Educational Leadership: Global Contexts and International Comparisons

Mary Ross and Sandy Law have never met, but both say they made a life-altering
decision this year.

The women are at different points in their lives – Ms. Ross of Burlington, Ont., is 27
while Ms. Law, who lives in Cambridge, Ont., is 46 – but each was unsatisfied with the
direction of their working lives.

Ms. Ross was working part-time jobs and feeling her self-esteem taking a nosedive. Ms.
Law had finished a 20-year career managing a pizza shop in Milton, Ont., and was
working in security, but she says she "hated it and wanted to get out of it."

This year, they decided to try their hand at skilled trades, enrolling in women-only
programs at two Ontario colleges. Each has found the experience rewarding.

"It has probably been the best thing that has ever happened to me," Ms. Ross says. "It
has definitely boosted my confidence and self-esteem."

Ms. Ross is enrolled in the enhanced general carpentry program at the Centre for Skills
Development & Training in Burlington; Ms. Law is taking part in the pre-apprenticeship
carpenter general certificate at Conestoga College in Waterloo, Ont. Both courses are
part of an initiative called Women in Skilled Trades, funded by the Ontario Women's
Directorate, which encourages women to enter these areas.

Women-only courses are cropping up at colleges and technical training centres across
Canada. These help more women to enter the skilled trades at a time when there is an
employment shortage in that area, says Shaun Thorson, chief executive officer of Skills
Canada. According to a 2009 Statistics Canada study, skilled trades are the most
difficult job to fill because of a shortage of workers.Of skilled trades workers, only 6.4
per cent across the country were women in 2009, StatsCan says.

College courses geared toward women allow females to gather confidence and skills in a
traditionally male-dominated sector before entering other classes or a workplace where
they will mostly be around other men, administrators say. As well, the courses create
bonds among classmates and build a support group that wouldn't be possible with men
in the class.

Another bonus, says Brenda Gilmore, program manager for the School of Trades and
Apprenticeship at Conestoga, is that they help women get out of dead-end, low-income
jobs. "It's been life-changing for many women, certainly taking them out of poverty, and
[many] have had a very vibrant career," she says.
Because the age range of women in these courses is generally wide – from early 20s to
50s – classroom atmospheres are enhanced, as each age group has things to share, from
computer skills to life experience.

In the Conestoga carpentry program, women get a chance to try a range of skills, from
using power tools to blueprint interpretations. And because many teachers are female
tradespersons, students get the added bonus of life-long mentors, she says.

Upon completion, Conestoga has an 80-per-cent success rate in related employment.

Women may choose to become carpentry apprentices, start their own companies or go
back to school for more training, Ms. Gilmore says.

The Centre for Skills Development & Training was the first organization in the province
to create the model for the women-only program a decade ago, says Nancy Moore,
manager, employment services and skilled trades. Everything in the 29-week carpentry
program, from tuition to power tools to parking, is fully funded.

The training at the centre is unique because women build an entire house from scratch
and then tear it down. Students do it all – framing, drywall, windows, doors and
plumbing. "When they really see that they can do it, it's amazing," Ms. Moore says. They
also learn how to renovate existing structures, which is important because many women
end up working in that field, in part due to more family-friendly hours.

Equally important to technical skills are "essential skills" needed on the job, Ms. Moore
says. Those include communication, conflict resolution and attitude. "We try and take a
holistic approach to training." And the women create a real "sisterhood," she says,
creating Facebook groups and hosting potluck dinners, which she says is a different
atmosphere than what you would find in a co-ed class.

Graduates leave with a pre-apprenticeship certificate in enhanced general carpentry.

Some go on to large companies such as Mattamy Homes, sign on as apprentices or
create their own home reno companies with classmates. Three graduates have worked
for construction guru Mike Holmes on his television series. One student started a
business specializing in home repairs for women, targeted at clients such as senior
women who may not be comfortable having a male worker in their home.

Women bring unique skills to the workplace, Ms. Moore says, including attention to
detail and a more collaborative, less competitive approach, which employers are
beginning to value.

At Nova Scotia Community College, a unique 14-week preparation program called

Women Unlimited introduces women to such trades as automotive, welding, rigging and
electrical. They also visit workplaces such as shipyards and aerospace companies.

"The whole goal of the program is to address the systemic barriers women face when
they are entering less traditional careers. A program like this incredibly increases their
retention," says Tina Kelly, academic chair of Trades and Technology, from the
Dartmouth campus.

