A Womans place is in Construction
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Transcript of A Womans place is in Construction
Sandy Trainor
With upwards of 30 years in thebusiness, Sandy Trainor, president ofKodiak Pacific Construction, points outthat the vast majority of constructioncompanies are passed down to familymembers, predominantly males. Ports
of entry for most women are emergingsmall businesses, disadvantagedbusinesses, and women ownedbusinesses. "This gives women a smallsector of opportunities in which to be
successful," she says. Trainor adds thatfor women to last in the building trades,
it is not enough to have, "the knowledgeandskills, but also the will, desire, and
the love for the work."Kathryn Merritt also runs her own
company, Great Kate! ConstructionCompany, a full-service general
contracting firm that employs bothmen and women as well as manysubcontractors. Merritt enjoys hard,
challenging, physical work and doesn'tmind getting dirty. "l can't even breathein an office environment. Plus, I am
outspoken, opinionated, and loud," she
admits. "There are many workplaces I
don't fit in."Merritt scoffs at the notion of
a "construction industry cu lture."That culture, Merritt insists, variesgreatly from jobsite to jobsite as itis created by individual companiesand subcontractors. "lf our cultureis anything, it is of accomplishment,getting things done." She lamentsthe condescending perception thatstill pervades most constructionrelated work.
"0ur culture puts such a negativeperspective on blue collar work. We
desperately need skilled tradespeople,but our society puts out a message
that anyone who is smart does
something else."
Women who enter the buildingtrades have different pressures and
responsibilities than men, especiallywomen with kids and single moms. The
isolation of being the only woman can
be a burden, Merritt says. "We need tohave someone, at least one person whocan BS with us and help us gei througha tough day. Sometimes we are totallyalone, with no friends or colleagues on
our jobsite."Merritt also says that women are
still typecast by society. "There's nopopular support for women to be inconstruction. The images of womenin construction in popular media are
absurd; we are surrounded by the idea
that we are aliens."But Merritt also says that women
must assume responsibility for their owncareers and training. "Some women wantto be an electrician or plumber, but theyare waiting for an invitation and a hand
up. I tell them: 'Get over it and get towork!"'
Jenny McClatchey
Some of the same factors that keep
some women out of construction appeal
to Jenny McClatchey, a sheet metalapprentice for Milwaukie-based HVAC
lnc. Much of her work is inside, but she
sometimes toils in sweltering heat and
freezing rain. Much of her duties are
physical, such as installing ductworkand insulation. lt's not for everyone, she
says, certainly not for all women, but
she claims it is the best experience ofher life.
McClatchey, who is a Vietnamese-American, enjoys being the only womanon a crew and says that she's never hada problem asking for help. "lt's a man's
world and you have to adjust to it and
not expect everyone to adjust to you. I
love the joking and bantering and beingone of the guys. When they give me a
hard time, I give it right back."
Mersha Kefeyalhu
Others, such as Mersha Kefeyalhu,
also fit easily into a male-dominatedoccupation. Just a dozen years ago,
she was living in Ethiopia and neverdreamed of working in the constructionindustry. After moving to the U.S in
1997, Kefeyalhu became fascinated bythe HVAC systems, including boilers,
chillers, and heaters while working atthe Portland Center for the Performing
Arts. She started a new career by takingpre-apprenticeship classes at the 0regonTradeswomen Center.
Today, she's weeks away fromcompleting her apprenticeship program,
to become a journeyman HVAC
technician. Kefeyalhu, who is barelyfive feet tall and weighs less than100 pounds, has worked for Hunter-Davisson, lnc., since April of 2006. She
works in the cold, rain, and heat, on
rooftops, scaffolding, above ceil ings,
and in crawlspaces troubleshootingHVAC systems.
Although the HVAC sector is
overwhelminglY male, Mersha has
had zero problems fitting in and says
she would not change even one thing
oOoAj
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l8 Agffi Construction News Update Moy-June 2009
about her job. She says thai her job is
definitely brains over brawn as a lot ofthe components are tiny and complex."More women should consider HVAC as a
career," she says. "This is a job a womancan do just as well as a man."
A certified welding instructorworking in Portland, Kym Halstead tookup the welding profession because she
wanted something more exciting thansitting behind a desk. "l preferred tohang out with the boys because manyof the girls seemed phony and catty."Halstead says that it is impossible tosay why more women do not enter thebuilding trades, because it is such an
individual choice."Many women are uncomfortable
with it, maybe even scared to try it.Construction is physical labor and a lotof women may not find that interestingor they may prefer an easier and softerway."
lf hard, exhausting, dirty work, keeps
many women and men away from thebuilding trades, it attracted carpenterCaitlin Ecklund (page 16 photo, center).She rejects the notion that the physical
aspect deters women from constructionjobs, claiming that socialization is moreoften the culprit. "ln high school, it'sunusual to suggest a girl become a
plumber rather than a secretaryjustas it is perceived as strange for a manto teach preschool or to become a
reception ist."While the trades could do more to
make women comfortable, Ecklund
says people also need to realize thatconstruction is historically gendered.
our deck and tear up our roof, butmaybe he didn't know that," she says."Calling all dads and momslYourdaughters want to help too!" [[!
Alina Glazer
While other kids watched cartoons,Alina Glazer's favorite show was"This 0ld House." Now an apprenticecarpenter and employed at Skyward
Construction, Glazer savors the physical
aspects of her job, but she has yet tomeet another female carpenter sinceshe has been in the trades. "Right nowI don't have anyone to relate to or toget advice from. lt can be isolating."Glazer3ays the construction industry ingeneral needs to shatter all of the oldstereotypes regarding women and men.
"There's a lingering perception thatthe trades are full of criminals, druggies,or uneducated people. We need topromote the benefits and the excitingcareer options to the general public."
Although she studied architecturein college and dabbled in design foreight years, Virginia Krakowiak (page
16 photo, left) was reluctant to enterthe construction management fieldbecause she felt "an invisible brick wall."Yet Krakowiak admits that just as she isdefensive about stereotypes, she caughtherself making assumptions about othersthat were unfair.
The status quo is changing, she says,
but still has a long way to go. "The
industry doesn't openly say: 'Women
Need Not Applyj but there are still places
where hiring a woman is unheard of."Krakowiak is grateful to live in an
area that has many active tradeswomen,but says those numbers quickly declineas you leave the metro area. The answer,she says, is to start including ourdaughte rs in lessons originally reserved
for the boys."l would have loved to have worked
on engines and helped my dad rebuild
Kym Halstead
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Construction News Update May-June 2009 AW 19