'It Still Feels Unwelcoming': Women Speak Out on Sexism in the Skilled Trades in Ontario
May 02, 2023
Industry News As more women enter skilled construction trades in Ontario, some say sexism and discrimination still play an exceptionally large role in how they are treated on job sites.
Women only represent five percent of the construction industry in Canada, and while there has been a push to get typically underrepresented groups into skilled trades, some of those workers say stereotypes persist throughout the sector.
Samara Sampson, a recipient of the Support Ontario Youth BOLT Women in Construction Scholarship, is speaking out for women in the issues they face in the skilled trades. She said, "It still feels unwelcoming." Samara is recognized as a Red Seal sheet metal worker and co-founder of Women on Site, which advocates for and supports both women and underrepresented groups in construction and trades.
"I've been asked why I'm taking a man's job," Sampson said, adding she has been questioned or sometimes even ignored on job sites.
