Authors: Joe Lamacchia,Bridget Samburg
Tags: #Business
Independence—gaining it and having it—is a strong theme forwomen who go into blue-collar work. A study published in 2002, based on interviews with eleven women who were interested in nontraditional careers, found that thesewomenwere seeking independence, had recently become independent (froma controlling husband, for example), or were seeking freedomin their jobs. Mary Sullivan, assistant dean for the School ofNatu-ral Resources at PennsylvaniaCollege of Technology, was looking to identify the reasons women choose to go into blue-collar jobs. Many of the women were self-described tomboys or people who don’t mind getting dirty. Others had predominantly played with boys while growing up or were surrounded by brothers and therefore used to grittier experiences.
Success in the Real World
Sylvia Keller, tool and die maker, Bradford, Ontario
When shewas about to graduate high school, Sylvia Keller knew that she wanted to go into the skilled trades. While many of her friends were going off to universities, she decided she wanted to do something with her hands. “At least I’ll be learning and not going to a university and coming out with nothing but debt, ” she thought at the time.Keller took a tool and die class and decided that was her industry. Really, her decision came out of her guidance counselor at trade school telling her that tool and die making would be too difficult for her and that she should consider something else, an industry perhaps that was less male dominated. Instead of changing her mind, Keller took it as a challenge and has been in the tool and die world ever since.
Tool and diemakers are some of themost highly skilled tradespeo-ple. Making tools, dies, and other precision equipment requires much training and dedication.Keller says she was given little encouragement or guidance when she started doing this work eleven years ago.But she’s created a specialty for herself and has enjoyed the hard work.
Keller bought a house at age twenty-six and has watched many of her university-educated friends struggle to find high-paying jobs. In a good year, with overtime, Keller has made more than $90, 000. Sharpening tools, machining, maintenance of dies, and the building of dies is all part of what Keller does on any given day. And she’s constantly troubleshooting. “I like it, ” she adds.
After more than a decade in this industry, though, Keller is considering whether she would like to try a different trade. She’s considering something in water maintenance or treatment. Whether she makes the switch or not, Keller says there aremany skilled trades that overlap, and taking on a new challenge within a new industry is often possible. “I think it’s the greatest thing to pick a skilled trade and just go do it.”
This is just one study and one look at the reasons for women going into the trades. I know many women who start apprenticeships, join unions, or get into the trades because they are looking for a jump on life. Janice Layne from Chicago Women in Trades says many women come to her organization for assistance in getting into a trade once they’ve overcome other hardships. Sometimes it’s a failed relationship or a less than stellar job record. Chicago Women in Trades prepares women through training and advocacy for trade jobs. Layne, a case manager with the organization, says some women are simply heading down this path because it’s something they’ve always wanted to do.
Layne says her group also prepares women for challenges they may face in the workforce because of being female. It can be tough for women, she says, but at the same time the majority of employers and coworkers are quite supportive. “We’re not trying to make it out like it’s the big ol’ bogeyman, ” she says, but still, ChicagoWomen and Trades helps women to prepare for the worst. Some women just want to be able to talk about their fears even if none of them ever come true.
A fourteen-week program offered by Chicago Women in Trades, similar to others across the country, provides a basic, hands-on introduction to some of the trades, teaches women about unions, and prepares participants to enter various careers. At Nontraditional Employment forWomen (NEW) in New York City, women apply to a six-week program that introduces them to several trades and helps them into unions or apprenticeships. Many of the women are on their second careers; some are trying to jump-start their work life. Basic information, such as how to carry heavymaterials, a primer on unions, and essential math training, is part of NEW’s program.
Amy Peterson, president of NEW, said women tend to be particularly excited to get into the skilled trades. NEWtrained 450 women in 2008, and the program has more than doubled in just three years. “The trades haven’t come as far as some of the other careers like doctors and lawyers and even engineers, ” says Peterson. She said society still doesn’t think of the trades as a natural place for women. But as the unions struggle to maintain and even increase membership, Peterson points out that women and minorities are more widely embraced. “A lot of women have always wanted to work with their hands, ” says NEW’s president. Her organization introduces them to carpentry, painting, and electrical work. “The six weeks makes them aware of the opportunities. This isn’t simple. It’s a career.” Of the women who start in the program, approximately 75 percent graduate and are on their way to a job.
“The unions are struggling somewhat, so they are much more welcoming to women and minorities. ” minorities.
—Amy Peterson, president, Nontraditional Employment forWomen
Without a program to guide her, Donna Curtin always knew in her gut what she wanted to do. As a child, Curtin would spend hours playing with toy trucks, not dolls. People always ask her why, and she says she really can’t articulate it. “It’s like asking someone why they like chocolate ice cream.You can’t explain it. You just do.” But in high school Curtin wasn’t allowed to take shop classes because of her gender. Because she also enjoyed drawing, Curtin wasn’t entirely devastated and instead focused on her other skills and ended up graduating from State University of New York, Binghamton, with a degree in studio art and psychology. She worked for years in graphic design, but all the while she was repairing and rebuilding her own cars. She would go to auctions and buy various vehicles to fix up. She had never taken an automotive class, but she was determined to teach herself how to repair cars. She checked out dozens of library books and poured through each one, trying to memorize every detail. She would practice on her own cars, rebuilding engines, making repairs, and painting the exteriors.
