I chose to become an electrician despite having an educational background in accounting and computer science. I’ve always been physically active and spent six months gaining residential experience before being accepted into a competitive union apprenticeship.
I absolutely love electrical work, but I’m finding that the hardest part isn’t the physical labor. It’s the people.
On my first dispatch, my journeyman rarely let me do hands-on work, while another male apprentice with the same experience was constantly given opportunities. My second dispatch was much better, but I fractured my foot and was laid off after six weeks of recovery, despite initially being told my position would be held.
Now I’m with a large contractor working in a warehouse. I’m 5’2” and 120 pounds, while the other apprentice is 6’3” and over 220 pounds. We’re working 40 feet up on lifts, drilling concrete and installing strut. I’ve been told to lean or climb outside the lift to reach areas I physically cannot access, without tying off. Yet I’m criticized for not being as fast as someone nearly a foot taller and twice my size. I’m not slow but I’m not as fast as him. I’m also given the hardest areas, while his areas are free from obstruction.
I’m also still recovering from my fractured foot and terrified of heights, but I show up every day and push myself because I genuinely love this work. The other male apprentice has less experience but has started giving me orders. When we disagreed about how to hang MC from the ceiling m, I calmly agreed to try his method rather than argue. He then complained to our journeyman, who told me to listen to him instead of following what I’d previously been taught.
Meanwhile, he gets praised constantly, while I feel like everything I do is wrong. If I ask questions, I talk too much. If I’m quiet, I’m not engaged. If I ask what’s next, I should already know, despite being there less than two weeks. If I stretch after physical work, I should be helping. Meanwhile, the other apprentice can stand around vaping, talking, or refusing to help without the same criticism.
Even using the restroom feels frowned upon. I have to drive off-site to use one, and because the men apparently hold it all day, I feel expected to do the same.
I’ve also requested properly fitting PPE five times. My oversized gloves have caught in my drill, yet I still haven’t received appropriate replacements. I’m told to ask for whatever I need, but then have to justify something as small as a Phillips bit.
I’m exhausted, not by the work, but by constantly feeling scrutinized and held to a different standard.
When I’m given a task and allowed to work independently, I excel. I don’t need praise, special treatment, or anyone to like me. I just want equal opportunities to learn, appropriate equipment, and basic respect.
My dad spent 50 years in the trades. He warned me against this career, not because I couldn’t handle the work, but because he knew how women could be treated.
As a woman and minority, I feel like I have to work twice as hard to prove I belong. If I’m friendly, I’m too personable. If I speak up, I’m difficult. If I’m quiet, I’m disengaged. It sometimes feels like I’m supposed to be grateful just to be included in the boys’ club, even though I worked incredibly hard to earn my place.
I love being an electrician. I just hate feeling like I have to fight for basic respect every day.
How do other women deal with this without losing their passion for the trade? How do you stand up for yourself without being labeled difficult? My fondest moments of this trade when I am left alone all day to do physically demanding work listening to music. Dealing with these dynamics robs me of my joy.
I left the corporate world and took over a 60% pay cut to do the work I am passionate about. I had other options, I even left the number 3 ranked masters program in the nation for accounting, and quit pursuing my CPA for this field. So I wasn’t just stuck to do physical work, I wanted it.
Today I just shut down. I realized nothing I could say or do was right so I just stopped talking. What’s the point? Even my friends in the union have acknowledged I’ve had a rough go of it. I attend union meetings, RENEW, and woman’s meeting. I try to stay involved and be a good representation of minorities and woman in the trade but I’m exhausted.
