Nour President of the We Build a Dream Organization Helping Women Start Their Career in the Trades

A free toolbox for joining the trades!? Learn all about how to find support when joining the trades. This wonderful organization aims to help women with their first tool kits to mentorship. 

She is president of the We Build a Dream organization since 2014 and  is also the host of the podcast Perfectly Unfiltered which is focused on unfiltered topics with women in trades. 

We talk all about finding resources in the trades and the barriers to entry for women and how We Build a Dream helps women overcome those. 

Links
We Build a Dream Website
We Build Instagram
Social Media Doin'GirlyThings

Transcript

Nour Transcript

Megan:

Can you turn it down over here? Sorry about all that noise. I'm a project manager, at a construction site, building the internet. No, seriously. I'm focused on data center construction. My passion is electrical mechanical systems. Enough about me. Welcome to the podcast Doing Girly Things, a podcast focused on breaking down the stereotypes surrounding construction and making construction, working in the field, and wearing a hard hat all girly things to do. In this podcast, we focus on professional development and personal stories from people in construction. This podcast is focused on asking questions to women in the field about their experiences and how to navigate the construction industry. I'll bring on everyone from plumbers, administration, project managers and even an author or two. The premise of the podcast is to create a network of women in construction. I have found so many wonderful women whose voices and experiences need to be heard. Every other Monday, a new episode will be released. You can find transcripts on doing girly things website, and the podcast is available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. This podcast also talks about grief. Don't worry about grief in the title, I use grief for my mother's fatal car accident to shed a light on how to navigate it. I also have episodes for my friend Jacob and his group that work at NASA that are growing the first fruits in space. Lastly, go to the Instagram Doin Girly Things to find out where all the action or to the website Doin Girly Things with one g to find the show notes. Hope to see you soon. 

Thank you everyone for joining us on today's episode of Doing Girly Things. Today I am very excited to finish out the year, and finish out the season 2. Today we have Nour on. She is from Canada and she is the president of Build a Dream organization that was founded in 2014. I am so excited to talk to her today because she is also another podcast host. So she has a podcast called Perfectly Unfiltered, which is focused on unfiltered topics about women in the trades. So much like this podcast, she talks to other women in construction. So I am so excited to have not only someone who has an organization but also someone who has a podcast. So happy to have you on the podcast today. And in one of your episodes I was listening to you said that you entered the STEM field about ten years ago. Can you give us some background on to what happened ten years ago that drew you into getting more women into STEM.

Nour:

Yeah, definitely. And thanks for having me on your show, Megan. Just to clarify, I think one of the things that I am not particularly in STEM. My organization is focused on getting more women into the science, technology, engineering and math space along with the skill trades, emergency response, entrepreneurship, and leadership roles. So essentially, our whole mission and vision is centered around getting young women to consider jobs and career pathways that have for so long been very male dominated but have a huge, insignificant demand in the workforce.

And to answer your question, I would say it is about now we're going on 15 years. I worked at a women's organization, and my role there was to get women off social assistance and into the workforce. And I realize that a lot of the jobs that we were finding, our clients were very precarious work, low-paying. Not enough to really independently get a single mother of three or two off the system. And so when I would go out and network with potential employers, one huge demand that I found which continues till today, is that there was a lot of jobs available in the manufacturing and construction sector. So naively at the time, I just put together a workshop and invited over 300 of my clients to come and join so that they can learn how to make up to $30 an hour, which was significantly more than many of the jobs that they were applying for. And only one of our clients showed up. And so what I realized very early on was that it wasn't because women were not interested in these positions. It's just that they didn't know what they didn't know and that there were a lot of barriers preventing women from going into these STEM careers are skilled trades, and that there were barriers that we needed to address in order to expose women to these opportunities, attract them into these positions, and then hopefully lead it to recruitment and retention within the sector.

