Scaling Deep to Make Space for Females in Trades: Transformational Inclusion at a Community College

The authors use the skilled trades shortage as a unique context to pilot transformative approaches to changing culture and practice around equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in recruitment, progression, and retention of previously-excluded student groups, focusing on gender. To demonstrate how this approach can help achieve the necessary rapid increase in skilled tradespeople to address the labor shortage and its societal impacts, this article reviews the gender gap in Canada and the United States, incorporating recent research on diversity within the trades experience for female and gender-diverse participants. A framework for equity-oriented SEM is outlined, recommending strategies for cultivating a SEM culture within a trades department, and exploring strategies for increasing female and gender-diverse participation through partnerships for early awareness and pre-trades programming, with consideration for equity admissions in apprenticeship training, where that opportunity exists.