Ask A.L.I.C.E.

Written By Caroline Keefe

All Ladies In Construction Etc…

No. 2 Part One

Where’s Alice? It’s Been Months!

If you are a tradesperson in a seasonal climate, like the tradeswomen in Maine, then you are most likely just coming up for air after trying to keep up with the intensity of the summer work flow. When the ice melts, the ground thaws, daylight extends, all that was once dormant begins to burst to life, and we take to our job sites energized and excited, trying to get all of the projects done before the world around us begins to get dark, freeze up, and go back to sleep. Make hay while the sun is shining. We are painting houses, installing decks, pouring foundations, shingling, replacing roofs, planting gardens, hauling traps, and so much more. Spring, summer, fading into autumn, we finally begin to return to a sense of balance as the equinox approaches. Although our hands may be full with tools and dirty from our projects, we have still been listening, thinking, and planning how to lovingly return and respond to the more important work at hand— creating safe space for non-traditional tradespeople and shifting industry standards towards inclusivity and respect to benefit all. 

In case you missed it, Tradeswomen in Maine were featured on Maine Calling for Maine Public Radio in late February of 2026. Two board members of the Tradeswomen of Maine sat down with Jennifer Rooks to discuss their respective career paths and the realities they’ve faced in the industry. The conversation includes a number of compelling callers and some valuable insights about the issues at hand: Are the trades dominated by men? Why? Are trades jobs valuable? How do we boost engagement and access of trades jobs to non-traditional potential tradespeople? Why aren’t we seeing more progress in the trades? 

Allow A.L.I.C.E to summarize, highlight, and expand upon this riveting conversation that took place. Responding to socially constructed biases with compassionate clarity and amplifying the voices of non-traditional trades minorities by sharing their stories is paramount to reshaping the narrative about who and how the trades industry will sustain into the future. 

Why Aren’t We Seeing More Progress?

It’s been 80 years since Rosie the Riveter fist appeared in the midst of World War 2. One of the only times in history that women were encouraged to enter into the trades workforce. Host of Maine Calling, Jennifer Rooks, did her fist story 30 years ago on women in the trades and is circling back to the topic now to check in on the status of the movement. In 2026, nationally about 5% of trades positions are held by women, depicting an industry that is still largely dominated by men despite the efforts to boost women’s engagement and access to these well paying and high demand jobs. 

Rachel Davis, co-founder and co-chair of the Tradeswomen of Maine and a cabinet maker with Appenzeller woodworking has this to say about why we aren’t seeing more women enter the trades, “I think it’s actually a wider problem, not just for women… The advent of technologies… Fewer grandpas, dads, maybe moms puttering in the garage and building things… A push towards academia… A somewhat stigmatized feeling towards trades work… On a whole there’s less and less people going into the trades, and therefore obviously fewer and fewer women… I think the tides are turning right now. I think there’s a real recognition of the value of trades jobs, of how stable they can be as jobs… They’re AI impermeable in some ways… It’s really fulfilling work, so I think there’s a new recognition of where the trades fit in our career paths.”

Rachel’s comments about the shifting cultural landscape are important because they illustrate the social change in value away from traditional trades work towards academia and technology. However, a majority of trades work is dependent on people, their hands, their bodies, and their brains. We are still living in a material world. The demand for trades laborers is higher than ever, and everyone is suffering from the lack of competent and capable trained tradespeople ready and willing to enter these jobs. This is not to put down college and university paths, but it is to say that most who are encouraged to follow those paths in the traditional way find themselves in situations where they are spending money they do not have because that is what they were told to do to be successful. They then graduate with degrees in fields of study that do not necessarily pertain to how they support themselves. The trades offer an alternative route. No schooling is required to enter the trades. With courage and a good attitude you could approach any construction company and most likely secure a job or apprenticeship in the trades. Having access to stable, high paying jobs like these fosters economic and social liberation for many who aspire to a greater sense of autonomy and self-reliance. 