So I've been doing this now for about 15 years. Build a dream, as you mentioned, started in 2014 was supposed to be a one off event where we invited parents and their daughters to come learn about career pathways in these sectors. We had role models come talk about their career journey. We had industry showcase the career pathways that young women could pursue.

We had educators to show how you could start exploring these pathways as early as grad school. We had post-secondary institutions do hands-on activities, and essentially we created this environment this space where parents and their daughters spent a family night together exploring career pathways in a safe and friendly, and empowering environment. To end this one off event has now become a movement that we lead across Canada.

Megan:

Sounds like a lot of the stuff is in person. So how have you guys been able to transition over the last two years with some of the shut downs that we've had? Has more of your programs turn to online, or how have you guys transitioned?

Nour:

Pre-COVID we were just in the middle of scaling. We had five events, in-person events scheduled in Toronto, one in Calgary, and you are correct, our events predominately have been in-person. There's so much energy in the room. They happen in the evening and it's literally a one stop shop for career exploration. And we've been doing it since 2014.

But due to COVID and everything shut down and quite honestly it wiped out in-person events, we pivoted immediately to a virtual platform and I believe we've hosted over 20 virtual events in different cities. And one thing we did identify that despite the fact that we had to go virtual, despite the fact that there's this Zoom burnout, we are still able to attract young women and their parents to these events because ultimately the content that we're providing, the resources that we're sharing, the role models that we're highlighting... That is necessary.

So whether people can consume it in-person or virtual, these are really important conversations that need to be had. I think what families are realizing more and more is that COVID has not only disrupted just our day to day lives, but especially how we perceive and how we plan for our future. And you saw so many sectors be wiped out due to COVID. So sharing this information with families and and showcasing to them some of these careers that your daughters may never have considered, where women are like less than 5%, actually, and a necessity during COVID. And they there is a huge demand. And many industries like construction and manufacturing can't even keep up with the demand and need to hire such a large workforce.

So despite COVID, we actually had our busiest year during COVID.

Megan:

I love what you're saying because it aligns so much with the episode that I put out about the Women Build America movement. And so the department came out and they said we need a million more people in construction within the next two years. And I really do think that women are who we need to look forward to fill those roles. And so are you seeing some of those same demands in construction in Canada as well?

Nour:

Yeah. Like, this issue is not unique to just, you know, North America, Canada or the US. I believe it's it's really a cultural shift that you and I are both trying to create. Women Build America is trying to achieve. It's really reshaping how we view women in society, the role that they play. Removing gender as a limitation and not even looking at it as a limitation. And if you really just put it in layman's terms, like in 2021, how can you really assess someone's ability, skills, experience, knowledge by simply looking at them. And if you put it that way, like, I mean you don't have to be an activist to really see how silly that might sound if you're writing a business, because making assumptions is going to limit you from recruiting some exceptional talent.

And to answer your question, when there's a million people needed or 2 million people need it in Canada, it depends on the sector that we're talking about. We're looking at anywhere from 100,000 plus. You're not just going to be able to find that by tapping into the same demographic that makes up that industry. You have to tap into the other 50% to build your workforce, to build your pipeline. And so not only is it that we often talk about the demand, what we're in the business of doing is challenging people to look at the perceptions, their stereotypes and reshape how they view themselves in the role that they play in feeding into these stereotypes. I think that if we all just look at our own biases. The biases that we may have, like even when you go to a mechanic shop and you someone's about to fix your car, do you question if there are women? Do you question their ability to fix your car or a plumber knocks on your door and is coming to fix your your plumbing work? So there's just a lot of I feel a starts with the individual and then since these individuals make up the workforce and their leaders and their fathers and their mothers, once we look at it from our own lens, we can begin to see how that lens can contribute to the global lens.

