YWCA Halifax

Purpose

This 30-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. The YWCA Halifax will achieve this by scaling-up a past Gender Inclusive Leadership course and by piloting new initiatives that promote the participation of diverse and underrepresented women in skilled trades in Nova Scotia. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive practices, increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change, supporting positive distribution of voices, and addressing persistent harmful gender norms and attitudes to support women’s equality. This project will bring together sector and system partners, such as private sector employers, industry associations, unions, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency and the Office to Advance Women Apprentices to foster the economic security and prosperity of diverse women in skilled trades. The YWCA Halifax will organize various learning opportunities to build awareness on barriers to women’s recruitment, retention, and advancement in the skilled trades and to shift workplace cultures towards diversity and inclusivity.