Ep.31 - A Wedding Ring Is Not PPE

Content note This episode discusses sexual harassment and assault. If that is heavy for you right now, take care of yourself. Support resources are below. Episode summary A woman who built a career she loves in construction wrote to Angelo and a few other men with industry platforms with one request: tell the men to check whether the women they work with feel safe. In this solo episode Angelo reads her letter, with her permission and with identifying details removed. He then speaks to the men in the industry about the hidden hazard assessment women run every day, why so many reporting processes end in the woman leaving, and five concrete things men and leaders can do starting this week. Key topics • The field-level risk assessment women run on top of the actual job • Why news like the Cornell case reopens old experiences for women on job sites • A listener’s letter on harassment, close calls and leaving the industry • Survey data from Ontario, Nova Scotia and the US on harassment, reporting and retention • Reporting systems versus exit systems • Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and workplace sexual harassment • Why “as a father of daughters” misses the point • Psychological safety for everyone, not a team with an asterisk • Five ways to check in and act without making it worse Support resources • US: RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-4673, 24/7 (rainn.org) • Ontario: Assaulted Women’s Helpline, 1-866-863-0511, 24/7 (GTA 416-863-0511, #SAFE (#7233) on Bell, Rogers, Fido and Telus mobiles) • Canada: directory of sexual assault centres and crisis lines, endingviolencecanada.org • In crisis anywhere in the US or Canada: call or text 988 Sources and links mentioned • Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT), survey of 342 women, released at the 2025 Ontario Building Trades convention • YWCA Halifax, survey of 101 women and gender-diverse skilled tradespeople, released March 2024 • Institute for Women’s Policy Research, A Future Worth Building: What Tradeswomen Say (2021 survey, 2,635 respondents) • Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, workplace harassment provisions (Bill 132, in force 2016) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com