Along with course work, women students need additional preparation to head into a
male-dominated work force, Ms. Kelly says. That includes sexual harassment
discussions, assertiveness training and role playing. "You have to be able to
appropriately stand up for yourself."

She has seen this course make a difference in Nova Scotia. Although currently only four
per cent of skilled trades workers in the province are women, the percentage of women
taking trades at NSCC has grown from eight per cent to 15 per cent since the program
began five or six years ago.

"The challenge has been, although they are usually in the top 10 per cent of their class,
they are still the last to be hired." But employer attitudes are slowly changing, she adds.
Those who have had women in their workplaces have found they have a more respectful
work environment and that their company performance improves, she says.

Ms. Ross and Ms. Law aren't sure yet what they'll be doing upon completing their
courses, but both feel that a range of opportunities have opened up. Ms. Ross would be
happy to be hired as a general labourer, while Ms. Law is contemplating working in the
home renovation sector.

"This is one of the best things I have ever done," Ms. Law says.

A sampling of other programs for women in skilled trades:

Saskatchewan:Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology's Women in

Trades Exploratory course: Evening and weekend program introduces women to
welding, automotive, carpentry and other trades.

Newfoundland and Labrador:Office to Advance Women Apprentices: Assists women

once they have completed training to find jobs, and provides support along the way.

British Columbia: Camosun College, Victoria, Women in Trades Training Program:

Twelve-week introductory program to trades; women learn about metal trades,
mechanical, carpentry and plumbing.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/these-courses-produce-women-who-are-
cut-out-for-carpentry/article5168742/
atrice Scroggins, 26, said she has always had jobs — but never a career.

A mother of two, Scroggins, of Middle River, said she got a couple of college
credits, “but my heart wasn’t in it.”

Then she found the Sisters in the Brotherhood Pre-Apprenticeship Program:

an eight-week training program held at the Mid-Atlantic Carpenters' Training
Center in Arbutus to prepare women for apprenticeships in carpentry.

“My stepdad was a carpenter — that was his life, he loved it,” Scroggins said.
“So I thought, ‘Why not? I’m looking for something to love.’”

Scroggins is one of five women in the training program whose purpose is to

give women a leg up in the male-dominated trade.

The free, all-day intensive classes are run by the local branch of United
Brotherhood of Carpenters, a trade union. The current session, which will
wrap up at the end of March, is the second of its kind to be held at the Arbutus
center.

Susan Schultz, the New Jersey-based head of the Eastern branch of Sisters in
the Brotherhood, which supports female members of the union, directs the
program.

“For the most part, most women don’t grow up thinking ‘OK, I want to be a
carpenter,’” Schultz said. “We’re trying to change that image.”

Lachaye Dudley, 30, said when she told her family and friends about the
carpentry program, they were surprised.

“They were like, no! It’s only men in there – is there gonna be other females
around you?” Dudley recalled. “I said, ‘I’m coming in with females. We can do
the same thing men do.’”
Less than 2 percent of the carpentry union’s members are women, Schultz
estimated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 10 percent of
employees in the construction industry are women.

Some of that disparity, Schultz said, starts early. Boys often learn from the
men in their family about carpentry or associated skills like welding,
something Schultz said “doesn’t happen with young girls becoming young
women.”

To even the scales, Schultz said, the course in Arbutus trains women in basic
carpentry skills: tools, safety regulations, job site culture, and even how to
carry heavy materials on a construction site.

Dudley said that in class the women discussed the challenges of entering a job
site with mostly men.

“The men, they will look at females like we can’t do as much as them,” Dudley
said. “Me, I’m gonna put in good work, make sure I put in the same amount of
work as the men.”

Part of the impetus to get women into the field is that carpentry has a lot of
benefits as a career, Schultz said.

Carpenters spend their first four years as paid union apprentices, earning a
starting salary of at least $16 an hour in the Baltimore area, with benefits —
well above the city minimum wage of $9.25. After that, Schultz said, carpentry
is often a lifelong career.

“When I go to career fairs, sometimes people call them job fairs, but I don’t
like to use that term,” said Tim Miller, director of the three Mid-Atlantic
Training centers. “I tell them I’m not offering a job, I’m offering a career.”
Dudley said she and some of the other women plan to work toward careers as
pile drivers, driving piling into the earth to set up the foundation for buildings
and bridges.

Danielle Evans, 36, wants to be a millwright, working with equipment such as

compressors, pumps and turbines, in places including power plants and the
aerospace industry.

“We’re dedicated to these women,” Schultz said, adding that the union
maintains relationships with trainees after they graduate, offering continued
training and support. “We want them to be in here until they retire.”

