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It may seem like a small thing, but it’s a big barrier in recruiting — and retaining — women to work in the trades.
So now, under newly proposed legislation, the Ford government will force employers to clean up their act, requiring on-site washrooms to be sanitary.
And — in a first for the country — it will also mandate that menstrual products be provided on larger and longer-term construction projects.
“Making sure that there are washrooms available — we did that in Working for Workers Four (Act), ensuring that there were washrooms at job sites specifically for women, but now we are going further making sure they are sanitary, making sure they are clean, and making sure they have a schedule to be cleaned,” she added.
Once the legislation is passed, menstrual products will have to be provided on construction sites with 20 or more workers and for projects lasting more than three months.
“As we have more women come on, we want it to be less of a taboo in a male-dominated industry,” Barnes added. “There are just certain things that women need and we’d like to make sure they are available on job sites.”
A 2022 survey by the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen found proper washroom facilities was number four on members’ list of things to make the industry more appealing — after wanting more women on site, being treated respectfully on the work site and seeing women in leadership roles. When asked what needs the most improvement, “safe, sanitary and accessible bathrooms” was also in the top five.
Kate Walsh, program manager for Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen, said the government has been consulting and “figuring out what are the real issues and talking with tradespeople, and tradeswomen in particular, about some of the real barriers that exist.”
Clean washrooms is “something that we’ve been pushing for for years and years, but when the pandemic hit it really shone a spotlight on that as a health and safety issue,” added Walsh, who is also executive director of communications and marketing for the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario.
As for menstrual products, “it’s great because as a woman, going to the washroom and hiding something up your sleeve if it’s that time of the month … there’s the awkwardness or appearance of that when you’re walking across a job site, especially if you’ve got to find a gender-specific washroom,” she said.
“It’s just another step that they’re taking to make job sites more inclusive. We appreciate that effort.”
While employers are addressing the washroom issue, and “it’s definitely improved since this was brought to public awareness during the pandemic … but is it perfect? Not by a long-shot,” she also said.
The number of women working in the skilled trades in construction in Ontario has increased by 66 per cent over the past decade. And from 2022-3 to 2023-4 alone, the province recorded a 29 per cent increase in new female apprentice registrations in the construction trades.
Now, in Ontario, about one in 10 construction workers are women and, overall, women comprise four per cent of those in the skilled trades.
However, about one-third of women leave the sector after the first year of their apprenticeship and that’s something former labour minister Monte McNaughton wanted to change and current Labour Minister Piccini has been working to address.
Barnes said that in the past, some women had to leave a job site to use a washroom, or pick up menstrual products if something unexpected happened, “so to be able to have that on site, women can feel more accepted as part of the work environment.”
“We’re also wanting to consult because we don’t then want it to end up being the woman’s job,” Barnes added.
Carpenter Rokhaya Gueye called the new legislation “a win-win for everyone.”
Having menstrual products on site “is a basic need really, and it’s something that will help women.”
She’s heard stories from other women about their cycle coming early and having to leave a job site to find products and a washroom, and one who was forced to use a pile of paper towels for the day because she had no way of getting away from the job site.
“That’s not ideal — so when it comes to getting this into place right now in Ontario, it’s really beneficial,” Gueye said. “It helps with the health, and also safety, of women on the job site, and it means our comfort and dignity at work is really there.”
The Working for Workers Five Act also bans employers from “ghosting” potential workers by being clear in job ads if a position actually exists, and following up with anyone who was granted an interview.