Megan:

In one of your podcast episodes, you said, we're in the business of shifting mindset and changing the mindset of what women should and shouldn't do, which I love because it really is. It's the mindset like you keep saying, it's what do you picture yourself doing in ten years? And so a lot of times I like to ask women, you know, what did you see yourself doing in ten years? And most women have never seen themselves in the trades and so it really is about changing. Where do you see yourself whenever you leave high school? What are your next steps and everything? What has been the biggest moment since you started Build a Dream where someone finally figured out that they could change their mindset, and that they could be in trades?

Nour:

I'll talk to you about a recent example because it's Why Build a dream exist, why I'm really passionate about this work and why we're so committed to diversifying the workforce. So in 2014 we hosted our first event and one of the employers that came to our event in 2014 said to me I loved what you did with the event. How can we support you? How can we do more than just put up a booth that night and talk to parents about the opportunities within our industry? 

So I offered them two options. One was a scholarship that they would fund a young woman's trade school. And the other option was help young woman explore hands on opportunities. They loved both and they ended up ultimately funding the camps. So it was a five day camp that we designed where every day young woman got to explore different trade and on the fifth day we invited their parents to lunch and then the young woman got to showcase and talk about what they experienced during that week. So it was supposed to help young women explore these different careers in a safe and comforting, not intimidating environment. But then it was going to highlight to parents what their daughters are capable of doing and how their confidence was built exploring over the last week. 

So one of the young women who came to our event in 2015 ended up filling out a survey and got entered into a draw to win a free camp. And her name is Dora.

And then a couple of years later, I'm at a different camp that we were hosting and a mother comes up to me with her daughter and says, my daughter Dora came to your camp in 2015 and this is my other daughter and Dora just recently got accepted to university to become an engineer. And my second daughter is interested in the trades. She says, I can't tell you how much Build a dream has shaped both their futures. 

So fast forward another couple of years. I'm currently recording this podcast from a company called Valiant TMS, and their headquarters is where I'm recording my podcast and they had sponsored our space. They believed in the mission. They totally see the need to diversify the industry. And so I message them. I said, My team's coming down from across Ontario. I want to give them a tour of the manufacturing facility. I'd love to show them a valiant. And so I said, Can you please make sure that our tour guide is a woman in engineering? All I had asked. So I walk in and sure enough, it's Dora who's doing her co-op at Valiant TMS. She's in her last year of university and completing her second co-op term. And I couldn't have painted a better picture if I had intended to. It was coincidental that it was Dora. And so then she shared her story that prior to her going to our Build a Dream event, she had participated in First Robotics, and so she wanted to be a part of the build team, but there was no other young woman on the build team, and she was so intimidated to even try. But after she went to build the dream event and then she went to the camp, she realized that she fell in love with electricity. And so she's now an electrical engineer and she builds things and she shares her journey to support and empower others to consider that pathway. So she's just one story of hundreds of stories that young woman have shared with us. 

At the moment they walked into build dream and they realized the world of possibilities, that power could never be undone. We can never take that back away. Once you open the door and you empower a young woman to see herself more than just what we've stereotypically defined women capabilities are. You open the door of endless possibilities, and naturally young women are going to be motivated to want to go and pursue that. Despite the limitations that are presented in front of them.

And so I can share so many different stories. But one thing I know for certain that our organization continuously and proactively does through all of our events, our programing and our relationships, we try to reshape how we build the pipeline. So it's not just about attraction or recruitment. It's really like encouraging companies and individuals to focus then on retention and advancement, because I can guarantee to get companies more women to apply. The question is, what are those companies doing to ensure that not only is their company diverse, but inclusive. Creating an environment where women are not only welcome, but they are made to feel like they belong and that they have the opportunity to grow with that company.

Megan:

I really, really like that. I always say like, what are the policies that they have for maternity leave? Is it a company where women want to work? What are the policies that they have for the clothing that you have to wear to work? And so I often talk about on this podcast how I've had to wear men's clothing.

