“The bathroom was so far away that it would have been faster to go to Tim Hortons.
Women who work in skilled trades say that many, if not all, of them have had to leave a job site to find a clean, private bathroom.
Laura Hutt says that when she got into the business, she wasn’t ready for such a problem.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into when I first showed up,” said the woman who started Women in Steel Toes, a site for women who work in trades.
“At the first job I ever had, the bathroom was so far away that it was faster to walk to the nearest Tim Hortons.”
This week, the Minister of Labour, Monte McNaughton, said that he was going to propose a law to make bathrooms on construction sites safer.
Last month, a sweep of 1,800 sites found 244 problems, such as dirty toilets, lack of privacy, and in some cases, no toilets at all.
During the announcement, he said that the law would double the number of bathrooms on construction sites and “require bathrooms to be private and fully enclosed, adequately lit, and have hand sanitizer where running water is not possible.”
A site would also need at least one bathroom for women.
‘Burst to your confidence
Gen Ellis, a journeyperson boilermaker welder with local Union 128 in Niagara, said she saw the need for change early on in her career.
Two women worked there, and each of them had a key to a single-stall bathroom with a lock.
It was near where workers kept their tools, in a busy part of the site, but it had a lock, so she felt safe using it.
“I’m taking off my overalls and everything else because that’s what women do when they need to go to the bathroom,” she said on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning Friday.
The person whose job it was to clean the bathroom then used their key to open the door.
“Everyone could see me using the bathroom, and after that, when the laborer and I passed each other on the job site, he would kind of look down because he was embarrassed,” she said.
“When you’re in your early 20s and new to a trade, that gives you a huge boost of confidence,” she said.
PPE and child care are obstacles to entry
CEO of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum France Daviault said that the proposed law is a step in the right direction, but that there are still a lot of barriers to getting more women into trades.
Proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and options for child care are two of the biggest problems that Hutt and Ellis face.
It’s not just about bringing everyone in. It has to do with doing something real.– France Daviault, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
The proposed law would say that PPE has to fit right, which can be a safety issue.
“When you get to the job site, your company will often give you PPE that they own, but half the time it won’t fit,” Hutt said.
“You have to wear gloves at some places, but you don’t have gloves that fit your hands. So wearing these big, loose gloves could be even more dangerous.”
Ellis said that the length of many shifts, as she sometimes works almost 12 hours straight, also makes child care difficult.
“Or when we work the afternoon or night shift, there’s really no child care available,” said Ellis. “This is especially true for a single parent who wants to go into a skilled trade that would provide safe child care.”
‘Concrete step
Daviault said that harassment is still a big reason why women, who make up only 1 in 20 construction workers, don’t want to work in the field.
“I would say that women’s ideas about what it’s like to work on a job site are the biggest obstacle. And unfortunately, they are right “she told me.
“I’m not saying that all work sites have these problems, but I think it will be very, very hard until the work environment changes.”
Daviault said that the proposed law is important because of what it would do and what it would say.
“This is a real step. Not only does it talk about how important it is. It’s not just about bringing everyone in. It has to do with doing something real, “said Daviault.
“It sends a message, which is just as important, and I hope people hear it.”