Ingrid Ross, 52, said that the program’s focus on women appealed to her.

“When it said it’s for women, it really sparked me to join,” she said, “because
it’s a male-dominated field.”

Ross, of Upper Marlboro, was formerly a chef, but decided to “reinvent myself
into something different.” She said carpentry appealed to her because she
enjoys building and fixing things around the house.

For Ross, learning to weld was the biggest challenge. For others, the math test
was daunting.

“Math is a very important part of our trade,” said instructor Bob Eaton. “The
women come in here and don’t think they can do trigonometry, until they put
it to carpenter terms. As an instructor, you can kind of see the light come on.”

Evans said that she was originally anxious about passing the math and
mechanics portion of the entrance test required to join the apprenticeship
program, but that Eaton’s help got her through it.

“For me, that was everything,” she said.

Dudley said she left her office job as a medical assistant for carpentry because
the physical nature of the work “fit my personality.” Strong and athletic,
Dudley's nickname among the trainees is “Muscles.”

“I like to say, ‘We don’t work in the office, we build the office,’” Miller said.

Four weeks in, Dudley’s favorite part of the program was welding.

The training center has eight welding booths for trainees to practice arc
welding metal plates together.

Translucent curtains surrounded each booth to protect people outside from

the UV light of the electric arc, which can burn retinas and cause sunburn.

While welding, the trainees wore leather gloves and protective helmets
emblazoned with each of their nicknames; Ross is “Mama Dearest,” Scroggins
is “Dance Hall,” and Evans is “Queen Mother."

To train beginning welders, the center also has a $45,000 virtual reality
system that simulates the process of welding.

After the program, the women have the opportunity to become certified
welders. In one class, instructor Denny Blake showed the women plates the
center keeps after certification tests. To become certified, he said, applicants
weld together metal plates, and then the tester bends them into a U shape. If
the weld is secure, it will hold together, and if not, it will splinter.

“I’m gonna do everything I can to break your weld,” Blake told them. “But if
you weld correctly, they’ll bend like butter.”

Dudley compared the finicky, detailed process of welding to cake decorating.

“I had never even heard of welding,” Dudley said, nor had she planned on
becoming a carpenter. But now, she said, “I think I’m going to be here a
while.”
Schultz compared the eight-week session to a boot camp, saying it is a way for
women to learn whether carpentry suits them.

“It’s not for every woman, just like it’s not for every man,” she said. But four
weeks in, some of the women at the training session said they had found their
calling.

“Growing up, I never knew what I wanted to do,” Scroggins said. “But, I feel
like I finally found it.”
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/arbutus-lansdowne/ph-ca-at-
women-carpenters-0314-story.html

Fewer than two percent of construction, automotive and electrical tradespeople in Australia today are
women. There were just 676 female carpenters, 931 female motor mechanics, 638 female plumbers and
1,432 female electricians nation-wide in 2011 within a total technicians and trades workforce of nearly
1.43 million people, just over 14 percent of the workforce.1 In the largest single trade occupation in
Australia – that of electrician – women were just 1.3 percent of the total. Despite awareness of the issue
and government and non-government initiatives since the 1980s, women today have a substantial
foothold in only a handful of trade and technical occupations. These include hairdressing and cooking
(both trades associated with women’s traditional domestic roles), medical technicians, and animal care
roles such as veterinary nurse and animal attendant. Of the 212,000 women in trades and technical jobs
nation-wide, nearly 46,000 are hairdressers and over 39,000 are cooks or chefs.2 . Gender-based
occupational segregation of the workforce is a feature of labour markets around the world. Australian
patterns of workforce segregation in the trades seem remarkable but the percentages of women
electricians, carpenters and mechanics in other English speaking countries are also low, ranging between
two and three percent. How did this degree of male domination within the trades workforce develop?
How has it been sustained, given women’s entry into so many other areas of social life, and over three
decades of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws and policies? In a period of trade labour
shortages and successful government initiatives to boost the numbers of apprenticeships and
traineeships, why haven’t market forces also generated a flow of women into trades?

https://www.women.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/268010/3000_WNSW-
OccasionalPaper_document_ART.pdf

Women’s participation in trade and technical training tends to parallel their participation in trades and
technical employment… Seventeen percent of commencing NSW apprentices and trainees in 2011 were
women. Women were concentrated in technical areas17, where they made up 36 percent of
commencing apprentices and trainees, as can be seen below. This clustering parallels the clustering in
the workforce, described previously.