And so I really think that that's a huge barrier that women have. If trying to go into the industry. And so, like what you're saying right there is too is like not only getting women involved, but like with retention. And so what are the typical programs that companies implement to help keep women inside the trades or engineering? Just any sort of stem field?

Nour:

I think it goes beyond just talking about your goals, about when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. It's being proactive in your actions. And so if I look at some of the companies I worked with, many of the companies, when I would ask them about, you know, how many women are on the shop floor, what are their limitations, their assumptions were that women weren't interested in these positions.

But then when we started talking about how do we recruit more women, many of the companies up until 2015-2017, didn't even have any female facilities. There was no female washrooms. So there only men's washrooms on the shop floor. So kind of similar to the situation you're talking about when it comes to policies that are family friendly where parental leave. Like in Canada, I cannot imagine living in the U.S. and having advocate for family friendly policies because we're fortunate to have the ability to take off up to 18 months in that both parents can be off at the same time for a short period of time or the father or the mom can take the time off. So it's much different in Canada. But even that how we speak about our policies, how we encourage those policies make a significant difference. So we've had companies in the past say one of the limitations they place in front of women candidate is, well, what if she gets pregnant? 

So we challenge them to see it differently. Well, what if one of your male employees wife's get pregnant and she makes more than him? And as a family, they decide that he should take the parental leave and that she should go back to work. What if the roles were reversed in this day and age? For example, I had a baby ten months ago. My husband took the parental leave. If his company was counting on him staying in the workforce when we had kids, they would be so called what they would think investing in the wrong person's professional development. So we've come to a time where you just don't know. And quite honestly, how are we still limiting women's opportunity to advance or enter a career simply because of their reproductive organs? Like if you think about that, like it just to me, it just boggles my mind. So what we encourage companies to do is you need to walk the talk.

I need to be able to walk into your industry and feel a sense of belonging. So the sourcing of safety gear for women that fit, women that are comfortable for a woman, there's a big difference between companies that just have one size fits all, or this is the supplier that we've been dealing with. So this is the only one that we're going to offer you a selection from or we've sourced our women owned companies that have made safety gear more fitted for women. Would you consider and here are your options and even if it costs a little bit more, because we know that they're not made in bulk like men's gear, we will still sponsor you or reimburse you for that gear. I think that says a lot about a company because it says that regardless of your gender, regardless of the limitations or barriers, we know that we still have a lot of work to do to advance women in these careers and to create an inclusive environment. And that as opposed to looking at these policies as something that's going to challenge their workforce and look at it from a lens of no, it's actually going to enrich it. It brings a unique aspect to the workforce. And we know that everyone works differently and thinks differently, and women have a certain way with attention to detail or they may find an alternative way of doing something that has always been done the same way, but theirs is maybe perhaps a little bit more efficient.

And so those are all things that we highlight to companies that look at it as an investment. The same way you would invest in anything when it comes to running your business, investing in your people, investing in a strategy that's going to really promote diversity while creating an inclusive environment is going to be key. Because for those that run their own companies, or in the, you know, the leadership seat, you know that it costs much more for turnover than it does to just really invest in that candidate that you brought on. You've already trained and to keep them is much cheaper than to continuously have to restart and try to find new people.

Megan:

And I think we're about to all really see the effects of that with the great resignation that people are talking about is how the turnover rate inside companies is really intense. And one day I want to go back on what you said was about women's restrooms on a job site. And so we actually had an incident on our job site where you can text in any safety hazard that you have.

Well, someone had texted in that there was no girls restrooms within walking distance where all the men's restrooms were. And I come out of my office and I was like, somebody needs to go move a Porta-Potty right now, because it really is. We don't think about it. But there are things like people have seen in Hidden Figures is the best example where she had to walk, you know, half a mile in the rain to go to the bathroom because I was the only women's restroom that there was there and there's little things like there that companies can do that.

It's not really little. It's sanitation. It's giving people a restroom that they need. And so I love that you guys are working with companies to help see that that is a request that isn't just something that's nice to have. It really is essential to making it so there is retention. And so. Well, let's talk about the other things that you guys do, build a dream.

