The demand for skilled trades and construction workers in Canada is soaring. However, despite opportunities for career growth, high salaries and workers' rights protections, these sectors face challenges related to employee mental health, and struggle to recruit from underrepresented groups. What does gender have to do with this?
Men comprise the majority of the workforce in these sectors, yet they still face challenges. Trades and construction workers are more affected by substance use and addiction than any other sector. Since 2016, approximately three out of four opioid-related deaths were men, and 30 to 50% of those employed worked in trades at the time of their death.
Physical work, isolation, and a hyper-masculine culture that stigmatizes help-seeking has created the perfect storm for this sector to have among the highest rates of drug-related deaths and suicide. This needs to change.
Only 5% of skilled trades workers in Canada are women. Recent interviews conducted by YWCA Halifax with over 100 women and gender-diverse workers in skilled trades found that over 90% of them had experienced at least one form of sexual or gender-based harassment at work. For 2SLGBTQ+ people who do not adhere to traditional ideas of gender, construction and trades are often spaces of social exclusion, violence, and lack of psychological safety.
This reality discourages women and 2SLGBTQ+ people from entering the workforce, and for those that do enter, it can present barriers to retaining them. However, it's essential to recognize that gender-based violence and harassment don’t occur in isolation. Addressing organizational culture (rather than just at the individual level) is far more likely to eliminate workplace gender-based violence.
So what steps can we take to progress gender justice and prevent violence in Canada’s trades and construction sector? How can we create safe, healthy workplaces where people thrive? How can we support culture change for the sake of all genders in our current and future workforce?
Attend Pathways’ FREE webinar on Thursday 16th May at 10 am - 11:30 am Pacific Time to find out.
You will learn:
Twenty-six research-based ways to effectively engage men in your workforce — and how to apply those tips in practice (from Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence)
About resources where you can continue your learning & build your capacity to make the changes you want to see within teams, organizations and unions.
Who can help you make change happen on your team & within your industry — you’re not alone!