b'WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE INVISIBLE OBSTACLESBrampton Bricks Lauren Mulkerns reflects onAvenues: Are there perceptions of women working in a pit or quarry that need to change?the hidden roadblocks women still face inLauren:In my personal experience, I have not received negative attention at a pit or quarry. But instead, I do receive additional the aggregate workplaceattention such as Wow, youre strong or You okay there? That looks heavy or You can drive that pretty well.O SSGA recently sat down with Lauren Mulkerns ofIts a tricky thing. On the one hand, it takes time to respond to Brampton Brick to discuss the invisible obstaclesthese comments in a friendly manner, and it takes time away from women face working at pits, quarries and officeswhat I need to do. On the other hand, sometimes I am not able to of aggregate producers in Ontario. Mulkerns waslift something and do need to ask for assistance.aguestspeakeratOSSGAsOperationsHealthAvenues:How can companies better accommodate womens andSafetySeminarlastJanuary,andthenatOSSGAsAnnualneeds at their sites? Conference in February, where she addressed generational differ- Lauren: Washroom access is definitely important. It also can take ences in the workplace and the difficulties she herself has encoun- women additional time to remove equipment and outer layers to tered on-site.use the washroom. And consideration needs to be taken to provide Avenues: What are some of the challenges that women facewomenwithaccesstoequipmentthatfitsortoprovideextra when working in a pit or quarry?allowance to women to purchase adequate clothing. Even bringing Lauren: In a nutshell, these types of workplaces werentin suppliers that offer womens sizing is significant so women designed for people of shorter and smaller stature.know where they can source the equipment they need. For example, accessing equipment using laddersAvenues:Areaggregatecompaniesdoing and stairs requires a larger step up or down, orenough to accommodate work-life balance and a further reach than that of someone who isfamily needs for both men and women? 510. A walking-in area with one or two feet of snow can be challenging for someone whoLauren:This is a big topic, however I think is shorter, and a female washroom facility oraggregate companies would benefit from doing a washroom with a lock on the door is notmoretoaccommodateemployeesandallow alwaysavailable.Finally,equipmentfit,i.e.,them more work-life balance. Accommodation finding gloves and pants suitable for a workplaceshouldnotonly[bemadetoward]mothers. and that fit well is getting easier, but they can beFathers,sonsanddaughtersshouldbe more expensive and difficult to source.accommodated to attend to their family as well, and 14 AVENUESFALL 2019'