Marginality and gender at work in forestry communities of British Columbia, Canada

This paper examines the practices and discourses of forestry work in a Canadian context. I argue that forestry-town women contribute to a paradox. From the outside, women's experiences of forestry employment are rendered marginal by academics, government agencies and policy makers. Women's representations in forestry work are limited, in part, because those who count forestry have historically overlooked types of employment where women are most likely to be found. Paradoxically, I argue that women contribute to their own marginality by their adherence to discourses and practices that reinforce stereotypes about the industry. I explain this paradox developing the concept of social embeddedness to explore women's direct involvement in the paid work of forestry and to examine the meanings women give to forestry occupations. My empirical analysis traces government and academic definitions of forestry work and contrast these to interpretations of forestry work given in interviews by women living in forestry communities on Vancouver Island, Canada. I observe women both protested their marginal positions within forestry while they reinforced dominant stereotypes that exclude them from participating more fully in forestry occupations. I consider the implications of these findings from a theoretical and a policy perspective. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.