According to BuildForce Canada, in 2020 there were approximately 67,900 women employed in Ontario’s construction industry, of which 23 per cent worked on-site — directly on construction projects — while the remaining 77 per cent worked off-site, primarily in administrative and management-related occupations.

Of the 409,400 tradespeople employed in the industry, women made up only four per cent.

The first full week in March is known as Women In Construction Week and it’s dedicated to changing the stereotypes that females face when it comes to careers within the construction industry.

Coreena Froude is the community housing construction co-ordinator at Community Builders in Barrie. 

Since July of 2019, she’s been working with youth with barriers to employment by teaching them basic life skills, and teaching them how to use hand tools while renovating homes.

“It’s so rewarding to see them grow and develop skills that they didn’t know they had,” she says. “To see someone use a drill for the first time or to read a measuring tape and be proud at the end of a day, it’s such a blessing.”

As a 53-year-old woman in the trades, Froude admits that a future in construction had indeed crossed her mind before she started her current role.

“I grew up in a home of seven brothers and three sisters, so I was used to working hard and wanting to be better than my brothers,” she says. “But seriously, construction is where I belong; it just took me a long time to actually get here. I thought I was supposed to be a ‘lady’ and work in only ‘lady-type jobs,’ but boy was I misled.”

Before starting at Community Builders, Froude worked as a machine operator and worked her way up to becoming a WHMIS trainer and quality controller. She became a certified lumber grader at a mill in British Columbia, “where I outworked most of the guys,” she says with a laugh.

Keep reading on BarrieToday.com

• 
•