The air turns crisp. Fields across Canada yield their harvest and students return to classrooms with fresh energy. It’s also when we mark gender equality week (Sept 23–27), a time to pause, reflect, and ask: Are we creating workplaces where everyone can thrive?
For those of us in the electricity sector, this reflection matters. Just as farmers know a strong harvest takes planning, planting, and care, gender equity requires steady care and long-term commitment. Progress doesn’t happen overnight — it’s cultivated.
Planting the seeds of change
In the electricity sector, we’ve seen encouraging progress. Programs that support women in STEM and trades, mentorship, and partnerships with post-secondary institutions are planting essential seeds. Each time a young woman or gender-diverse student chooses an electricity career, it grows our sector’s future.
But planting seeds is only the first step. If we want them to grow, we need to nurture them through mentorship, equitable policies, and inclusive workplaces where every voice matters.
Tending the fields: leadership in action
Across the country, organizations are making intentional commitments to equity. They are:
- Reviewing policies to reduce systemic barriers.
- Offering training and resources to foster inclusive workplaces.
- Supporting women and gender-diverse people in leadership and trades.
These steps are like tending a field. They may not show results right away. But with time, they can change everything.
The harvest we see today
And we’re starting to see the harvest. Women in electricity are stepping into leadership, driving innovation and shaping the clean energy transition. Gender equity is no longer a “nice to have;” it’s a strength. Making organizations safer and more resilient, ready for the future.
When people feel seen and supported, they bring their full potential to work. It’s good for the employees, for business, for our communities, and the sector.
Preparing for the next season
But harvest is also a reminder: the work doesn’t end when the crops come in. Farmers are already thinking about what worked, what didn’t and what needs to change.
The same applies to gender equity. Gender Equality Week is a time to celebrate progress but also facing the gaps that remain. Women and gender-diverse people are still underrepresented in trades and leadership. Pay gaps and barriers to advancement persist. We need to do more to support Indigenous women, newcomers and women of colour whose experiences are shaped by multiple layers of inequality.
The question isn’t can we change. It’s will we keep investing in equity as a core part of our strategy.
From seeds to harvest: Building lasting change
A call to action
This September, during harvest and Gender Equality Week, let’s commit to making equity a part of how we work every day.
- Let’s mentor and sponsor women entering the field.
- Let’s embed gender equity into safety, leadership and workforce planning.
- Let’s track progress, share successes and hold ourselves accountable.
Cultivating equity takes time, care and resources. But like farming, when we invest in process, the rewards last. The future of Canada’s electricity sector depends on it.