Executive Council
May 17, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Cathy Bennett, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women:

Minister Bennett Recognizes Women Advancing to Journeyperson Status

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to congratulate 119 women who are being recognized this evening at an event hosted by the Office to Advance Women Apprentices. These women have reached their Red or Blue Seal status and obtained their journeyperson in their trades. I am honoured to have the privilege to attend this event.

Mr. Speaker, each one of these women faced barriers at some point along the way when coming though the skills trades system – but the event tonight is proof that it can be done and it is such a positive accomplishment for these women, the industry and the province.

Mr. Speaker, we want everyone out there to know that the skilled trades offer good career choices for women – as is evident by the fact that so many women are succeeding in these fields. In fact, the Office to Advance Women Apprentices currently has over 1,600 tradeswomen registered in their database. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage more women to step up and consider a career in the skilled trades which in turn will help create a greater gender balance in Newfoundland and Labrador and across the country.

We must keep working until we reach a place that ensures we are all equal around every table at which we sit. We still have a lot of work to do in order to ensure the culture, the policies, the training and the workforce reality supports the goals of gender diversity. I commit to this House that as long as I am Minister Responsible for the Status of Women in this province I will never stop advancing the role of women in business, in politics, in trades and in every place where a woman can make a difference.

Thank you.

2017 05 17                              2:25 p.m.