Today, 48% of jobs in Canada are held by women. The world of work would seem to observe male/female parity. However, women are not equally represented in each sector of activity and technical trades bear this out. Although their proportion has steadily increased in Canada in the last decade, in 2018 they represented only 17.4% of practicing engineers in Canada. Depending on the job and specific field (e.g. health, the environment, civil engineering) involved, however, their number varies exponentially. Among biology technologists and technicians, the male/female ratio is about the national average, while it plummets to one woman for every ten men in the field of electronic service technicians (household and business equipment).
According to Yaroslaw Zajac, Executive Director of the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT), the cause of the low numbers of female technicians and technologists is cultural. “In Canada, women have a tendency to stay away from technical trades. We are working hard to reverse this trend, however, because when women decide to join our ranks, they often make excellent technicians and technologists.”
For John Leech, Executive Director of the Association for Technology Professionals in British Columbia (ASTTBC), the predilection of women for certain sectors depends on a variety of factors. “Without falling into the trap of stereotypes, it would seem that women feel less comfortable in sectors like mechanics where they are surrounded by machines and heavy equipment. In addition, some sectors have a bad reputation with women. This is the case of civil engineering, which is perceived as a macho environment, despite the fact that here, like everywhere else, mentalities have changed.”
Gail Powley, Vice-Chair of Edmonton-based Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WISEST), thinks that women technicians and technologists, as well as women engineers, must learn to get along in a world where men have traditionally outnumbered women. “Because there are fewer women in these sectors, they tend to get a lot of attention. They need to show perseverance and not forget that they have a lot to bring to technical jobs.”
In order to increase the number of women working in technical trades, Engineers Canada implement its 30 by 30 initiative: the goal is to raise the percentage of newly licensed engineers to 30% of women by the year 2030. Also, the Canadian government and women’s associations have developed a strategy to improve parity. This strategy does not target only women in technical fields. However, given their low representation in this area, its relevance will be largely dependent on the success it has in this sector.
The measures to improve parity include financial assistance, in the form of deductions, for women students with childcare fees. The private sector, in partnership with the federal government, has contributed funds for the creation of five chairs for women in science and engineering in the various universities. Since 1986, the Federal Contractors Program (FCP) regulates employers which receive federal government goods or services contracts of $200,000 or more and which have at least 100 employees to implement employment equity initiatives. This law concerns some 850 companies who employ one million people.
Women who choose to work in technical and technological sectors can also count on a favourable economic and demographic outlook. With the retirement of the baby boomers, many sectors risk a labour shortage. Recruiting women is therefore an obvious solution. According to the Workplaces that Work report by Denise Mclean, member of the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Advancement and the Conference Board of Canada, and intended for federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the status of women: “Attracting women expands the available talent pool and enables employers to hire the very best workers.”
Not only can women fill job openings, but they improve a company’s image. According to the Mclean report: “A company’s track record in people management practices, including women’s advancement, can affect investors’ decisions.”
In short, women who have decided to make a go of the technical sector enjoy not only moral but also legal support. Over the coming years, their presence in this sector will be greatly valued and synonymous with added value.