WORKPLACE DIVERSITY : PROFILES :...

With union jobs, at least I get paid what the men get paid. I think economics is a big basis for all the problems (wom en) have in the society. You know, 60 cents on the dollar.

One of the most difficult problems women have on the job is that barrier they face because of their gender. It has nothing to do with the job itself. It’s survival skills in that sort of isolated experience. Most women in the trades want more women in the trades. We feel that if more women come into the trades, we won’t be so isolated and we won’t be viewed as representative of our entire gender. That’s not fair. I do not represent all women. I do not want to represent all women, and I’m sure all women do not want me representing them. I should be judged on the basis of my abilities, not my gender.

Some men accept you; some don’t. Some grow to accept you--they might not accept you when you first come on the job--but then they see that you just want to do your job like everyone else.

There are certain things that women can do that men can’t do on the job. I happen to have really small hands. So when there’s a small place to reach into--and you know these guys have huge hands--I can do it . . . . Most of all the heavy work in all the trades is not really heavy any more because there are machines, and things are plastic.

The secret is out. Women can do this work . . . .

What makes a good journey-level worker is brains, productivity, problem solving and an ability to work with others. The one factor I see in all the tradeswomen I know is a very strong sense of themselves. You really need that to not get beaten down.

Sexual harassment on the construction site isn’t any worse than in the office. Women face similar problems whether they are (in) traditional or non-traditional jobs. I think that is our bond--and our burden--to be treated as less.

Women in a way are more powerless in an office situation. Their job is at risk. I’m more equalized in terms of pay. (But) we’re all the same. I could understand how women feel really powerless.

My fiance is a nurse. He has a non-traditional job. A lot of the same things I face, he’s faced. It’s difficult for people to accept people who break society’s rules, and we’re breaking the rules.