A shining beacon on the landscape of female mentors is Alicia
Woods. Woods is the creator and founder of Covergalls, a female-inspired
personal protective equipment (PPE) solution. First, Woods
broke barriers in the mining industry. Then, she developed a cover-all
for women. By designing PPE for women, Woods ensured that no
woman would ever be held back by lack of appropriate PPE. They
would also be safe from the hazards presented by having to wear
ill-fitting men’s coveralls. But Woods didn’t stop at that. Through
Covergalls, she’s been helping women in trades all over Canada ac-cess
resources and make connections to female mentors and other
women in trades. Woods herself is a role model and an inspiration
to female entrepreneurs and tradeswomen alike.
How female mentors help women
enter trades
When it comes to women in trades, female mentors are helping oth-er
women navigate the complex dynamics sometimes involved with
occupying traditionally male spaces. But what does that actually
look like? It includes women sharing coping strategies and helping
develop soft skills for working in male-dominated trades.
For example, women entering trades may not be prepared to han-dle
situations that involve male counterparts trying to “save” them.
What might appear as kindness or favour to one, is offensive or
overbearing to another. This happens often on construction sites,
especially if the task is particularly arduous or the female worker is
smaller in size. However, mentors can help women learn to navigate
situations like this, and other tricky circumstances. For instance,
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mentors can give women tips for sharing unisex port-o-johns that
were once male-only spaces. Female mentors who have experienced
pregnancy while working in a trade position are especially knowl-edgeable
and can offer advice about how to traverse that rather un-common
ground.
A female mentor may also be able to give career advice, the same
as in any mentoring relationship. What makes female trades men-tors
different is the insight they have into which paths to follow, de-spite
some of them appearing to be closed to women. Additionally,
female mentors may have connections at companies or spaces
where women are known to be welcomed.
Of course, mentors may also serve as sounding boards or moral
compasses for women just getting started in trades. It may be diffi-cult
for women trying to fit in to recognize harassment. Harassment
can be very subtle, and as such, very hard to recognize at times.
While a female mentor may not be able to protect a mentee from
harassment, they can certainly help them to determine behaviour
that is inappropriate. As well, female mentors can help other wom-en
follow proper channels to report harassment. Female mentors in
trades will play an important role in helping mentees deal with ha-rassment,
especially in a supportive role.
Breaking barriers in trades
There are various programs available Canada-wide that aim to
connect female mentors in trades with females looking to enter
trades. A cursory Google search turns up many results; however,
the best places to start are even more accessible. Women looking
thinkbigmagazine.ca | Quarter 4 2018 | Think BIG 47
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