And so whenever I went on the website, I saw that you guys had her Power Tools program. Let's talk some about the ways that you in particular are helping with that issue.

Nour:

So her power tools, something we're really proud of because what we found was that when our stakeholders would ask us, how do you know you're moving the needle? Like, how do you know how many women you're actually encouraging or empowering to go down this pathway? And I often will argue that our organization provides young women the power of choice. And I think that having the power of choice is opening doors of opportunities and really being able to make that informed decision about your future, despite what societal limitations there are and that's what our organization does, that young women will walk through our doors and for sure they will be empowered, inspired and encouraged to pursue any of these paths.

But then they decide we don't design on their behalf. They make that decision. So I think that's one aspect that our organization does. But then so how do we then actually know how we're shaping the industry? So her Power Tools was an idea that was formed when we approached Milwaukee Tool and WFS Limited, and we said, What if we were to give out a starter tool bag to any woman that enters a trade across Canada? So they're interested in entering the trade they can submit to apply for this $150 value bag. But with that comes access to employers, to resources, to mentors and to other opportunities. So we retain them. So now we know who's getting into the industry, but now we play a role in their retention and advancement and support piece, which we know is a limiting factor from keeping women in the industry and so we launched this back in May.

We were reaching started with 100 toolbags, because they wanted to see how that would go. So, so far we've given out almost 50 and we've just renewed our contract with Milwaukee Tool because they love the program so much. And so anyone quite honestly in Canada that is applying that is in a trade and wants to apply, should submit their application through our website.

They are not only awarded this tool bag, but they become part of our network and we follow their journey and they take part in other programs and initiatives that our organization launches.

Megan:

What's the most popular trade that you see women go to once they come to your organization and everything? Is there one that you would say women are more drawn to?

Nour:

More interesting when we pull the data to see what trade those that applied for her power tools took, it was majority electrical, but it really varies. Like I focused in the past on encouraging women to go into manufacturing. So I saw a lot of them wanting to be general machinist or industrial mechanic, mill millwright. I've seen a lot of them want to be carpenters. 

On top of her power tools, we also launch her power skills. And her power skills is an opportunity to an eight week workshop where young women come for free and they get to build their own toolbox, and then they get to refurbish furniture. So they're learning a life skill. They're learning how to use tools, they're communicating with other young women their age, they're meeting role models.

And then and then they're also learning financial literacy. So that particular project program also teaches them how to build, but we just launch that. So to answer your question, it really depends on the city that we're in and what the demand in that workforce and where the jobs are. 

Megan:

Going back to what you said earlier about how you talk to someone. They said they just didn't think that women were interested in those jobs. And it's like, no, women are interested in making money just the same way that men are. So when I think about high paying careers, electricians are almost the number one. So on a job site elevator contractors make the most money and then your electricians are pretty high up there. And so I wonder if that has something to do with it. Is that women are going to trades to support themselves because that is a big factor. You're making six figures very early on in your career compared to a lot of other careers that you have the opportunity to go into. And so do you think or do you guys promote like how much money is made in each of these different trades to help women make informed decisions?

Nour:

Most young woman... So we support majority in grade school, in high school. And so when we asked them what matters most to them when it comes to a career, the factor that's always fourth on their list, you think it through top three is how much money they make. It isn't until they go to post-secondary or they invest in some sort of training, or they take the time or they realize that they need to pay rent or their mortgage or buy a car, have monthly bills that they're like. Oh, man, I actually should have thought about my salary expectations prior to choosing a career and drowning in student debt. And so while men's first factor is always their salary, young woman's, their first is that they want to help people. That's literally often what we hear is what do you like? What what do you want for your job? I want to be able to help people.

