www.thesafetymag.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700::6812:1c45  Public Scan

Form analysis
3 forms found in the DOM

/ca/subscribe/newsletter

<form class="newsletter__item" action="/ca/subscribe/newsletter" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
  <div class="newsletter__item__input">
    <input name="email" type="email" class="form-control" placeholder="Enter your email address here">
  </div>
  <div class="newsletter__item__btn">
    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-inline btn-inline--orange">SIGN UP</button>
  </div>
</form>

/ca/subscribe/newsletter

<form class="newsletter__item--right" action="/ca/subscribe/newsletter" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
  <div class="newsletter__item__input">
    <input name="email" type="email" class="form-control form-control--white-papers" placeholder="Email address">
  </div>
  <div class="newsletter__item__btn">
    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-inline btn-inline--orange">Sign up</button>
  </div>
</form>

<form class="sj-search-form" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
  <div id="sj-search-bar"> <span id="sj-icon-search"></span> <input data-sj-search-query="" type="search" placeholder="search this site"> <button data-sj-search-query-go="" type="submit" class="sj-search-go blue">Search</button> </div>
</form>

Text Content

CONTINUE TO SITE

CONTINUE TO SITE

 * NEWS
    * News
    * Features
    * Opinion
    * Profiles
    * US News

 * TOPICS
    * Building and Construction
    * Energy and Resources
    * Environment
    * ESG / Risk Management
    * Government and Public Sector
    * Leadership and culture
    * Manufacturing
    * Occupational hygiene
    * OHS Law & Legislation
    * Psychological safety
    * Safety and PPE
    * Technology
    * Utilities

 * RESOURCES
    * Premium content
    * White papers
    * Video
    * Products
    * Digital editions
    * COS Talk

 * EVENTS
 * BEST IN SAFETY
 * SUBSCRIBE


 1. 
 2. Topics
 3. Safety and PPE


ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL CALLS FOR UNITED ACTION TO ADDRESS SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN
SKILLED TRADES

Sexual harassment is rampant in skilled trades in Nova Scotia, finds report


By Jim Wilson
13 Mar. 2024
Share


An official of one organization of manufacturers in Nova Scotia is calling for a
collective action to address the issue of sexual harassment in the skilled
trades.

No individual employer or organization can make meaningful change on its own,
said Michel Raymond, vice president for the Nova Scotia branch of Canadian
Manufacturers and Exporters, in a CBC report.

The statement came after, last week, the Young Women’s Christian Association
(YWCA) of Halifax released a report detailing how rampant sexual harassment
towards women and those who are gender diverse is in the skilled trades. 



Based on their survey, 91 per cent of their 101 women and gender-diverse
respondents have experienced at least one form of sexual and gender-based
harassment while working in the skilled trades in Nova Scotia. And the majority
(84 per cent) of sexual and gender-based harassment occurred while women and
gender-diverse people were on a jobsite or at their workplace.

More than eight in 10 (82 per cent) of the respondents said they experienced it
more than once. 

The following are some of the specific sexual behaviours women and
gender-diverse people experienced in the workplace:

 





Source: YWCA of Nova Scotia

Nearly all (98 per cent) of people engaging in harassing behaviours were men,
and 68 per cent were either a direct manager or supervisor, another manager or
supervisor, a coworker who was more senior, a school instructor, contractor, or
the CEO/ business owner.

More than nine in 10 (92 per cent) of survey respondents reported that their
workplaces were male dominated at the time of their most recent experience of
harassment. 

Despite these, only 26 per cent of survey respondents made a formal report or
complaint about their most recent experience of sexual and gender-based
harassment. And just 50 per cent of women and gender diverse people who reported
sexual and gender-based harassment said there was a formal workplace
investigation after they reported.

Only 36 per cent of respondents said that the harassment stopped after reporting
it to their company.



"The [YWCA] report is an indication that we need stronger collaboration," said
Raymond in the CBC report.

Recommendations for government, employers 

To conclude their report, YWCA made the following recommendations:

For the Nova Scotia government: 
 

 * Create an amendment to the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act to
   include sexual harassment.
 * Create a sector-specific third-party sexualized violence response team to
   ensure intersectional, trauma-informed, and timely response to issues of
   workplace sexual and gender-based harassment in the skilled trades. 
 * Create incentives for training and work with employers and unions to build
   capacity. Continue to implement and fulfill best value and community benefit
   agreements. 

For employers and unions:


 * Commit to continuous training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and
   psychological safety, from floor to ceiling, with a focus on those in
   leadership roles to build organizational trust. 
 * Invest in sexualized violence training for staff who respond to sexual and
   gender-based harassment incidents to enhance knowledge. 
 * Create stand-alone sexualized violence policies. 
 * Sector associations create a staffed, shared service to support small to
   medium-sized businesses with responding to sexual and gender-based
   harassment.

For individuals working in skilled trades:

 * Practice active allyship and cultural humility. 

For future research:

 * Future research is needed to further understand the issue of sexual and
   gender-based harassment in the skilled trades and to gather comprehensive
   data.
 * To address the cumulative harm that women and gender diverse people living
   with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, immigrant/ refugee, African
   Nova Scotian, Black, Indigenous, and racialized women, and gender diverse
   people experience, future work must use a culturally relevant, intersectional
   gender-based analysis that examines the historical, structural,
   institutional, and cultural impacts of colonization, slavery, anti-Black
   racism, anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, homophobia, intergenerational
   trauma, and other forms of oppression.

Raymond said he'd like to see a cross-industry strategy to work on the report's
recommendations, according to the CBC report.




FREE NEWSLETTER

The FREE Canadian Occupational Safety newsletter keeps you up to date on news
and analysis about the world of occupational health and safety. Please enter
your email address below to subscribe.
SIGN UP
Fetching comments...
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.


MOST READ ARTICLES


SOURCES SAY 22 ONTARIO MINISTRY OF LABOUR INSPECTORS FIRED


SUPREME COURT RULING ‘A GAME CHANGER’ FOR SAFETY PROFESSIONALS


SUPERVISOR FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE IN DROWNING OF WORKER


FORMER SUPERVISOR SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS FOR CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE




FREE NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to the Canadian Occupational Safety newsletter to get the must-read
news & insights in your inbox.
Sign up
 * Newsletter
 * Digital editions
 * Authors
 * External contributors

 * Copyright © 2024 KM Business Information Canada Ltd.
 * 

 * Advertise
 * About us
 * Contact us
 * Privacy
 * Terms of Use
 * Sitemap
 * RSS






×
Search