Many of the witnesses who appeared before the Committee were women who work, or have worked, in non-traditional jobs. The Committee heard from women who were firefighters, engineers, in construction trades, in information technology, and police officers. They spoke with enthusiasm about the careers they had chosen, and were passionate about encouraging other women to enter into those fields of work.

Witnesses were also realistic about the barriers which made it challenging for women to pursue those lines of work. This chapter will explore some of those barriers and propose recommendations which witnesses brought to the Committee’s attention.

A. Not Everyone Faces the Same Barriers

Witnesses cautioned against using a one-size-fits-all approach to increasing the participation of women in non-traditional jobs. Some of the obstacles identified by witnesses are particular to certain groups of women. The Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories, for example, talked about the challenges faced by women in the north who have to leave their families behind to pursue training. Aboriginal women’s organizations talked about the high levels of racism which Aboriginal people still face on the job. In addition, immigrant women, like immigrant men, face the challenge of having their credentials recognized to practice their professions in Canada. The diversity of experiences makes it necessary to put in place a comprehensive strategy to increase the participation of women in non-traditional occupations, and to provide organizations and individuals with flexibility to adapt programs to their local environments. The Committee urges governments and other stakeholders to share their best practices and strategies for increasing the number of women in non-traditional occupations.

B. Obstacles Vary Between Occupations

There is a wide variety of occupational categories in which women are under‑represented. Some of these are in the skilled trades, in occupations such as construction work. Others are professional occupations, like engineering and computer sciences. Women continue to be under-represented in politics at all levels in Canada, and at the top executive levels of large companies. While there are a number of commonalities in the obstacles confronted by women in all of these occupational groups, there are also barriers which are unique to each occupation. For example, women in professional occupational groups such as law, medicine, and engineering noted that “workaholic cultures... make it challenging to juggle professional and child rearing responsibilities”.[52] The Committee heard that the dramatic entry of women into the medical profession was gradually shifting this culture to be more responsive to a work-life balance—a shift which was equally appreciated by both men and women in that profession. Witnesses from a number of different occupational groups told the Committee they are largely excluded from “old boys’ networks”, which, compounded with workaholic cultures, leave women worrying that “they're going to have to choose between career and family, or that they will not be able to continue to enjoy the respect of their peers when their family responsibility collides with their practice or forces them to modify it in some way”.[53]

Some occupations require extended periods on remote job sites. For example, the Committee heard that the biggest issue with the mining in the Northwest Territories is that employees have to leave their homes to be on a remote job-site for two-week periods. Ms. Lorraine Phaneuf, Executive Director, Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories pointed out that “if mothers are single parents, it's often very challenging for them to find a place for their youngsters”.[54] Witnesses held out hope that it is possible to develop innovative solutions to address these working conditions which pose challenges to women. As Ms. Mary Ann Mihychuk, President, Women in Mining Canada told the Committee, “[f]or an industry that can cope with the vagaries of metal prices and supply and demand through advanced schedule optimization, it seems we should be better able to cope with more variability in the workforce”.[55] She urged the Committee to recommend that the issues of concern to women in mining—including, greater flexibility, achievement recognition, and analysis of pay practices—be made a priority at the meeting of mines ministers and on the agendas of all departments that deal with the minerals industry.[56]

While most witnesses suggested that direct harassment is probably less a reality for women in the workplace today than it had been in the past, the Committee nonetheless heard about some workplaces where women continue to face harassment and discrimination. In its discussion with union and employer representatives of the ports of Vancouver, for example, the Committee was provided with details on intimidation and harassment which women experience on the job. Ms. Hiromi Matsui, Past President, Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology, told the Committee that she has “sat in meetings very recently where managers have said that if they get a stack of applications from women and some from men, they'll put the ones from the women aside and they'll look at the ones from the men”.[57] This points to the constant need to educate employers about their legal obligations under the Canadian Human Rights Act as well as under their respective provincial labour codes.

