Women are still rare in the skilled trades. These B.C. workers are changing that

July 20, 2026

The skilled trades remain overwhelmingly male-dominated in B.C., but women are making gradual gains.

Despite the advances in management, leadership and technology showcased in this issue, women remain glaringly underrepresented in the skilled trades. Here we take a statistical snapshot of tradeswomen in B.C. and Canada.

Here’s what the data tells us.

  • The proportion of women in “trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations” (as defined by Statistics Canada) is increasing, but slowly, from 5.9% in 1987 to 8.3% in 2022. In B.C., women’s share of trades employment grew slightly faster, from 5.8% to 8.7% over the same period.
  • As of 2024, 218,200 women worked in Canada’s construction industry, accounting for 13.6% of the national industry workforce. Women tend to be clustered in administration and management, however, and occupy just 4% of skilled trades positions.
  • There are 10,134 women in construction trades in B.C., representing 5.3% of the provincial industry workforce as of October 2025. Though small, this proportion is higher than the national average and reflects a year-over-year increase of 600 workers.
Source: Read the full article here