The Washington Post: Angela Cacace’s career began with a magazine contest. The D.C. barber had moved to North Carolina for her husband’s job and so successfully remodeled their kitchen that she won a contest in This Old House. Encouraged by the story’s editor to pursue her contracting dreams, she enrolled in a local building program. “I was so nervous on the first day of class,” she recalls, “but six of the 12 students were women — I was blown away. I remember an instant feeling of confidence that we had a place here.”
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I used a drill for the first time two weeks ago. I just had to say that before I got too far into this comment. I am on scenic crew for this mini, and it has taken me everywhere except inside of my comfort zone. Every class I get to use a power tool that I have never used before, and while holding a machine that can literally saw your arm off if you use it incorrectly is a little daunting, it is also pretty empowering. I definitely have a lot more to learn before I can confidently say that I can build something by myself, but these skills are definitely possible for women to have. That goes without saying, though, because the women in this article are tackling massive construction jobs and sexism in a single stride. Women are more than capable of pursuing careers in construction. Seriously, if I can use a jigsaw, anyone can.
I recently went through sorority recruitment, and one of the major philanthropic events is called Booth. Booth involves sororities building two-story structures that people can walk through. Hearing these girls talk about their excitement for construction and power tools really altered my opinion on that particular field. As if my learning how to build sets alongside many other women wasn't enough, hearing a massive group of girls rave about building a structure made building something seem even more doable.
Construction industries have long been dominated by men, but it is time to make space for women, and, from this article, I would say that that is actually happening, The author speaks to the importance of women stepping up in the light of construction and carpentry, instead of being pushed to the side. I don’t want to say that everything is completely equal, but these stories definitely prove that there is a community out there working, being seen, being heard, and making progress. There is something really empowering about being felt like you are seen and acknowledged by other women who are doing similar things. It is very common to feel isolated or alone when you are the only woman in a group of men, but to know that there is a broader community out there that is rooting from your success. Women supporting women is an important concept across the board, not just in construction industries.
There are a lot of really important content in this article to take into consideration in making our own technical theatre departments more accessible to anyone who does not fit into any of the stereotypical ideas of who belongs where in the industry. My first USITT conference I went to a session discussing women as Technical Directors and one of the presenters was talking about how she dealt with the industry pressures and she talked about how her strategy was to make sure her work was without any issues how she would triple check her work in order to be certain there were no issues with what she was doing. I went away from that session not liking the way that sat with me as advice and after gaining more experience in the industry I more fully understand why. There is a sort of pressure to outperform your peers when you feel that you don’t belong there and I think that idea is really toxic to inviting more diversity in the industry. We want everyone to be doing their best work but we don’t want them to be doing so out of a fear of belonging because it isn’t sustainable and doesn’t set a good tone for others wanting to make their way into the industry. I’ve had to learn and continue to learn how to be a loud voice in the room to ensure that I can be heard, included, and valued in the conversation, my hope is to develop an industry where a plethora of voices can be included in the conversation and the foundation has been set in a way that we can stop being loud in order to be heard.
Loved hearing about these women’s stories. The construction industry has always been male-dominated and it’s exciting to see the industry is opening up to include more women. Being able to build things is a powerful skill, and you feel pretty satisfied doing it. When I first started learning to use power tools and learned to build scenery, it seemed really intimidating. Any construction-related stuff was always done by men, as I have observed growing up. What the community is doing in the article is so important, both to encourage more women to pursue construction work as a career and to give more options to customers looking for a contractor/company. One of the stories brought to my attention that people do indeed experience discomfort when they are finding contractors when building things and being able to have female contractors may make them feel more comfortable. I also find it amazing that women are supporting women in the industry and are sustaining a good relationship with male professionals. Everyone should work together to make the industry better.
