MPP Monte McNaughton wants young women to know there’s a future for them in the trades.
Ontario’s Minister of Labour Training and Skills Development says the trades are well paying, no matter your gender.
“We’re working hard to attract more women to the trades,” McNaughton says. “Everybody who works on a job site should be paid equal pay for that same job.”
McNaughton says only 4.5% of skilled trades jobs are filled by women.
The Ministe rjoined forces with Associate Minister of Women and Children’s Issues, Jill Dunlop to use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to call on employers, teachers, parents, industry leaders and others to help us end the stigma related to young people, especially women, who do not see the skilled trades as a first choice.
A projection from business consultant McKinsey & Company shows increasing women’s participation in the labour force, particularly in high-productivity economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, oil and gas, will add as much as $60 billion to Ontario’s economy by 2026.
