Canadian Women in the Industrial Trades: A Historical Perspective Bonnie Watt-Malcolm and Beth Young University of Alberta, Edmonton Abstract: Strategies promoting the industrial trades to women are often ineffective. A critical review of historical policies provides the basis to inform future policy development. Effective policy strategies to promote the industrial trades to women are difficult to implement. Historically, few female workers entered the trades despite federal, provincial, and territorial government initiatives. A review of past policy efforts and the contexts in which they were created informs the development of future policy aimed at advancing the trades as a career choice for women. In this paper, we briefly outline the Canadian apprenticeship system, provide an historical overview of government vocational and equity legislation, and describe some relevant programs from the late 1800s through to the late 1900s. As well, we include a critique of Canadian legislation and programs and our recommendations, as determined from our literature review, for future policy initiatives. These recommendations are analyzed from the lead author s viewpoint based on her personal experience as an industrial trade person in Western Canada. Apprenticeship in Canada In the early twentieth century, informal apprenticeships existed in the provinces and territories. It was not until 1942 when the Vocational Training and Co-ordination Act was legislated that the provinces and territories began to develop formal apprenticeship agreements. This occurred, in part, because the federal government announced that it would pay half the cost of the training if the province or territory had an apprenticeship act. Under these agreements, the apprentices were registered in their home provinces and indentured to an individual employer, an industry, or to other responsible organizations (Young, 1992, p. 30). Augmenting the apprenticeship agreements, the Red Seal program began in the 1950s. Under the Red Seal program, provinces and territories developed similar standards for regulated trades (Hunter, 1994, p. 138). Prior to the Red Seal program, people were trained to the trade standards of their originating province/territory. Unfortunately, standards between provinces and territories were not the same; therefore, workers were restricted in their ability to work in other parts of Canada. Besides the Vocational Training and Co-ordination Act, other vocational and equity legislation was enacted throughout the twentieth century. Below, we outline a few Canadian polices and programs that highlight governmental priorities with regard to the trades and women in the workforce.
A Historical Review: Vocational and Equity Legislation and Relevant Programs Prior to 1867, Canadian vocational and equity policies and education programs were virtually non-existent. The exception to this phenomenon was Upper Canada s subsidized mechanics institutes and evening classes conducted by the Toronto School Board (Selman, Selman, Cook, & Dampier, 1998). However in the early 1900s, the need for skilled labour became apparent. Consequently, a Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education was appointed in 1910 (Hunter, 1994). The Agricultural Instruction Act 1913 was a direct result of this commission. With specific reference to women, it was stated that control should be given to the employers and employees to create a viable occupational program for women s work, i.e., housekeeping (Young, 1992). The money granted to the provinces through the Agricultural Instruction Act was used to advance agricultural industries. Various business, labour, and women s groups were not satisfied with this situation because non-agricultural education incentives were not included. The Technical Education Act 1919 resolved this situation (Hunter, 1994). Despite the enactment of this legislation, traditional societal norms with regard to appropriate women s work were evident. For instance, homemaking schools were created in Ontario to give girls a general education and instruction in the art of homemaking (Young, 1992, p. 21). Few vocational and equity policies were enacted in the 1930s; however, in the 1940s the Unemployment Insurance Act in conjunction with the 1941 Employment Placement Policy gave special consideration to select workers. These people included veterans, young people entering the labour force who wanted to undertake apprenticeship training (Hunter, 1994, p. 92) as well as physically disadvantaged people. During this same period, Canada was actively involved in World War II, and women were needed to fill non-traditional labour positions to help with the war effort. A special committee on vocational training in 1942 discussed the War Emergency Training program. A committee member declared the proportion of women in our programme is increasing rapidly, and I would think that before the end of this summer we will have far more women in training than we have men (Canada, Parliament, House of Commons, Special Committee on Vocational Training, 1942, p. 4). Given the skills these women acquired, the challenge facing the government at the end of the war was how to entice women back to domestic service so that they would not be competing with men for education and employment opportunities. An equity movement occurred after World War II but it is noteworthy that women s equity issues were not recognized. For example, changes were made to the Unemployment Insurance Act in 1952. This act was amended to enshrine a non-discriminatory policy [with regard to] racial origin, colour, religious belief or political affiliation (Labour Gazette cited in Hunter, 1994, p. 125). Federal government contracts and the Canada Fair Employment Practices Act were revised to reflect this same philosophy. Notably, gender was not included as a category. The Department of Labour acknowledged this discrepancy somewhat in 1954 through its
