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Thursday, November 07, 2024
Tradeswomen still face sexism and competency questions
Fast Company: Although I have a good gig as a full professor at Iowa State University, I’ve daydreamed about learning a trade—something that required both my mind and my hands.
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Yeah, navigating the dick contest is hard. I’ve had many issues concerning sexism and racism from doing carpentry or TD work which often makes me feel bad until I just use it as fuel to do the best I can. I’ve noticed this vicious cycle of women are afraid of asking questions or looking dumb in front of men so they refrain from asking or trying new things in the shop which in turn steers them away from trades work. I’ve found the way I cope is when striking or building I just picture the faces of men who have irritated or wronged me on the sheet good or piece of scenery I’m destroying and I just feel a justified relief in seeing their bodies metaphorically get ripped in half by saws, torn up by blades, crunching bones when items get thrown in the compactor. I agree that there are often physical obstacles to work around and sometimes it is embarrassing but just remembering that often this work is all they have in their sad pathetic little lives.
This article made me curious about best business practices that can aid in supporting women working in these industries and how scrutiny can affect safety within the workplace. After hearing some of the experiences the author described, it was clear that for this profession that the customer has to do a bit of explaining and demonstration in order to properly describe the job that needed to be done, but it was unclear to me why in several of these stories the customer then watches the work that is done. What seems counterintuitive about this to me is that it doesn’t place the needs of the tradesperson first in the completion of their work as they are under scrutiny from the customer, creating pressure in an already dangerous environment where the sole focus out to be on the job at hand, not if the customer approves of the way in which the work is being done. As women continue to join these industries, it is essential that employers and businesses carefully assess their policies and practices to best support the physical and psychological needs of their staff to ensure they can do their work safely and without scrutiny in the moment of their work (although scrutiny or feedback afterwards is appropriate, as long as it is not on the basis of gender).
The trades have been male dominated industry for a long time. I think there are many reasons for this but the main reason being the patriarchy. But I ultimately believe that our society views the trades as a male job because historically women are not supposed to do dangerous or “dirty” work. But I also think that is a huge flaw in our society because I would argue that we have no idea the benefits females will bring to the trades. Will we develop a better understanding on how to keep people safe in dangerous working environments? They have to adjust the way they complete tasks due to physical constraints. So how does the industry need to shift so women can complete the same tasks without fear of judgment on how they complete them. We have to understand that these careers have been structured for Men to do the work, so it is the responsibility of the industry to adjust so women feel comfortable and confident in these industries. Not the other way around. After all a woman invented the circular saw for use in a saw mill.
3 comments:
Yeah, navigating the dick contest is hard. I’ve had many issues concerning sexism and racism from doing carpentry or TD work which often makes me feel bad until I just use it as fuel to do the best I can. I’ve noticed this vicious cycle of women are afraid of asking questions or looking dumb in front of men so they refrain from asking or trying new things in the shop which in turn steers them away from trades work. I’ve found the way I cope is when striking or building I just picture the faces of men who have irritated or wronged me on the sheet good or piece of scenery I’m destroying and I just feel a justified relief in seeing their bodies metaphorically get ripped in half by saws, torn up by blades, crunching bones when items get thrown in the compactor. I agree that there are often physical obstacles to work around and sometimes it is embarrassing but just remembering that often this work is all they have in their sad pathetic little lives.
This article made me curious about best business practices that can aid in supporting women working in these industries and how scrutiny can affect safety within the workplace. After hearing some of the experiences the author described, it was clear that for this profession that the customer has to do a bit of explaining and demonstration in order to properly describe the job that needed to be done, but it was unclear to me why in several of these stories the customer then watches the work that is done. What seems counterintuitive about this to me is that it doesn’t place the needs of the tradesperson first in the completion of their work as they are under scrutiny from the customer, creating pressure in an already dangerous environment where the sole focus out to be on the job at hand, not if the customer approves of the way in which the work is being done. As women continue to join these industries, it is essential that employers and businesses carefully assess their policies and practices to best support the physical and psychological needs of their staff to ensure they can do their work safely and without scrutiny in the moment of their work (although scrutiny or feedback afterwards is appropriate, as long as it is not on the basis of gender).
The trades have been male dominated industry for a long time. I think there are many reasons for this but the main reason being the patriarchy. But I ultimately believe that our society views the trades as a male job because historically women are not supposed to do dangerous or “dirty” work. But I also think that is a huge flaw in our society because I would argue that we have no idea the benefits females will bring to the trades. Will we develop a better understanding on how to keep people safe in dangerous working environments? They have to adjust the way they complete tasks due to physical constraints. So how does the industry need to shift so women can complete the same tasks without fear of judgment on how they complete them. We have to understand that these careers have been structured for Men to do the work, so it is the responsibility of the industry to adjust so women feel comfortable and confident in these industries. Not the other way around. After all a woman invented the circular saw for use in a saw mill.
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