The barriers to the participation of women were sometimes as fundamental as access to toilet facilities and to proper safety equipment.[58] Witnesses told the Committee about women who were sent on job sites with clothing and safety gear that did not fit properly, or that had no washroom facilities. Women in these situations are constantly innovating:

One of the most common barriers is there are no washroom facilities… I was just the volunteer to go and get the coffee, and I would use the facilities then. It was a very simple solution. It was not that I shouldn't work in a particular area. It was just that you had to adapt a little.[59]

Individually, these barriers are not insurmountable, but the Committee heard that the combination of barriers over time become burdensome on women:

When it comes to women who are already in non-traditional jobs, if they ever leave the job for good, it is due to a buildup of all the little pitfalls along the way. One is okay, but when something happens every day, eventually, the women cannot take it any more.[60]

C. Work-life Balance—a Key Consideration for Women, and Increasingly, for Men

The need to balance work and caregiving roles is a key consideration for women in their choice of work and in their decisions to stay on the job. Witnesses from all sectors, professional and in the skilled trades, highlighted how women were more likely than men to make choices which take into consideration their ability to balance their work and family lives.

Women continue to take on a disproportionate share of unpaid work. Statistics Canada reports that in 2005, women aged 25 to 54 averaged almost two hours more per day on unpaid work activities than their male counterparts.[61] This confirms evidence heard by the Committee. For example, Dr. Kathleen Gartke, Past President, Federation of Medical Women of Canada told the Committee that “[m]en who have younger dependants work longer hours, which is the reverse for women who have younger dependants; they work shorter hours. If you look at the group of physicians who don't have dependants, men and women work the same hours”.[62]

The heavier burden of unpaid work is also an issue for women in the skilled trades. Statistics Canada recently evaluated why women and men dropped out of apprenticeship programs. While men were more likely to drop out for financial reasons and because they got a better job offer, the top-ranking reason for women was family responsibilities.

Ms. Jacinthe Guay, Liaison Officer, Dimension Travail described how this unpaid work affects the job prospects of women in non-traditional jobs:

Non-traditional jobs work based on the ideal worker model. That ideal worker does not exist. It is someone who is available at all times to work alternating shifts, for example, starting work very early in the morning when day care centres are not yet open or doing overtime hours when necessary. For most women, that is not possible.[63]

Women opt for employment situations which provide them with the flexibility they need to balance their caregiving roles with their jobs:

I think it's fair to say that any time physicians are able to work in collaborative group settings, whether that's shared practices among the same discipline, or any kind of sharing with other practitioners, clearly there is a less stressful work environment when work can be shared and one knows it's okay to take an afternoon off.[64]

Organizations like the RCMP which have made dramatic progress in attracting women have introduced a number of accommodations to retain women in their jobs:

The RCMP provides a variety of benefits aimed at encouraging a healthy work-life balance for our employees such as parental leave, care and nurturing leave or part-time opportunities. These programs are open and used by all employees.[65]

The Committee has heard that younger generations of men are more concerned than their fathers with achieving greater work-life balance. Ms. Marie Carter, Chief Operating Officer, Engineers Canada noted that among the new generation of people “men are just as interested in work-life balance as are the women”.[66]

The need for child care was identified as a significant barrier by most witnesses. This need was identified as being even greater for Métis and other aboriginal people because of the high proportion of single-parent families in their communities. Theresa Weymouth, National Coordinator of the Education Program at the Canadian Auto Workers Union explained that limited access to child care is “a huge barrier for women entering non-traditional occupations. If we don't change our environment for women and start introducing and allowing them the opportunities without putting up huge barriers—and it's a huge barrier when they have to chose between quality child care and a job, or multiple jobs that would pay minimum wage—then everybody loses in that situation”.[67]

In order to increase the participation of women in non-traditional occupations, it will be necessary to ensure that women have the necessary supports to allow them to balance work and caregiving.

8.   The Committee recommends that the federal government strengthen the special benefits provisions of the Employment Insurance program, to provide greater coverage for caring for family members, and work with its provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure that labour codes and practices reflect the need for work-life balance.

9.   The Committee recommends that in consultation with the provinces and territories the federal government fund an affordable nationally coordinated early learning and child care program in provinces and territories where one does not already exist and ensure equal federal funding for early learning and child care programs already administered by a province or territory.

Such measures would not only make it easier for women to consider non-traditional jobs, but would help all women and men in the labour force. Failure to address these needs makes it extremely difficult to address the under-representation of women in non‑traditional jobs.

The Committee was impressed with the number of initiatives which have been undertaken across the country to increase the participation of women in non-traditional occupations.

It is the hope of the Committee that the implementation of the recommendations in this report will introduce greater coherence to these efforts, and will contribute to building a sturdy pipeline of talented women prepared to help Canada confront its labour force demands.