formation of the Women s Bureau. This organization was charged with the mandate to promote understanding of the women s labour involvement in Canada and to develop additional employment opportunities for women (Hunter, 1994, p. 128). It was also in the mid 1900s that the federal government decided to group all vocational federal programs together through the Technical and Vocational Training Assistance Act 1960. The federal government and all of the provinces/territories agreed in writing to this act, which was effective from 1961 to 1967. In 1967, the Adult Occupational Training Act (1967-1982) replaced the Technical and Vocational Training Assistance Act (Hunter, 1994, p. 157). Equity once again became a public issue in the 1970s. This was, in part, the result of the 1970 Royal Commission on the Status of Women. In the late 1970s, the implementation of the affirmative action strategy also occurred. Its focus was to reduce discriminatory hiring practices in the workplace. This legislation was replaced by the Employment Equity Act in 1986 (Hunter, 1994). Other equity acts legislated to proscribe discrimination were the Canadian Human Rights Act 1977 (Status of Women Canada, 2003) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982 (Department of Justice Canada, n.d.). A result of the 70s equity movement was the realization that women required some help to break through barriers that restricted entry to male-dominated occupations. For example, in June 1982, the National Training Act replaced the Adult Occupational Training Act. Under this act women were to be trained in non-traditional occupations. The criterion for non-traditional occupations was determined by the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission guidelines, i.e., occupations with less than or equal to ten percent of female workers (Young, 1992). One such course was the Basic Training for Skill Development. The purpose of this training was to introduce individuals to numerous occupations, for example, women exposed to various hard-hat industries (Young, 1992, p. 76). Even when the Canadian Jobs Strategy was implemented in 1985 this course continued. Furthermore, the Canadian Jobs Strategy initiative did not replace the National Training Act; rather this strategy replaced a few of the programs under it. Groups such as women, aboriginal people, visible minorities, and the disabled (Young, 1992, p. 80) were the primary audience for training initiatives. For instance, the Women in Non-Traditional Occupations program was offered during the 1980s through the Canadian Jobs Strategy program. Non-governmental organizations also provided trade training programs in the late 1900s. By way of illustration, in the late 70s/early 80s, Women in Trades and Technology (WITT) delivered pre-trades programs in Winnipeg and Saskatoon (Braundy, 1994). The purpose of these programs was to assist women to bridge gaps in socialization and learn the skills that will enable [them] to gain challenging, satisfying and economically sustainable employment (Braundy, 1994). Overall, however, although government legislation as well as profit and non-profit organizations have tried to make trades a career choice for women, these efforts have proved futile for the most part.
Analysis and Critique Many of the policies adopted during the twentieth century gave the impression that governments were promoting trade occupations to Canadian women. However, policies such as the Adult Occupational Training Act, the equity acts, and the National Training Act actually neglected to address this mandate. For example, the Adult Occupational Training Act did not focus sufficiently on the skills required in the labour market and concentrated too much on employability and earning power of individuals (Witter, 1984, p. 68). Similarly, the National Training Act was not designed to resolve the 1980s employment issues. In fact, this act specifically addressed the problem of industrial employers and attempts to meet their skill requirements (Witter, 1984, p. 68). One particular aspect of the National Training Act was the increase of non-traditional skill and technical training seats from 20 to 30 percent for women. However, women enrolled in these training courses fell below the 30 percent goal (Witter, 1984). Likewise, trade skills training, a component of the National Training Act funding, amounted to 37.7 million, a 41.1% increase in 81/82. The female participation rate in this critical skills training was only 2.2% (Witter, 1984, p. 69). The equity acts also failed to accommodate women trying to work in the trades. Specifically, the Employment Equity Act and other equity acts exempted the construction industry from compliance (Braundy cited in Women in Trades & Technology, 1993, p. 12). Essentially, private or public construction organizations were not required to follow the dictates of these equity acts. However, the majority of the industrial trade people were employed by these organizations. Another issue that undermined the implementation of government policies was the shortage of money to support programs that help women enter the trades. During the late twentieth century decreased government funding channeled through federal policies such as the Canadian Jobs Strategy as well as the reduction of provincial/territorial and college support essentially eliminated trades training programs for women (Braundy, 1994). These program cancellations occurred despite the need for additional trade people and the dedicated work of organizations such as WITT. According to Braundy (1994), the money allocated for training has been cut by 48 percent since 1990. Unquestionably, with the exception of the World Wars, vocational and equity policies have had minimal success in promoting the trades to women. Data to support this point are available through Statistics Canada (1999). For example, in 1997, 218 Canadian women were registered in the industrial and mechanical trades compared to 14,118 men. Thirteen women completed their apprenticeship in these trades (Statistics Canada, 1999). Table 1, shown below, documents comparable statistics for 1987 and, for one decade later, 1997. Table 1: Industrial and Mechanical Trades in Canada (Statistics Canada, 1999) Total Registered Apprenticeship Apprenticeship Completions
