A Richmond woman has made it her mission to increase the number of women working in some traditionally male-dominated fields by organizing hands-on events to give girls a chance to experience a day in the life of anyone from a Coast Guard diver to an airplane pilot.
Kirsten Brazier, president of the Achieve Anything Foundation and a pilot with 25 years of experience, is behind two events coming to Richmond in September to inspire girls to consider careers in fields typically lacking women.
“Because there’s so few women in these fields, you can’t expect things to resolve naturally,” she told the Richmond News. “If you don’t have someone in your circle who’s in one of these high tech fields, then how would it occur to you … if it’s not on your radar.”
It’s part of a trend to organize fun, hands-on events with professionals in some of the hardest lines of work who come together to convince girls that they can do it, too.
On Sept. 15, a group of girls will head to the Canadian Coast Guard’s Sea Island base for a day of dive demonstrations, search and rescue exercises and rides on the Coast Guard’s zodiacs.Then, on Sept. 29, a different group will explore career options at YVR airport.
There’s more to it than just flying the planes and checking people in, Brazier says. The girls will learn about aircraft rescue operations, air traffic control and how YVR staff keep the runways critter-free using trained hawks.
Earlier this summer, Richmond Fire-Rescue sponsored a Richmond teen to attend Camp Ignite, a weekend camp where girls in grades 11 and 12 from all over B.C. to try their hand at firefighting.
“It was amazing,” said Kayla Blossom, the 16-year-old sponsored by Richmond Fire-Rescue.
“We spent four days at different fire halls working on skills … The biggest highlight was when we went to the [Justice Institute of British Columbia] and I actually got to go into the burn building.”
She says her uncle who’s a volunteer firefighter convinced her to try it out. The weekend gave her a taste of what firefighting is like, and now she “want(s) a bigger bite.”
Firefighting, search and rescue and aviation are fields that are united by the low number of women in the workforces.
Richmond Fire-Rescue told the Richmond News that 16 out of its 216 personnel who ride in firetrucks are women. That’s about seven per cent. Twenty-four of Vancouver Fire & Rescue Service’s 793 members are women, or about three per cent.
“Anytime we can reach out to minority groups and have their interest piqued by what we do for a living, it’s a good opportunity for us,” said Brian MacLeod, community relations officer with Richmond Fire-Rescue.
“[We want to] tell them that it’s possible to do this job and it’s available to them.”
When it comes to the Canadian Coast Guard, Brazier says she’s had trouble getting data. The Coast Guard was not able to accommodate the News’ request for information on how many of its members are women before publication deadline.
In aviation, Brazier said she’s “sick of being one of six per cent” of professional pilots in North America that are women. She says it’s a statistic that hasn’t budged in her two decades of flying.
According to Transport Canada, 49,293 pilot licenses were in force as of April 2017. Only 3,008 of those were held by women.And those who fly the planes are just one part of the equation. Brazier also wants to see more women designing, building and maintaining aircraft. Less than three per cent of flight engineers are women, according to Transport Canada.
Facing such low numbers of women working in these fields, Brazier decided to take a hands-on approach.
She’s been organizing events The Sky’s No Limit: Girls Fly Too and Operation: This IS You since 2012.
She also wants to see a commitment to track the number of women working in male-dominated fields like aviation.
“Our federal government has invested millions in women. But we don’t know (how successful it’s been) … not quantifiable.”
She would also like to see companies acknowledge the low numbers of women working in these positions, and take a proactive approach to increase representation.
But at the end of the day, a big part of why Brazier organizes these events is to help girls and women “figure out how cool some of these jobs are.”
“If you don’t do something you love, you’re going to hate your life,” she said.
People who identify as girls or women can apply to go to events with the Coast Guard and YVR in Richmond online on the Achieve Anything Foundation’s website.
Camp Ignite application forms can be found at local fire departments around the province or on the camp’s website.
