Interval House Hamilton will use almost $100K in new funding from the federal government to help make male-dominated skilled trades safer places for women to work.

The organization supports women and children who have been victims of abuse and is one of 18 groups across Canada selected to receive a combined $2 million for gender-based violence prevention programs.

Federal Minister of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Rechie Valdez was in Hamilton Monday to announce an investment of $95,674 in Interval House. That’s part of $610,268 already provided to the organization for the training to 970 people in 56 workplaces, all with the aim of encouraging safe and respectful professional environments for women. 

Sue Taylor, executive director of Interval House of Hamilton, says the new funds will be used to develop an online training platform and an app to deliver their messaging further into work sites. 

“We’ve been receiving money through WAGE for about two-and-a-half years to work with skill trade,” Taylor said in an interview with CBC Hamilton. 

“Right now we’ve got some fantastic partnerships with LiUNA, CUSW [Canadian Union of Skilled Workers] and IBEW [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers], three of the largest unions going. And just to see them at the table with commitment and… the intentional work being done around retaining women and gender-diverse people in skilled trades… we think it’s fantastic.”

‘Our work is about calling men into the solution’

In 2024, of the 128,000 victims of partner violence ages 12 and older reported to police, eight out of 10 were women and girls, according to Canadian government. The latest funding announcement is part of the ongoing federal Gender-based Violence Strategy, which has committed over $84 million to prevention and victim support. 

Taylor said feedback on the training programs has been largely positive.

“What do I hear from men? Often it’s a thank you,” she said. “It’s a thank you because most men really want to be a part of the solution. And our work is about calling men into the solution. It’s not about calling men out… We recognize that a lot of times men just need to be able to have the tools and be able to know what to say, how to say it and be OK with that conversation.”

Valdez and Taylor were joined for the announcement by Hamilton MPs John-Paul Danko, Aslam Rana and Lisa Hepfner at IBEW Local 105 on Monday.

“As more women enter the skilled trades, we need to make sure workplaces are safe, respectful and inclusive,” Rana, member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre, said in a news release.

“This support for Interval House of Hamilton is helping do exactly that by equipping workers and employers with the tools to prevent violence and foster healthier workplace cultures. That is good for women, for families and for our economy.”