Future is bright for women in the electricity sector

To combat a looming labour shortage, the Electricity Sector Council is initiating a campaign to “attract, engage and recruit” women to work in this male-dominated sector. “We’re going to see a big turnover within the next five years,” says the council’s executive director Michelle Branigan in an article in the Toronto Star. “Right now we’re looking at about 45,000 people who are expected to be moving on by 2016. That’s almost half the workforce, which is absolutely huge.” Where women represent 48 per cent of the national workforce on average, that figure drops to just 25 per cent in the electricity sector and women there tend to be in human resources and marketing and communications roles rather than in technical positions. Last month the council put out a call to employers, colleges and universities, government and labour groups, asking them to become part of a Canada-wide initiative to better. In addition to a media campaign, the council will make an effort to boost internships specifically geared to female students.