After years of pining to be around cars full-time, Curtin decided to open her own auto body shop. It took her five years, and she said she faced some discrimination fromlenders, contractors, and locals in the town of Cicero, New York, where her shop is located. “Being female in this business doesn’t sit well with a lot of guys, ” she says. But that said, her three technicians aremen, and each one of themcame fromgreat jobs to work in her shop. She knows she treats themwell, and she cares about themand their families. “It took a long time until I did find a crew who could deal with a woman as their boss.” But Curtin was determined, and in the end she couldn’t be happier. “I’min heaven when I hear tools buzzing.”
Johnson, the auto mechanic who was a novelty in the 1980s when she was getting started, sees the blue-collar world as far more open and accepting of women than it once was. She grew up in Michigan, her father and grandfather worked for GeneralMotors, and her other grandfather ran a gas station. Her parents weren’t thrilled when she opted to go to automotive technical school, but she knew she wanted to do something with her hands and she didn’t want to sit at a desk all day.
As for being a female mechanic, Johnson says it’s an excellent field for women. “It’s a lifetime skill that you can always fall back on for a job, ” she says. Plus, Johnson points out that the money can be great. “It’s a career you will have for life. We’re always going to drive cars, and they will always need to be repaired.” And for Johnson, working as a mechanic has incredible benefits. “It’s like solving a puzzle every day, ” she says. “Every day is a new day. Every day is problemsolving.” But she admits that she thinks womenmust still work hard—andmaybe harder than men—to prove themselves.
Johnson took her love of repairing cars and her desire to help women navigate the car world and in 2006 opened Ladies Start Your Engines. She runs courses through this Philadelphia-based business to familiarize women with their own cars, and to educate women on car repair needs and terminology. She teaches her students, women only, how to change a tire, what to look for under a hood, and how to navigate the repair shop. Johnson wanted to help female drivers and repair shop customers feel more comfortable advocating for themselves and talking about their own cars. And for Johnson, she’s combined a newfound love of teaching with a passion for car mechanics.
Becoming an entrepreneur has opened her eyes to themany possibilities and avenues available through the trades. “I never would have thought I’d be doing this, ” she says. But for Johnson it was about following a passion and stickingwith something until shemastered it, and then the rest flowed fromthere. She says no one should think that they will be in the same position twenty years from now. Where you start off is just that: a starting point. And where you go from there, that’s up to you.
Organizations Focused on Women
The apprenticeships and trainings specific to the industries we talked about in Chapter 3 are listed in the back of this book. Below we have laid out some of the organizations that are specifically dedicated to helping women succeed in the skilled trades. We have not included every single one, but rather taken a sampling to give readers an idea of the support and opportunities that are available to women.Don’t worry if you don’t see one near where you live. Do some research, ask your guidance counselor, or go online to find an organization near you.
A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women
. This Toronto-based organization is a network of agencies that offers training and education opportunities for women in nontraditional fields. Through its extensive site, women can search for training opportunities in Ontario and find helpful resources and networking opportunities:
www.actew.org
.
Association forWomen inAviationMaintenance
.This nonprofitwas formed to advocate for women in the aviationmaintenance field. While there are many resources for female pilots, this particular group focuses on themaintenanceworkers and provides networking opportunities and education. The group works to increase public awareness about the aviation maintenance sector:
www.awam.org
or (386) 424-5780.
Chicago Women in Trades
. Through a fourteen-week program, this organization works with women to prepare themfor the trades. Applicants must test into the program and are part of discussions on workplace harassment while also being exposed to what it means to be in the skilled trades:
www.chicagowomenintrades.org
or (312) 942-1444.
Coalition of Labor Union Women
. This nonpartisan organization within the union movement is open exclusively to women members. The mission of CLUWis to unify female union members and focus on common goals and concerns. The organization promotes legislation, recruits women who are not currently part of unions, and works to involvemore women in the political process.Ongoing education is also part of the mission of the CLUW, which has more than seventy-five chapters around the country:
www.cluw.org
or (202) 508-6969.
Hard Hatted Women
. This Cleveland-based group offers preap-prenticeship programs for women who are considering a career in the trades.HHWoffers a ten-week programthat introduces participants to carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and sheetmetal work. The group helps to prepare women both mentally and physically for skilled trade jobs, while empowering themto achieve economic independence and workplace equality:
www.hardhattedwomen.org
or (216) 861-6500.
National Association ofWomen in Construction
. Founded in 1953 to bring together women working in the construction industry, NAWIC has nearly 180 chapters around the world. The organization works to educate young girls and women and to provide resources and training for those looking to get into construction. NAWIC includes construction company owners and managers as well as those who work in the field:
www.nawic.org
or (800) 552-3506.
National Association for Women in Masonry
. This is a fairly new organization that was formed to address the needs of women in the mason industry. The association is looking to create a community for women to discuss challenges, generate interest in the field, and promote the value of masonry through education:
www.nawmonline.net
.
National Institute forWomen in Trades, Technology&Science
.This institute provides women with the tools and training to enter male-dominated careers. Working within white-collar and blue-collar industries, IWITTS operates nationally to educate and train employers as well as women. Demonstration projects, online community building, and retention strategies are part of themission.The institute offers an extensive website with resources for women in the trades:
www.iwitts.com
or (510) 749-0200.
Nontraditional Employment forWomen
.ThisNewYork City–based organization focuses on training, advocacy, and education for women looking to get into the trades. Through a six-week program, NEW familiarizes women with blue-collar industries. Participants learn about unions, benefits, workplace safety, and discrimination. They also learn basic skills such as painting techniques and how to properly carry heavy equipment. According to president Amy Peterson, most of the women working construction in New York City completed one of NEW’s programs:
www.new-nyc.org
or (212) 627-6252.