The workforce problem no one wants to talk about: Menstruation

Women menstruate. Every month. Through concrete pours, electrical rough-ins, and 10-hour shifts in January. It doesn’t make them less capable. But when job site infrastructure treats it as invisible with no product access, no private space — it sends a message that lands hard: you weren’t really considered here.

That message has a big price tag.

What inaction actually costs

Canada’s construction industry faces a projected shortage of up to 108,300 workers by 2034, with nearly 270,000 experienced tradespeople set to retire in the next decade (according to BuildForce Canada). Women hold just 13.6% of construction jobs and roughly 5% of on-site trades positions. They are the largest untapped labour pool in the sector, and they are leaving.

Statistics Canada data shows carpentry alone has a 70.8% female attrition rate within the first two years of apprenticeship. Every skilled tradeswoman who exits represents years of apprenticeship investment walking out the door, plus the recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity costs of replacing her. The OBCT 2025 survey of 342 tradeswomen found that inadequate washroom facilities remain one of the top barriers driving women out. And the CSA Group found that 40% of Canadian women reported an injury or incident linked to ill-fitting PPE, a direct WorkSafe cost most companies aren’t tracking back to its source.

The cost of doing nothing isn’t neutral. It compounds.

We asked tradeswomen directly

Hello Period Equity’s own Menstrual Health & Workplace Inclusion in Trades Survey asked women (and gender-diverse) tradespeople what actually moves the needle:

• 64% would be extremely or very likely to apply to an employer that advertised menstrual health support. Not one said it would make them less likely.
• 76% said period-friendly facilities would make them feel valued and respected by their employer.
• 60% said it would increase their likelihood of staying long-term.
• 56% named remote and mobile work locations with no infrastructure as the single biggest barrier, larger than stigma, larger than employer cost concerns.
• 64% rated a stocked period kit in work trucks or remote sites as “extremely valuable.” Zero said it would not be valuable.

That’s not about products. It’s about what the products signal.

This is design, not fragility.

Every job site stocks first aid kits not because injury is expected, but because the response should be ready. Menstruation works the same way. WorkWell Washrooms portable units carry Pads-On-A-Roll, tampon basket, Sanipod disposal, flushing toilet, running water, soap, paper towel, and privacy. The WorkWell Period KIT puts that same logic into every work truck and remote site — a compact, stocked kit for when workers are hours from the nearest washroom. Both exist because the need is predictable, the solution is simple, and the excuse for not acting is getting harder to defend.

Culture is set by whoever is standing on the floor

Our survey respondents’ top ask was simple: “Education for managers on the reality of what women deal with sometimes.” Not a policy overhaul, but a manager who treats this the same way they’d treat any other health reality on site. 44% of respondents named male supervisors who dismiss menstrual health concerns as a top-three barrier. That’s a culture problem, and culture is set from the top down.

What we know (and what the data confirms) is that a diverse team isn’t weaker for its differences. A team where one group quietly absorbs an unacknowledged burden every month is the weaker team. The fix starts with an organization that decides that everyone on the crew was worth designing for.

The construction industry talks a lot about the talent pipeline. Pipelines have to flow in both directions. If conditions on site are pushing women out, you’re not solving a labour shortage — you’re recycling one.

We can help.