Introduction:
Welcome to the Queers in Carhartts survey!
The YCWA’s Shift Change Project is conducting research entitled: Queers in Carhartts: LGBTQ+ lived experiences of construction trades. This research will produce a final report with recommendations for industry about the inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ people.
If you live in Nova Scotia and identify as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and work in the skilled trades, construction, or manufacturing, you are encouraged to complete the survey and share your views.
The risks of completing this online survey are minimal, though the survey will ask questions about your sexuality, gender identity, and experiences in the workplace. Some people may find these topics uncomfortable or triggering. The risks are being mitigated by protecting your information, storing the data in secure computers, and deleting the data when the research project is complete. A list of resources is available if you need support.
The information from the survey will be kept anonymous and will help the research project come up with recommendations to make 2SLGBTQ+ people’s lives better at work.
If you complete the survey, you could be entered into a draw for a $60 honorarium to compensate you for your time. Up to 100 honorariums of $60 will be given out after the survey is complete. You must provide an email address and confirm that you have a bank account that can receive Canadian funds in order to be eligible for the honorarium.
The survey must be completed by September 14th, 2025.
The survey is being hosted by Wisdom2Action, a queer-owned, consulting company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The data will be maintained on W2A’s secure servers, and on the Shift Change staff’s secure computers. The data will be anonymized to protect your identity. The data will be retained for one year after publication of the final report, and then will be deleted.
If you are being pressured to complete this survey by your employer and do not want to complete the survey, please opt-out.
A quick note on language:
Throughout this survey we use the term 2SLGBTQ+. This is an umbrella term used to represent the broader queer community. While many people are familiar with the terms Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer, you may not be familiar with the 2S, which stands for Two Spirit.
Two-Spirit (2S) is an English term coined in 1990 at the Indigenous Lesbian and Gay Gathering in Winnipeg. It is used by Indigenous Peoples’ of Turtle Island (colonially referred to as the Americas) to encompass a wide variety of Nation-specific expressions and roles of gender and sexual diversity. Two-Spirit is an umbrella term that connects back to pre-Colonial Indigenous life; it stands outside of colonial, binary notions of self. Each Indigenous Nation has its own specific understandings of gender and sexuality—Two-Spirit is a broad term that does not replace these individual traditions. For instance, to the Lakota, Two-Spirit people were known as Winkte and often served as visionaries and ceremonial leaders.
Two-Spirit is not synonymous with LGBTQ+ identities as they exist in present colonial settings. Nonetheless, as an aspect of self and community interconnected with gender and sexual diversity, Two-Spirit experiences are highly relevant to this research.
By continuing with the survey, you consent to the data provided being anonymized and merged with other survey responses for possible inclusion in the final report. Within 24 hours of completing the survey, you may have any data you submitted removed by contacting info@wisdom2action.org. After 24 hours the data will be anonymized and included survey results.
Finally, if you have any questions about the survey, or the Queers in Carhartts research project, please contact the Shift Change Project team at queersincarhartts@gmail.com.
If you have any questions about this project, or would like more information, please contact:
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