By Noreen Buckley

On Sunday, November 17 th , a level 2 typhoon hit the Northern region of the Philippines. That day, our delegation was set to travel 3 hours to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan for a community visit to meet up with our fellow union trade sisters in welding, plumbing, and painting. Sadly, our sister-to-sister outing was canceled due to the typhoon. This was the fourth typhoon that swept through the country in the previous ten days, the second that occurred while we were in the country. It is a change from the last half a century when typhoon season was from May to August.

Climate change and its effects on the construction industry are felt worldwide. Women are uniquely positioned to partner in steering the construction industry to embrace new strategies and ways of building that work for people as well as the environment. The construction industry is deeply involved in the clean-up and rebuilding of communities following natural disasters. We can also be involved in the building up of more resilient infrastructure to hold up against typhoons, hurricanes, tornados and wildfires.

Focusing on renewable energy sectors such as wind, geothermal, and solar energy, as well as electric vehicles, will continue to provide stable, union, building trades jobs while working toward building infrastructure that will hold up against the changing environment.

Women, seasoned and new to the trade, are not as confined by the established social norms in the construction industry. We are often the only woman on site thus seen as an outsider. This dynamic allows us to challenge and question conventions, opening discussions about how things can be done with different priorities in mind. Our tradeswomen meetups are significant in developing the heart of the tradeswomen movement via peer-to-peer support networks of women working with their tools. No one knows better the joys and struggles of lacing up those boots and walking onto a site every day.

The typhoon unfortunately denied us the opportunity to share a potluck meal and connect over stories of training, safety on construction sites, and the ups and downs of being a woman in the trades with our Filipina counterparts. The more we, as tradeswomen, hear each other, see each other, and validate each other, the stronger we will all be as we take our place next to our brothers as equals in building the future.