Medicine Hat College trades instructor Ruth Streifel hopes investments in and visibility of women in trades will help bring gender diversity to the field over time. SUBMITTED PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Efforts to grow women’s presence in the skilled trades industry are essential, supporters within and outside of the field say, following a $10.7-million investment by the province.
Announced Wednesday (International Women’s Day), the three-year funding will be directed toward Women Building Futures, an Alberta-based non-profit organization which helps connect women across the province to careers in the trades industry.
“Stable operational funding … gives us the flexibility to keep our focus on helping unemployed and underemployed women remove barriers to successful careers in the trades,” said WBF president and CEO Carol Moen. “This is good for women and good for Alberta.”
While Moen says more women are now exploring careers in the trades than ever before, there is still a large disparity between the number of women in the field compared to men.
A 2022 Statistics Canada report shows that out of the nation’s 10 unique occupation classifications, the largest gap between male and female workers was in the classification of trade, transport, equipment operation and related occupations; with 92.6 per cent of the national workforce comprised of men.
In Alberta, men comprise 91.4 per cent of the classification’s workforce, and women 8.6 per cent.
The report does not provide further breakdown detailing the various regions of the province, but Medicine Hat College trades program instructors Ruth Striefel and Amanda Hennessey believe such numbers are reflected in the local trades workforce.
“It’s not quite as as bad as it was before,” said Striefel of the disparity between male and female tradespeople. “But change is slow. In the last two years that I’ve been teaching, I’ve only had, in an actual trades class, not a class that’s specifically for women or non binary individuals, one female student.”
Striefel, whose expertise lays in pipe trades and welding, feels longstanding stigma about women’s capabilities to succeed in trades has manifested in the field becoming primarily male-dominated.
Hennessey, an electrician, agrees but adds the lack of visibility of women in trades historically has also played a role.
“You don’t see movies where the electrician shows up and it’s girl, or in any commercial where there’s a welder, it’s not a woman,” said Hennessey. “And if people don’t even see it, they don’t even think of it … If all you ever see is men in those roles, your brain makes that connection, and it’s hard to get past that.”
Despite acknowledging that women in trades often face additional challenges their male counterparts do not, Striefel and Hennessey have found many women to be interested in the field.
The pair help lead MHC’s 16-week Women in Trades program designed specifically for women and non-gendered individuals, and say classes are always full.
“It creates a safe space for women and individuals who otherwise might be too intimidated to try,” said Striefel.
Hennessey says interest in the program highlights the need for further investment in efforts which promote gender diversity in trades, and expresses her hope that investments like the province’s most recent will continue to generate change.
“Even though it’s a slow change, it is still changing,” she said.
