Young electrician passionate advocate for women learning trades

The very first day of her co-op program, budding electrician India Snoj learned a lesson — not in proper wiring but in how to handle people who don’t think women should be working in the trades.

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“This guy came up to me and looked at me up and down and sideways and said, ‘What are you doing here? This isn’t a job for a woman.’”

Taken aback by the audacity of the stranger and worried the horror stories she’d heard about tradeswomen being harassed and unwelcome on job sites might be true, the then 18-year-old maintained her composure and moved on, finding support from a supervisor.

It hasn’t always been easy for Snoj to navigate the still heavily male-dominated skilled trades industry but, 10 years later, she is a licensed Red Seal construction and maintenance electrician and passionate advocate for working “on the tools.”

“There are so many facets to a trade,” she said. “I’m forever learning.

“I like that it’s hands-on and there’s lots of flexibility. And you can earn a good living.”

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To her point, Snoj bought her first house in Brantford at age 23, paid it off, and, along with her millwright partner, the now 28-year-old recently moved into her dream home near Vanessa.

Kate Walsh, executive director of communications and manager of the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT) program, said they estimate women make up three to five per cent of Canada’s skilled trade workers.

The OBCT committee was formed in 2019 to advocate for women and underrepresented gender identities in the trades to ensure they “feel inspired, welcomed, motivated, challenged and empowered.”

Through monthly online information sessions, tradeswomen talk about their real-life experiences to “everyone from a Grade 10 student to women in their 30s and 40s who are looking for a second career.”

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The organization offers networking opportunities and free training in the so-called soft skills needed on the job – leadership, communication, public speaking, how to talk to superiors.

“It’s about women owning the room,” said Walsh.

OBCT also offers instruction in financial wellness – how to manage money on an increasing wage scale while working through an apprenticeship; how to balance the check book while going to school, and how to prepare for the cyclical nature of the construction industry.

An investment in marketing skilled trades to women is starting to pay off and the industry is seeing a boost in the number of women working in trades they really excel in, said Walsh. The detail-oriented work of network cabling is attractive to lots of women, as is carpentry. Technology is changing construction so that many jobs don’t require the same physical strength they had in the past.

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Still, said Walsh, it’s not uncommon for a tradeswoman to be the only female on a job site, “which is tough.”

Snoj, whose brother’s pursuit of a trade sparked his own interest, attended an Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program information session offered at her high school.

“I called the teacher and asked, ‘Could I do this as a female?’ He said, ‘Yes, 100 percent.’ At that moment, I signed up. I thought, I’ll give it a shot.”

Following an eight-week co-op placement, Snoj started her apprenticeship at a crane and hoist company, then a company that specialized in water and wastewater treatment work.

At times she was the lone woman in a crew. Other times, she was one of two or three.

Snoj said she was subjected to some of the demeaning treatment she’d feared – catcalls, unwelcome pressure to date – but mostly received encouragement.

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“The vast majority (co-workers) were super supportive,” she said. “I felt like they kind of protected me. It gave me the confidence to go on. Working the trades isn’t always easy, but you seek out supportive people to be successful.”

Snoj is now passionate about promoting the trades, particularly to women, and is a member of the OBCT’s speaker bureau, made up of tradeswomen who share their stories with women’s organizations, non-profit groups and at high school career days.

“Trades are a lifelong career,” said Walsh. “There’s a huge demand. And once you have that ticket, nobody can take it away. They are jobs with physicality, creativity and problem solving and it gives you financial freedom – the ability to earn a six-figure salary.”

Snoj is keeping her options open for the future, which could include being a college instructor, foreman, or a leader in training and mentoring.

“There’s a lot more opportunity for women to feel mentorship from one another. My job has been a huge confidence builder. It’s amazing to wire something up, turn it on and see it function.”

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