Inappropriate comments, intimidation, harassment, lack of recognition: women gravitating in the field of construction would still be confronted with a lot of problems and prejudices, although their number is gradually increasing in a traditionally male industry in Quebec. It is with the aim of transforming this culture that a first week dedicated to women in construction is taking place this year.
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“Okay, a girl. She’s going to have to work twice because she doesn’t know what to do. This kind of comment, Jade Payer has often heard in recent years when she arrived on a new site as a steel erector.
“From one job to another, we always assume that we are the new one who knows nothing. Mentalities have not yet changed”, laments the one who now occupies a position of project manager at Groupe Axiomatech.
His boss Josée Dufour quietly observes an evolution. But there is still a somewhat paternalistic attitude, admits the president and co-founder of the company, which specializes in industrial, commercial and institutional kitchen and medical laboratory construction projects.
“We will delegate responsibilities more easily to a man than to a woman, to bring him to achieve a level of autonomy. Often we will make decisions for the woman, we will judge, for example, that such a thing is too heavy, that such a task is not suited to her, instead of giving her the choice, to develop and learn “says M.me Dufour who got into the construction industry after a career in biomedical.
She and her colleague notice the arrival of a new generation that brings a slightly more pleasant atmosphere to the construction sites.
Women are gradually gaining ground in construction in Quebec. Their representation has fallen from 2.73% of the active workforce in 2020 to 3.3% in 2022. More than 6,200 women work in nearly 4,000 businesses, or 14.7% of companies in the industry.
Several companies show “a great openness”, hire women without problems and integrate them very well into their teams, underlines Myriam St-Pierre, general manager of Elles de la construction.
The organization oversees the first year of the “Diversity and Inclusion Week for Women in Construction”, which ends on Sunday.
The initiative aims in particular to highlight the successes “to demonstrate that it is possible to have a career in construction, to be fulfilled, even if there are still issues that are important” for the workforce. feminine work, indicates Mme St Pierre.
Avoid dealing with cases of harassment
Nevertheless, employers still refuse to call on women for fear of having to “manage cases of harassment”, testifies Mme Pay.
“They know that their workers aren’t able to stand when there are women around, so they tell themselves that to avoid managing situations, I’m just not going to hire any,” says the project manager.
She recently remembers a sub-contractor understaffed who dismissed a candidate because she was “too cute”, and this would then, according to him, have led to inappropriate behavior in some of his employees.
“He preferred not to arrive within his deadlines and to suffer from the shortage of manpower, than to have to manage the sexual urges of his workers,” says Ms.me Pay.
Zero tolerance policy
To hope for a change in culture, the message must first come from above. It is up to leaders to put their foot down in the face of harassment or intimidation, argue Mmy Dufour and Payer.
“With us, it’s a zero tolerance policy. We do not let a situation escalate, our employees are strongly encouraged to denounce, not to accept these situations. From the moment companies are very clear, and very strongly establish a culture of respect and safety, I think it’s more difficult for an individual to try to lay down his law and maintain this toxic culture”, mentions Mme From the oven.
Better mechanisms are also needed to allow women to report without fear for their jobs. It is “very difficult” for them to find which door to knock on, says Mme From the oven.
She suggests setting up an anonymous and independent whistleblower line.
This culture of psychological and sexual harassment would cause a high rate of abandonment among women after only five years of career in the field.
It is in light of this observation that Jade Payer developed a training program to fight against sexual or psychological harassment on construction sites and in the construction industry. It will be given in companies this summer.
Improvements to working conditions also remain necessary to attract and retain more of the female forces, believe the stakeholders interviewed by The Canadian Press.
Better adapted schedules and better access to safety equipment in accordance with the physiognomy of women are part of a set of “small changes” that could be put in place, believes Ms.me From the oven.
According to her, work to promote and demystify the construction trades among the general population should also be considered.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.