Programs & Initiatives
Diversity & INCLUSION
Women in the trades
Did you know that women make up only 4% of the construction workforce nation-wide? Canada’s Building Trades Unions is committed to increasing that number by supporting the recruitment and retention of more women in the unionized skilled trades. That’s why we helped create Build Together, a chapter-based program represented by women of Canada’s Building Trades Unions who mentor and provide support and resources for female apprentices and tradeswomen.
Canada’s Building Trades Unions is also supporting a number of other initiatives to help promote women’s full participation and success in the skilled trades. Learn more about our initiatives below.
Build Together: Women of the Building Trades
women in the trades
lean in circles
A joint initiative from LeanIn.Org, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), and Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Lean In Circles for Union Tradeswomen brings tradeswomen together in small groups online to connect, share advice, and build community. This program helps women gain practical skills for navigating bias at work, as well as advocacy skills for not only themselves, but other women in the trades.
women in the trades
trades women build nations
Tradeswomen Build Nations (TWBN) is the the largest gathering of tradeswomen in the world. Held annually for more than 14 years, TWBN brings together tradeswomen union apprentices, journey-level workers, leaders, and retirees to network, share experiences, mentor and learn. The goal of the conference is to uplift tradeswomen in unions, promote recruitment and retention, strengthen leadership skills and union identity, and foster mentoring and support networks.
policy supports for women
Canada’s Building Trades Unions continuously advocated for improvements in public policy and programs to help address systemic barriers for women in the skilled trades. Below are some of the policy and project areas where Canada’s Building Trades Unions is working to support women. You can see all of our advocacy work here.
