Stories from Women in Wood

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

Christine Leduc is the Direcor of Public Affairs with EACOM Timber Corporation. Women who work in, with, and for the woods. I know many such women: with Jess Kaknevicius and Lacey Rose, to start. Kudos to both for founding Women In Wood (WIW) and offering a platform where we can share information and experiences, as well as support each other as we work to achieve our collective goal of sustainable and healthy forests. Today, this group reaches hundreds of women, students an

We are always happy to hear of like-minded organizations representing women in different trades, industries and professions. One such encounter we have been lucky to have recently was with Lana Norton, who founded Women of Powerline Technicians (PLT) in September 2016. We recently caught up with Lana, who joined us at a WIW event in Renfrew, ON (more on that in an upcoming blog post!). We took the opportunity to share experiences and plans for the future, and learn a little

Kathy Abusow is the President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Iniative Inc. Check out Kathy Abusow's TED Talk "The power of sustainable forests" Congratulations to Lacey Rose and Jessica Kaknevicius for starting Women in Wood! I suppose great minds do think alike, several years ago the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) partnered with Habitat for Humanity for an SFI Women in Wood Build Day. It brought women together from across the forest sector to help build a Habit

Hello! I’m Susan Gesner, the President of Gesner & Associates Environmental Learning. I started Gesner & Associates Environmental Learning (GAEL) in 1997 with a notion to integrate my blend of environmental knowledge, facilitation expertise and management skills. The projects that my colleagues and I undertake reflect my interest in the interface between learning and engagement, change management, facilitation and strategic planning. Canada has 397 million hectares of forests