your orgaizatio represet? 2. I the last 12 moths, approximately what percetage of your membership were wome? 3. Have you see ay chage i the percetage of wome i your membership? 4. Has your orgaizatio itroduced ay recruitmet or retetio practices to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades or i osite costructio maagemet? If so, what were the chages, how successful or usuccessful were they, ad why? 5. What do you thik employers eed to do to recruit ad retai wome i costructio trades ad osite maagemet? 205

210 Appedix S: Iformatio letters used i recruitmet of participats 6. What do you see as the mai reasos why the percetage of wome i costructio is ot icreasig more sigificatly i the costructio trades or i osite maagemet? 7. What do you thik wome eed to do to be more successful i costructio trades or osite costructio maagemet? 8. Are you aware of recruitmet, hirig, workplace, or retetio practices that have bee itroduced by other orgaizatios to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades or i costructio maagemet? If so, what were the chages, how successful or usuccessful were they, ad why? 9. What kids of help or support does the idustry eed to support chages that would icrease the percetage of wome employed i costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet? 10. Ca you recommed the ames of ay other idustry owers, cotractors, or uio represetatives who would be iterested i speakig to us for this research? 206 THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

211 Iformatio letter set to focus group participats Hello, The Costructio Sector Coucil is coductig a study called the State of Wome i Costructio i Caada. A key goal of the research is to idetify the chages i recruitmet, hirig, workplace practices, ad retetio that are possible to icrease wome s participatio i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet occupatios much more tha we have see to date. EPI Caada is coductig 2 hour focus groups with wome workig i the costructio trades ad i osite costructio maagemet. A draft copy of the focus group questios is attached to this ivitatio. Your participatio is completely volutary ad cofidetial; your ame will ot appear i ay report of our fidigs. We will cover the costs of trasportatio to the focus group. Focus group questios 1. I a word or two, what comes to mid whe you thik of wome workig i the costructio trades? 2. I your workplace approximately how may of the tradespeople ad osite maagers or supervisors are wome? 3. I the time you have bee workig i costructio have you oticed ay icrease i the umber of tradeswome, female joureyme, or wome i osite maagemet? 4. What do wome experiece i recruitmet or hirig for the trades or osite maagemet? What are the challeges? What is workig well? 5. What do wome experiece i costructio workplaces as tradeswome or osite maagers or supervisors? What are the challeges? What is workig well? 6. What are the challeges faced by wome who are registered trades appretices i costructio workplaces? 7. What is your sese of the opportuities for promotio for wome i the costructio trades ad for wome i osite costructio maagemet? 8. Why do you thik wome s participatio i costructio trades/maagemet is ot icreasig more sigificatly (accordig to statistics)? 9. What eeds to chage to improve the workplace experiece of tradeswome ad osite maagers i costructio workplaces? What role could employers play? What role could labour uios play? 207

212 Appedix T: estimated rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades ad osite maagemet: Idustry Employers Employer size Employees (#) Micro-size employers (0-9 employees) Small-size employers (10-99 employees) Medium-size employers ( employees) Large-size employers (500+ employees) 6 8 5* ,000 1,285 9, > 500 7,500 11,000 15,000 Tradespeople employed (#) /a*** 10 /a Wome tradespeople employed * Osite maagers icluded foreme, site supervisors, superitedets, project maagers, estimators, safety ad quality maagers, etc. ** This compay was owed by two wome whose missio it is to help wome i costructio. *** /a: Data were ot available ,000 3, ,500 /a /a Number employed i osite maagemet* Number of wome i osite maagemet (#) (%) (#) (#) (%) /a 0 /a /a 16 /a /a 8 /a /a /a /a ** < < 3 < 2 < /a foreme/supervisors 14 osite maagers /a field maagers 80 operatios maagers foreme egieers, costig, service /a 0 0 /a /a /a 4 10 /a /a 30 /a < THE STATE OF WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION IN CANADA

213 Appedix U: estimated rate of wome s participatio i costructio trades ad osite maagemet: Idustry associatios ad labour uios Associatios Compaies represeted (#) Members (#) Wome (%) 485 4, /a* 10 6,060 /a /a 170 4,000 /a 1,000 /a /a 175 3,500 /a 900 /a /a 700 /a /a 600 /a /a Labour uios Members (workers) (#) Wome (%) 60,000 /a 1,900 (i costructio) 1 20, ** 35, , ,000 <2 100,000 <2 * /a: Data were ot available. ** The percetage of wome varied greatly by trade. 209

214 Ackowledgemets Thaks are owed to the followig two programs for their support i orgaizig focus groups for this research with wome employed i the costructio trades ad osite maagemet: the British Columbia Istitute of Techology (BCIT) Trades Discovery for Wome program ad coordiator Tamara Pogracz for their support i arragig focus groups at BCIT i March 2009 with wome employed i the costructio trades or osite maagemet, ad; the Parters Buildig Futures program, ad staff Doug Homer ad Doa Beett, who provided their time ad support i arragig a focus group at New Bruswick Commuity College i April 2009 with wome who had bee part of the program. The Costructio Sector Coucil accepts o resposibility or liability coected with the use or reproductio of the iformatio cotaied i this report. It is provided as is ad is iteded for iformatioal use oly, without warraty, express or implied. This project is fuded by the Govermet of Caada s Sector Coucil Program. The opiio ad iterpretatios i this publicatio are those of the author ad do ot ecessarily reflect those of the Govermet of Caada.

215