I wholeheartedly agree that the gap in female tradespeople in general is “because of a lack of encouragement,” but I was surprised when I read Cacace state that “There’s an older generation of kick-ass women”. I guess since all the teachers I have had in shop and engineering classes have been older white men, I have not had the experience of being exposed to this older generation of females that have the same enthusiasm for shop work as I. It warms my heart to read that these people are working not only to make room for females in the construction world, but to pass on their knowledge and confidence to others and the younger generations. Being around female makers all summer sincerely helped me with my own confidence as a female makers, and when I am in the shop I do my best to make sure anyone on the crew is comfortable and try to get them excited about the work as well. A good dose of enthusiasm helps with that.
This article highlights some of the really exciting ways in which women are emerging as members and leaders of the construction industry. I think one of the most valuable takeaways from this article is about the ways in which women who are breaking into these roles are supporting one another, seeing each other’s needs, and encouraging growth. These women go to show that not only do we have the power to initiate change ourselves, but we have the ability to create structures within these male dominated industries that create space for women to reach just as high as the men. I love the mentorship that these women have fostered in their crafts to make sure that younger tradespeople receive the knowledge they have accrued over their careers. It excites me the way in which I have seen a lot of this kind of energy in our shop. A lot of the female TDs are really engaged with ensuring that the freshmen and sophomores on the floor feel engaged, challenged, and supported, as they pursue their crafts.
There are so many things I would like to address from this article. I love how she created a movement, that not only inspires other people, but also breaks one of the biggest barriers of the gender gap in that industry: Isolation. It also inspires her and moves her forward. It’s really easy to believe one is an impostor when you don’t have a welcoming industry, and the stats are all against you. But by creating MoveOverBob she managed to give a sense of belonging for all the females who are trying to break into this industry. Sadly, one of them talks about how hard it is to break and how women tend to work more or do more work for free, because they feel like they have to ‘make up’ for being a woman. As if being a woman was a flaw. All the ladies in our scene shop are badasses and can tackle any male carp any day!
I think it is so amazing that female construction workers are banding together to get rid of the stigma around women in the construction industry! Women should not feel intimidated in their place of work. Angela Cacace created the hashtag #MoveOverBob as a joke, but it quickly spread and became a way for female builders to find each other and bond over shared experiences and support one another. It is really wonderful that female construction workers and builders have a platform in which they can use to help and support each other. The hashtag was created as a reference to the children’s TV show Bob the Builder. The creators of Bob the Builder have since given Bob’s sidekick Wendy a bigger role in the show as an electrical engineer and business partner. This just goes to show that if you raise awareness about a problem, things will start to change.
This is a well-timed article relative top our industry. Well, this article is not directly about our entertainment industry; it is essential to note the growing presence of kick-ass carpenters in the field. The biggest problem I have with this article is it makes one feel as though people have to isolate thems selves or separate into units to withstand the male-dominated field. I wish that instead, people in the industry would simply open up to working with everyone and understand that each individual person brings a greater diversity of experience and perspective to the table. If one can harness this, we would only become more unstoppable as a whole. In the end, I think the lack of representation in the field comes down to two things. First people are ass holes, and the largely male-dominated field tends to push away change and people they see as not part of the boys club. Secondly, I think that it is a problem with the education system as there is no longer a time where they can get exposed to the hands-on type of work that used to be offered in schools.
I love seeing women in the industry building. All through high school, I was a carpenter for many shows both in and outside of my school. It's something I find to be incredibly fun, and I am so passionate about the building of sets. The annoying thing about having women in the industry sometimes is how mad it makes men. When I was working on a show, I was building a set outside and using a drill. Random men who probably knew very little about construction would stop by as they passed and asked if I needed help. It's so frustrating that people can't just accept that women can be strong, and lift wood, and use a drill correctly, because of some preconceived notion that honestly I don't even know where it came from? The most frustrating thing for me personally is the pressure when building in front of a man. Like, sometimes it's scary to change the torque on a drill, because the man might think you don't know how to use it. I think it's so important that women who are taking on this role as carpenters are being celebrated in the media because they deserve it.
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