Status of Women committee  I heard an interesting story once--and I'll try to make it quick--about three people who were working for the pay equity commission. There were two women and a man. When the initial job offers were made, they said, “We can pay you $40,000 a year. That's as high as we can go. Do y

Status of Women committee  By being a successful woman in that trade, you are demonstrating beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is possible. You can maintain your identity as you wish to present that, but you're not a woman working in construction; you're a person working in construction. You're trying to

Status of Women committee  I have not.

Status of Women committee  We're a not-for-profit association, and we really don't have the resources to implement a program like that, given our current status. But it is an excellent idea. There are associations affiliated with us that are training women from the downtown east side, who are at risk or

Status of Women committee  I have no knowledge about it either.

Status of Women committee  The Vancouver Regional Construction Association currently has an outstanding woman in construction award that's awarded annually in conjunction with Canadian Construction Women. I'm not entirely sure about how long that's been going on, but it's at least 15 years.

Status of Women committee  Yes. It would be nice if it weren't necessary, but you're right, having a woman's accomplishments highlighted.... As for some of the feedback I've gotten from some of the guys after the award ceremony, it was, “Whoa, she's pretty good!” It just goes to reinforce the fact that t

Status of Women committee  BCIT has an introduction to trades program. I think they have one geared towards everybody, and then one specifically geared towards women, where every week you explore a different trade, such as electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and welding. You get a taste of everything before

Status of Women committee  Was this the symposium on women in construction that was hosted by the Canadian construction sector?

Status of Women committee  I was there, and it was an excellent venue to make contact with other groups of women from across the nation who have similar goals to ours and are trying to increase the profile of women in construction.

Status of Women committee  I agree with you it's very important to have inclusive associations. We've certainly had men attend some of the Canadian construction women's events, and I have attended events from the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, which comprises mostly men. You're absolutely rig

Status of Women committee  I think my colleague in Newfoundland hit the nail on the head there. A lot of programs have been implemented by individual companies to particularly accommodate paternal leave. More and more guys are taking advantage of that, which is equalizing the playing field. In addition, t

Status of Women committee  I'm sorry, but I didn't understand the question.

Status of Women committee  Oh, certainly. Job numbers in construction are increasing. The past few years have been very difficult for us, as they've been very difficult for everyone, but the tide seems to be turning here. Increasingly, more jobs are available. Yes, it's a very good time for women to be get

Status of Women committee  Yes. We had a building bridges event in conjunction with BCIT in the fall. We had our members, as well as representatives from our corporate membership, go to BCIT and talk to women who were in the apprenticeship training programs and the construction technology programs. They ju