1987 1997 1987 1997 Male 9,642 14,118 1,330 1,485 Female 59 218 5 13 The percentage change between the 1987 and the 1997 data does seem noteworthy. For example, the number of women receiving their journey status increased 160 percent in this ten-year period. However, when reviewing the raw data, it becomes apparent that this change is based on five women in 1987 and 13 women in 1997 who obtained their journey status (Statistics Canada, 1999). Table 2 reveals a similar phenomenon for the metal fabricating trades. Table 2: Metal Fabricating Trades in Canada (Statistics Canada, 1999) Total Registered Apprenticeship Apprenticeship Completions 1987 1997 1987 1997 Male 36,061 35,554 3,130 3,603 Female 247 472 19 30 The number of women achieving their journey status in 1997 shows a percentage increase of 57.9 percent from 1987. Nonetheless, this percentage is based on 19 women in 1987 and 30 women in 1997 who completed their apprenticeship program. It is therefore crucial to know the base from which these percentages are derived, because comments such as women have made major advances in several of the trade groups (Statistics Canada, 1999) are misleading. They incorrectly convey the impression that women are acquiring a notable presence in the industrial trades. Embedded in these statistical figures are various factors that inhibit women s participation. The limited existing literature on this topic notes that the attitudes and the desires of many women, reinforced by conventional societal norms about gender roles, influence women to eliminate trades work as an option even though experience in the trades opens up many potential career paths (Randall & Jang, 1995, p. 112). The following section identifies recommendations to encourage women to consider the trades as a possible career. Recommendations The rhetoric suggests that workplace equity has been a priority in many government policies. These policies are admirable; however, the representation of women in the industrial trades is still negligible. The following recommendations,
derived from our literature review, show the most promise in terms of promoting genuine opportunities for women to pursue a career in a trade. Recommendation No. 1: Ensure women s participation in projects by incorporating employment equity principles into recruitment and selection, training, career development and promotions, terminations and lay-offs (Grzetic, 1998). Comment: Employment equity is seldom evident in the private sector. Perhaps this is because the labour market is remarkably resilient in resisting efforts at removing discrimination (Wismer & Lior, 1994, p. 54). Unfortunately, fair equity principles must be legislated before private industry will change its employment practices. Recommendation No. 2: Enhance the image of apprenticeship trades (Braundy, 2002). Comment: In the hierarchy of occupations, trades are often viewed as non-professional and consequently disregarded. People typically encourage their children to pursue careers in education, law, and medicine. Therefore, public awareness and acknowledgement of the valuable services that trades people provide is a critical component of improving the public s perception of trades and the related career possibilities. Recommendation No. 3: Provide multi-year budget mechanisms and funding for educational programs (Women in Trades & Technology, 1993, p. 7). Comment: Funding for educational programs is usually allocated on a short-term basis, leaving program organizers to scramble for monies and programs in a state of flux. In order to fulfill the above recommendations, Braundy (2002) asserts: Lip service is just not enough. A real commitment to change and an action plan that includes responsibility and accountability are necessary. Conclusion Governments have initiated policies and programs throughout the last century intended to encourage women to choose industrial trades as a career. However, these policies were not successful. It is obvious from our perspective that incentives are still necessary for women to achieve an equitable presence in the industrial trades. In addition to the recommendations outlined, we note that strong leadership is required from government officials, private and public sector employers, labour representatives, co-workers, and from women themselves, if change is to occur. References Braundy, M. (1994). WITT standards and guidelines building foundations for technical training. Retrieved January 18, 2003, from http://www.ssane.com/koot-witt/standard.htm.
Braundy, M. (2002). What needs to change to get more women into apprenticeship? No more lip service! Retrieved January 18, 2003, from http://www.ssane.com/koot-witt/apprent.htm. Canada, Parliament, House of Commons, Special Committee on Vocational Training. (1942). Bill no. 64, an act to assist in the carrying on and co-ordination of vocational training: Minutes of proceedings and evidence no. 1. Ottawa, Ontario: Edmond Cloutier, King s Printer. Department of Justice Canada. (n.d.). Canadian charter of rights and freedoms. Retrieved March 14, 2003, from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/const_en.html. Grzetic, B. (1998). Women in technical work in Atlantic Canada. Retrieved March 22, 2003, from http://www.curricstudies.educ.ubc.ca/wstrucents/tsed/braundy/home/i. Hunter, J. (1994). The employment challenge: Federal employment policies and programs 1900-1990. Hull, Quebec: Public Affairs, Government of Canada. Randall, N., & Jang, W. (1995). The back-to-school survival guide for women (2nd ed.). New Westminster, British Columbia: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women. Selman, G., Selman, M., Cooke, M., & Dampier, P. (1998). The foundations of adult education in Canada (2nd ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. Statistics Canada. (1999). The daily, Wednesday, August 4, 1999, Registered apprenticeship training survey 1997. Retrieved July 7, 2003 from http://www.statscan.ca. Status of Women Canada. (2003). Commemorative dates: Women s history month 2000. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/whm/2000/dates_e.html. Wismer, S., & Lior, K. (1994). Meeting women s training needs: Case studies in women s training. St. John s, Newfoundland: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Women s Policy Office. Witter, S. (1984). Educating for change: Women in the next decade, papers from the 1984 CCLOW conference. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women. Women in Trades & Technology. (1993). Proceedings of the western regional women in trades & technology conference. Victoria, British Columbia: South Island Women in Trades & Technology.
Young, D. (1992). An historical survey of vocational education in Canada (2nd ed.). North York, Ontario: Captus Press.