Celebrating International Women’s Rights Day

For International Women’s Rights Day, we are celebrating extraordinary women who are building extraordinary projects. Our efforts to inspire inclusivity align with International Women’s Day’s actions to inspire inclusion, including: 

• Recruiting, retaining and developing female talent. 
• Supporting women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). 
• Designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls. 
• Providing women and girls with access to quality education and training. 

Did you know that the number of women employed in the construction industry increased from 194,300 (12% of industry employment) in June 2022 to 221,900 in June 2023 (14% of industry employment)?  

According to BuildForce Canada, this increase of over 25,000 women is larger than that of male employment, which increased by 15,500 workers. 

BuildForce Canada’s 2023 National Construction Forecast Summary Report stated that in 2022, 27% of women worked on-site directly on construction projects, while the remaining 73% worked off-site, primarily in administrative and management-related occupations. 

In 2022, women made up 5% of the 1.16 million on-site tradespeople employed across the 34 trades and occupations tracked by BuildForce Canada. 

For the industry to succeed, BuildForce Canada insists that companies must increase recruitment of individuals from groups traditionally under-represented in the construction labour force, including women, Indigenous peoples, and newcomers. 

Supporting Women and Girls Through Actions 

Our goal is to integrate aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion into all our business practices and processes. As an innovative company, we have always been committed to creating a work environment that enables our teams to reach their full potential. 

To support the prosperity of women in the construction industry, we have sponsored and volunteered with organizations that are creating spaces for women and girls to connect and learn within the industry.  

For the last two years, we have sponsored the Women’s Infrastructure Network’s (WIN) awards. WIN is a dynamic forum designed for women in infrastructure to help facilitate connections and networking, exchange ideas and help shape the infrastructure agenda. Our sponsorship was made to encourage the collaboration and elevation of women within the industry.  

To inspire the next generation of young girls to explore careers in STEM, we participated in Girls Can Too, a training program organized by the Toronto Regional Conservation Association, from 2021-2023. The program provides hands-on learning experience in environmental skilled trades for young girls in grades 7-12. Over a two-week period, volunteers from Pomerleau helped the girls construct sustainable infrastructure. 

Shaping the Future 

When we published our first Environment, Social and Governance report in 2022, we made Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) one of our main priorities. This priority has not wavered since then.  

We believe that everyone should have equal opportunity to achieve and succeed, regardless of race, age, gender identity or expression sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political opinion, marital status, family situation, and/or disabilities. 

Even though there is still a long way to go when it comes to DEI, we are committed to being a part of the transition towards a more inclusive industry.