Megan:

I read this study where they talk to women and very much the same thing. That's like they say, if we want to get more women involved in engineering, we need to bring humanity to engineering. We need to say, okay, well, if you go to this wastewater plant and you do all of X, Y and Z, engineering, you're helping this many people have clean water. Where if you're advertising it towards men, you need to not necessarily highlight on the big societal impact they're really focused on like how to get this done and not really the bigger picture of it. But if we want women involved in engineering, we need to start showing them job application and about the bigger humanity of what they're doing.

Nour:

Exactly. And that's something that we found. And we survey all of our attendees and we ask these questions over and over again. And it's interesting. And so part of our mission, as well as to teach them early that you should actually have salary expectations. It's not that all that matters and it is admirable that you want to help people. And I did too. 

And I continue to want to help people, but wanting that solely is not going to pay your bills. Empowering and giving them the confidence to talk money. I think that that is another skill that we need to support young woman with that financial literacy piece that it's okay to say you want to make money, that it's healthy. It might not be your core values, but you need to make a decent wage to be able to break the cycle of poverty, become financially independent and break other cycles of abuse. And so for me, it's really important speaking to young women about financial independence and what that means and that yes, when you're choosing a career, do the math. How much does it cost to get that degree or pay for school versus what are the job prospects or is it even in demand is even going to be around once you graduate in four years, knowing that technology is progressing and changing the industry in the way it looks. And so having those salary expectations, I think is extremely healthy and could support us in recruiting more women in this field if that was something that they knew mattered at a young age. But at a young age and not being told that they need to make the money. Right. 

Like if you think of the past generation who was the majority breadwinner.

Megan:

It's always been the men.

Nour:

That's what they some of them have seen growing up. So there's a cycle that continues. That's exactly what I mean by that societal perception. In the role that women in men play. What does that look like and how do we define it?

Megan:

Just how we look in society and how we look at ourselves. Because I even think about myself who is in construction, and I went and got my master's degree and all this stuff. And I never knew anything about trade school I was so deep into construction. But no, I didn't even know how much trade people made or even really that they were making six figures and I just wish that more women understood that almost everyone that walks on a job site, at least like on commercial construction, most people are making six figures. Like there are couple trades on there that aren't, but people don't talk about the money of it enough. 

The cultural shift change in World War Two whenever women started entering the workforce, it became shameful to talk about how much you made. And so I really tried to make it. So it's an open conversation. How much do you make in comparison to what I made? Because personally, I was talking with someone within my company and he's like, Yeah, I give this to him per diem. And I was like, I don't get that. And so I reached out to my employer and within 5 minutes I was making $8,000 more a year.

Nour:

Wow!!!

Megan:

That's a huge amount of money to be missing out on for doing absolutely nothing more.

Nour:

Why were you paid less to begin with?

Megan:

Exactly. Why did they just forget mine and not somebody else's? And so and I would have never have known how long would I have gone working at a company if I would not have asked somebody, like, what benefits they were getting?

Nour:

Exactly. And that's the question. And that's where I really encourage more women to talk about it, but also employers to not only be mindful when you leave it up to negotiation as well, that as women, if we have not talked about financials and have not been confident in that space, we might actually be worth more and know we're worth more or feel we're worth more, but we may not communicate it. And some might argue, well, that's all the applicant. Well, I challenge you that we weren't conditioned we were always told to go after what we wanted and to want more for ourselves. So I think that it is important for companies to be mindful of that. And if that's the case, just have a set salary and offer it to both the male and female candidates that enter your workforce.

Megan:

Yeah. And be open about what stipends and benefits everyone's able to get. Because if you have to hunt and peck for women are also known for not negotiating and so I think that.. Is that something you guys teach within your organization too is about how to negotiate your salaries once you've been given one.

