When yours truly was first hired by the Assessment Department in 1965 (called the Metro Corporation of Winnipeg back then), I was part of the clerical staff.
There were no female assessors until 1977 when some of the ladies in the Department started to wonder why it was supposedly just a “man’s” job. After we protested, we were told if we took the required courses we could apply. We enrolled in blue print reading and a construction course at Red River, and the only other qualification back then was grade 12.
Once we got the job, we joined the Association and were allowed to attend the 1977 AAOM Conference at the International Inn. Here is a picture of our group. (I’m on the far right in the top row).
There were only 7 female assessors in the City Assessment Department in 1977 and we all belonged to the Association; there were no female members from the Province, and I’m not even sure if there were any female assessors employed by the Province at that time; a total of 116 male assessors in the Province and City were members of the AAOM.
In 2016, the combined number of female assessors belonging to the Association from the City and Province is 39, and male assessors number 65.
–Submitted by Carol Lyons
