Why don’t more women enter the trades? The percentage of women in my occupation is 2%. Other trades have a higher percentage of women, but they are still quite low.
When I was in trade school, I was told that getting an apprenticeship would be pretty much impossible. Companies just don’t want to hire women to do their mechanical work, they said. I was told there were no women millwrights (not true, I know there were others). Even though I did not receive much support from my instructors, I still stuck with it – stubborn being that I am.
There are programs now that encourage women to enter non-traditional work. There are more women working in industry.
So why do so few of us consider working a trade?
I can think of a few reasons:
Fear of not getting a job
Fear of not being accepted
Fear of being harassed
Fear of not being able to do the work
Fear of not being strong enough
Fear of being labeled a feminist or a lesbian
Fear of ridicule
A strong dislike of getting dirty
Family, friends, or boyfriend/husband objecting
Getting dirty is bound to happen in jobs like these, so that is a valid concern.
People discouraging us from our desires is unfortunately a common thing, and one that we can have a hard time overcoming. We have to decide who makes our decisions for us.
The rest of the reasons I came up with are all to do with fear of something unpleasant happening.
A common saying is: don’t let fear and good sense hold you back. It is meant as a joke.
When people let fear control their lives, they fail to accomplish things. Worse, they fail to even attempt them.
I decided to go after what I wanted when I entered trade school, and if I didn't get an apprenticeship, then I would be in the same place as I was before. Not the end of the world.
What other reasons are there that prevent women from considering the trades?
No comments:
Post a Comment