Nour:

So we do it a little bit more informally. So even like our Her Power Tools program, those are opportunities that they'll have. We're launching in the New Year. It's going to be called Trades Academy so it's and be open to those that are interested in the trade or those that are already in the trade. And part of that, it's going to be negotiation. How do you negotiate your salary? How do you negotiate your value your worth? How do you go to an employer and really know what the pay scale is and know how to ask for it? And so those are all areas that we will be launching in the New Year for sure, because we find that it is very important and then that it's at a disadvantage, when women find out they've been making last like kind of like, you did.

I've talked to women that are on the shop floor and they took the training. They're in their second year or third year apprenticeship and then and new, you know, high school kid joined and he's making more than them and they're like, this is so insulting. Not just because he's this young man. He's still in high school and he's making more money. And I've been here for 2-3 years devoted to this company. So it might work for companies to see, okay, if I pay a little less to begin with, but it's going to cost you again in the long run. That's what we mean by retention. That's what I mean by creating an inclusive culture where everyone is treated equally and there's equitable opportunities for everyone to succeed.

Megan:

Exactly. In making it so women don't have to work later and come in earlier just to achieve the same level of success. That men are achieving. And one thing that I thought was pretty empowering, so I use this website, and so the way that I use it is to just figure out what are people looking up? And so I typed in trade school and it was kind of cool, but trade school for women was the second highest search.

And so I wondered what you think is the big pivot point that we're coming up on, because people are starting to look this up on the Internet. It means that women are really interested in joining the trades. And so do you think that there is a big pivot point that we are all waiting on to really see? Whenever we start seeing 15, 20, 25% of the industry filled with women?

Nour:

Yeah, definitely. One of the things that our organization continuously strives to achieve is not only programing that's going to raise awareness and the attraction, but work directly with industry on the recruitment, retention and advancement piece. Because I said this is the beginning, I can guarantee that women are interested once they know, once you give them equal opportunity. And the only other thing that I would want to also ensure I say is we need to stop making women work twice as hard to prove themselves on those job sites. It's exhausting. Like, I mean, I work full time. I'm a full time mother. I have a lot of responsibilities. I mean, I run my own organization. I can imagine constantly having to work twice as hard just to prove my value or my worth. And, you know, people are just trying to make a decent living. And we add this additional barrier to women in the workforce, especially in male dominated sectors, to continuously have to prove themselves.

That doesn't mean not have the same expectations, or not expect women to work hard, but to constantly doubt them based on your own assumptions is limiting their confidence in knowing that they belong. And so I think it's really fascinating that trade tells me that women are now opening their eyes. They're hearing the messages, they're seeing the recruitment strategies, they're seeing that there is demand, if there is financial stability, that there is security.

Now it's really up to the stakeholders the companies to step up and change the systems that for so long have limited women's progress in these fields.

Megan:

I think to me having the podcast, I've been able to find so many awesome women in construction, and I love seeing this community just keep growing and growing and growing and I'm sure you do, too, because seeing the amount of people on social media just talking about themselves as being women operators, women plumbers and women electricians, like it really is just a cool community to be a part of.

Nour:

One of the things that I've found is the greatest role that I play and something that I don't take for granted is the trust and the opportunity that I have to hear women's stories and I often say this. One thing that I've seen every single time I speak to women in the field, especially in a field that is significantly underrepresented by other women, they are determined to support more women success in that field.

And I often tell companies when you invest in one woman in the trade, you are investing in a generation that's going to, by nature, just want to attract more women into your industry and use her voice to shape that sector. And so not only do you get a very talented woman on your job site, but you get this amazing referral system simply by investing in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Megan:

Oh, that was so good that gave me goose bumps a little bit.

Nour:

But it's true. Like even talking to you, I'm just I get so excited about the future because sometimes it could be daunting and sometimes the conversations are tough. And and as you hear about the limitations or the stereotypes or the discrimination women face, and you're like, really like, why? And it's it's hurtful. It's frustrating. But then you come across a great conversation, and at the end, they're still in it.

