A Mohawk College graphics class in Hamilton creates poster art for International Women’s Day
They used to say a woman's work is never done but in the building and construction trades it has barely begun.
And they used to sing, If I had a hammer ..." but if she had a hammer she'd probably have the washroom to herself on the job site. They also used to sing If I were a carpenter and you were a lady." Now the carpenter IS a lady, but not often enough.
Women are under-represented in the building and construction trades; they are under-represented in many fields but in B & C trades is an unusually gaping disparity.
It is one of the most imbalanced" employment areas of the workplace, says Leif Peng, Mohawk College graphic design professor.
Only four per cent of workers in those trades in Ontario are women. He and his illustration class are getting to know some of that four per cent.
People like Kristi Slade, a taper for Alles Drywall and member of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, who dropped out of school at 14 to help her single mom of three.
She is one of about 25 women profiled in a series of strikingly colourful posters of women in the trades that Peng's students have done, most of them featuring an image of a woman's face as well as a more full portrait of her at work.
The work depicted is everything from welding to pipefitting, drywalling to carpentry, painting and HVAC to electrical work and masonry and much else.
Those posters, created to mark International Women's Day on March 8, and the original art work that went into them - mostly acrylic paintings - are being featured in a special exhibition called In Our Hands" at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, on Stuart Street in Hamilton. It runs from the beginning to the end of March with a special event on March 8.
Peng has been getting his class to make skilled trades posters for International Women's Day as one of their assignments for years. It's a good way for the learners in his class to apply their art to wider issues beyond the immediate demands of the commercial jobs that could represent the bulk of their work as graphic designers once they graduate.
The difference this year is that he and the class were approached by the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT) committee, established by the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) in 2019.
We asked them (the committee) to put out a call for volunteers to be profiled (in the posters)," says Peng. I thought it would take a while to get enough for each of the 25 students in the class. Within in 24 hours we had 30 names."
The aforementioned Kristi Slade was one. All the women were asked to supply a picture of themselves, a photograph of themselves at work in work clothes, a paragraph on their backgrounds and the work they do - to give the students material to work with.
Slade told a whole story, pages long. Here's part of it.
Brad Blois owned a drywall taping company. He asked me if I wanted to try something different. I love learning new things so I said yes. From the age of 16 to 20 I spent working with him learning how to drywall and tape custom houses. At the age of 20 Brad and his company decided to move out West. He helped me start my own company Professional Drywall services before he left."
Later, meeting many supportive people along the way, she expanded into decor and furniture restoration and finishing, and even, at one point, flooring, paint stripping, kitchen installation. One of the most important steps she took in her climb through her career, she says, was visiting union halls and getting her union certification.
I love working for Alles Drywall. It's like family there. I am the only woman in a company of 50 plus men and they treat me equally. I still love cooking so much and still incorporate it in my life by cooking for all the guys for special holidays. Contractors hire me to bake cookies for the whole job site. I am also an advocate for woman in drywall. I am the rep for Canada for women in trades for my union and help lots of people young and old join the trades worldwide."
Slade's is one of many stories that Peng's students are capturing in their art. It is not necessarily typical, as she has not experienced the discrimination that some women who are in the trades (or trying to get into the trades) have encountered, but it powerfully illustrates just what can be done.
Seeing a preview of the results, I can say Peng and his students have done a remarkably strong job, with creative typography, forceful lines and bold colour all without sacrificing any of the character of the women, which admirably comes across. Theirs is a skilled trade too, when you think about it.
In a climate of precarity (precarious work), the skilled trades offer incredible opportunities, pay welling, unionized and benefits," says Kat Williams, outreach and development specialist with Workers Arts and Heritage Centre.
I hope the result of this (the poster/art exhibition) will be that more girls and women will consider" the skilled trades as a career option.
It very well might, as there are already middle school classes scheduled to come through the exhibition. Moreover it gets promising student work out into the community.
Equity is what it all comes down to," says Peng.
For more. wahc-museum.ca
Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, 51 Stuart St., Hamilton.
Jeff Mahoney is a Hamilton-based reporter and columnist covering culture and lifestyle stories, commentary and humour for The Spectator.jmahoney@thespec.com