Stories from Women in Wood

When I graduated from Lakehead University in 1992, there were six women in a class of approximately 30 students. After some reflection, I can say that I was not particularly confident in my own potential during this time, considering myself an average student next to those who outperformed me for grades. It was only once I entered the workforce that I started to appreciate what I was capable of. After graduation, I moved to Cochrane into a job with the Ministry of Natural Res

Kathryn is the Executive Director of Dovetail Partners and a forester by training. She has worked on development and forest management issues in a range of roles. Her work has included natural resource inventories, comprehensive planning, environmental impact assessments and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She has also developed and managed a group certification project for family forests and worked to increase local capacity to provide forest management and

2017 was a busy year for WIW! We thought it was time to bring you all up to speed on what’s been happening. It’s been just over a year since the Women in Wood website and Twitter account launched, and what a great year it has been! Since we first launched Women in Wood in 2016, the community has grown, and we wanted to take a minute to reflect back on 2017 together, and update you on what’s been happening. Maria Church, Editor at Canadian Forest Industries and Canadian Bi

The gender balance has recently started to tip in British Columbia's forestry industry as more women occupy leadership positions and complete post-secondary studies in one of the province's key sectors. Sally Aitken, associate dean of forestry at the University of British Columbia, has noticed the shift in the classroom. Gender equality and diversity require culture change says consultant John Horgan's cabinet sends message that experience matters Forty-seven per cent of und

The Canadian forest industry is not a big employer of women, even though they represent a significant pool of potential employees that could help the industry address its projected labor shortages. According to the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), the industry through its Vision 2020 initiative has set a target of refreshing its workforce by hiring 60,000 new workers by 2020, including more women, Aboriginals, and new Canadians. At present, however, there is limi