The Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen is calling on the provincial government and industry to make anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training mandatory for anyone working on construction sites across Ontario.
The group launched its Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment training program province-wide this week, positioning it as essential to addressing recruitment and retention challenges in an industry that needs 154,100 new workers over the next decade.
“ADAH is essential to building safe, respectful job sites. To strengthen recruitment and retention, it must be mandatory – built into apprenticeship training and a requirement before anyone steps onto a job site,” said Kate Walsh, program manager at Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen. “Optional culture change isn’t enough.”
Half of tradeswomen report harassment
The push comes as workplace culture remains a significant barrier for underrepresented groups entering the trades. A 2025 survey by the organization found that 52 per cent of tradeswomen have experienced harassment at work.
The free training program was designed by tradespeople and addresses what the group described as systemic causes of stress, exclusion and harm on job sites. It is structured around four core modules that incorporate real experiences from tradeswomen across Ontario.
The modules cover stigmas and prejudices, classes of discrimination, classes of harassment, and prevention and proactive solutions.
Training aims to prevent workplace injuries
Shavanni Singh, a paralegal with the Ontario Building Trades and architect of the training program, said anti-harassment training should be viewed as fundamental health and safety education.
“ADAH needs to be viewed as essential health and safety training – just as fundamental as Working at Heights. When a worker is harassed or discriminated against on the job, it directly impacts their mental health, their ability to focus and their overall wellbeing,” said Singh. “That harm doesn’t stop at the job site – it follows them home, affects their families and affects their coworkers who witness or absorb the impact of that behaviour.”
The program aims to build awareness of rights and responsibilities among all job site personnel and explores mechanisms that encourage early reporting and proactive resolution of workplace issues.
Industry support emerging
Jack Mesley, president of the Ontario Erectors Association, said the training gives employers, supervisors and tradespeople tools to recognize and prevent harassment and discrimination before problems develop.
“We are committed to building not only the infrastructure of Ontario but also a culture of respect where every worker can contribute and succeed,” said Mesley.
Nicole Lavoie, co-chair of Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen and a training instructor with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128, said culture on job sites shapes workers’ entire careers.
“Apprentices come in ready to learn their trade but if they’re met with discrimination or harassment, many don’t stay long enough to become the skilled workers our industry needs,” said Lavoie. “That’s why ADAH can’t be optional, it has to be embedded in apprenticeship training from day one.”
The Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen is advocating to make the training a mandatory component of apprenticeship completion. The program is supported by the Skills Development Fund from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
The training is available to employers and unions at ontariobuildingtrades.com/training/adah.
