Check out a sneak peek of this Issue 6 article by Kristina Campbell, in which she discusses manual labour with Carolyn Bramble and Kate Braid.

Bramble’s success in her trade is partly thanks to trailblazing tradeswomen like Vancouverite Kate Braid. When Braid found herself working as a labourer in 1977, she was one of just a handful of BC women in similar positions; she went on to become a rare female journey carpenter.

Over and over again, the biggest difficulty she faced on the job site was fitting in as a ‘man’ among men, Braid says. She became adept at discouraging the damning damsel treatment.

“Some guys will try and carry your lumber for you,” she says. “They’re actually trying to be helpful in the only role they know. So one of the first things you have to do is make it clear that ‘I’m here as an equal.”

-Kristina Campbell

Photography: Brandon Gaukel