And all they want is to be able to make it better, more friendly, less intimidating for the younger generation to succeed. And I think that says a lot about women coming into the field. And it's empower women, empower women, and it is in the best interest of an economy to ensure that we have strategy investment and policies in place that hold people accountable when it comes to attracting the other 50% of the population into the workforce.

Megan:

I love how you reference it as the other 50% to because it is. It's not, it is crazy. whenever you break it down to that statistic that we're only advertising these careers to 50% of the population. It's been such a pleasure to have you on and I really enjoyed talking with you because like you're saying is it really is just so refreshing to talk with people about this and what does the future hold.

And so the best self-help cards that I do have I'd like to ask at the end they like to dig just a little deeper into questions. So the two categories that I picked for us were life lessons or dreams.

Nour:

I run build a dream. So I feel like you should pick dreams.

Megan:

Fast forward 20 years. What does your life look like now?

Nour:

Oh, wow. 

I often say my greatest success story will be leading this movement in Canada that becomes a global movement. So ultimately my goal is to make build a dream and take it across the globe. And because I think that the values in our mission aligns with every community. So I would say that in 20 years, if I were to fast forward that I may not be the person that's leading this movement, but that it's I've created a movement that's sustainable and allows different communities and different leaders to sustain it and lead in in whatever capacity that community needs addressing things, those specific issues that impact women across different areas and I also am a mom of two. I have a boy and a girl, Melina and Adam and I often joke about, you know, I live now for my kids. Every decision I make is for their greater good. What life do I want for them? What future do I want for them? And what values do I want to instill in them?

So I think in 20 years to come, they'll both be in post-secondary or in a trade or running in our own entrepreneurial venture. And at the very least, I would hope that no matter what they choose to pursue in their career, that they believe in the limitless opportunities that they may have. But they also continue to follow in my values in knowing that they play a role in creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world.

Megan:

I cannot wait to see what 20 years of build a dream looks like. And I really do hope that you do make it global, because I would love to have it here in the United States as well as Canada and further than Northern America. And so thank you so much for being on the podcast. It was such a pleasure.

And where can we find you?

Nour:

Yeah. Megan, thank you so much. So where you can find me is on all social media on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. And then you can also find Build a Dream on All Those Outlets as well. We're constantly sharing all of our programs and services, and I truly encourage you to subscribe because even if we are Canada Base, a lot of our resources and tools and information and content can really support anyone.

And that's one of the reasons why we've had this conversation about, is our organization just meant to be in Canada. Or do we now take it across the globe? Because the messaging is not unique to challenges just happening in our country, but it's something that every young woman should believe in, believe in the power of her dreams and that her gender is not going to limit her opportunities in this world.

Megan:

I love that. Thank you so much. And yes, everyone should check out Build a Dream. Actually, they would know that it was Canada based until I started looking into it the other night. I thought it was globally already. I hope all my listeners take the time to look it up if you are interested in the trades. The Her Power Tools program really is pretty cool.

I was actually walking home the other day thinking about how I needed tool kit, and I jumped on the website and I saw that and I was like, That is so cool that you guys are handing those out.

Nour:

I'm gonna send you one because everything that you're doing, especially with your podcast, and in your industry, is the type of role models that we want to support and ambassadors we want to support. So not only am I going to send you the toolbag, but I'm also going to send you a Purple Heart hat that says, Build a dream on it.

Megan:

Oh, thank you so much. That would be wonderful. Yes. I also look forward to that. And lastly, I will actually be on Build a Dreams podcast next month, so all my listeners will have to make sure they take a listen to me on your podcast.

Nour:

Can't wait to flip the script and be the one to, because, you know what's so funny, Megan? And I know we have to wrap up. I had so many questions I want to ask you during our conversation. I had to remind myself, you are not the host you are not the host, you are the guest.

Megan:

Well write them all down and we can talk about them. 

Nour:

Okay. Perfect. 

Megan:

Yes. Thank you. And we will see you guys all later.