Caroline Keefe, board member of the Tradeswomen of Maine and business owner of Painted Lady Home & Garden remarks, “Boots on the ground, what I am hearing is everyone is desperate for laborers, and as a woman in the trades what I hear is that people are desperate for good work. They’re desperate for the job to get done right, and the job to get done well… and it’s hard to find people willing to take the time to listen to clients and really hear what the problem is. So you might have an abundance of tradespeople willing to go in and get the job done, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be done well or done right.”

The reality I am discussing here is that the trades work is plentiful, especially for those who are eager, conscientious, and committed to getting the job done. Like any industry where the status quo seems concrete, traditional laborers grow comfortable and confident in their ability to find employment and may take their positions for granted. Non-traditional tradespeople often have to work harder to find employment and then generally have to go above and beyond industry standards to prove their merit. There is a desperate need for trades labor right now. Trades work is for everyone. When we diversify who we employ in the trades and respect the value each perspective brings to the job site, the industry standards improve for the benefit of all.

How Did You Make the Decision to Get into the Trades?

Rachel, “I was in my 30’s. Maybe late 20’s, and I got it in my head that I wanted to be a boat builder… And that started me on this path of working with wood… In our experience of meeting with a lot of other tradeswomen… so many women have gone to college to get into the arts… And at one point realized, why am I just doing fine art? Why don’t I use those same skills and that same passion for working with materials to do housebuilding, or furniture making, or steel welding, or whatever kind of functional materials, embodied work that is available with trades work…”

Caroline, “I grew up obsessively repainting and redesigning my bedroom. My mother told me that ‘if you want this done, you’re going to have to do it yourself.’ So I got the idea that I could be an interior designer, or something like that, but it never occurred to me that I could be a tradeswoman. I will echo what Rachel said, as an artist the first exposure I had to things like welding and carpentry was in studio arts classes in the University of Southern Maine, and I realized, wow. This is really empowering and fun to work with tools and move materials like this… And it wasn’t until I came back to the Midcoast, and just divine intervention, started working with a woman named Sunshine Stewart as her apprentice, and she taught me everything from demolition to fine finish work in a variety of materials, and I was hooked on trades work.”

Both of our stories about how we got into the trades highlight an important reality— that it does not occur to most women, even if you’ve always been handy, that you could work in the trades. Whether it’s lack of examples, negative stigma associated with the work, or the very real discomfort and hostility that you face as a woman engaging in work that has been culturally bookmarked for men by men, there is an inherent barrier that keeps most women from ever even considering a possible career in the trades. 

Why Form The Tradeswomen of Maine? What Was The Need?

Rachel, “My cofounder, Emily Appenzeller, and I knew a handful of other women working out there, but every single one of them were the only woman working on their crew of guys, and we just saw that it would be nice to come together for the camaraderie to be able to talk about things. Just to see that we are there. That there are other women out there. It has really bloomed, and every time we gather we are seeing more women come out of the wood work to meet. The delight in their faces to know that there’s more of us out there, it ends up being a really fun event… And through that meeting up and talking about how we all got into the trades, what we enjoy about them, realizing that the majority of us are very fulfilled in what we are doing and really happy with our career choices… Wishing that as younger women we would have known that there was a direct path into the trades… and that that was more available and more normalized…”

In the first article A.L.I.C.E discusses the importance of community for non-traditional tradespeople. A woman’s greatest asset in the trades is another woman. It is through a sense of community that we are able to discuss the realities— the joys and the hardships— we face in our daily lives as non-traditional tradespeople. There isn’t space for us to have these conversations at work because we are often alone. When we come together we realize that— Hey, wait a second, I think I am not the only woman in the world who gets really jazzed about lifting heavy things, doing dirty work, and solving problems while helping people. Hey wait a second, what is the industry standard for pay? Hey wait a second, I think the way that client, coworker, or boss talked to me is inappropriate. Harassment?! The outcropping of organizations like The Tradeswomen of Maine, People’s Inclusive Welding, and Non-Trad Tradies, are examples of community development centered on non-traditional tradespeople. Vibrant and healthy places for safe community are one of the ways more non-traditional laborers will find their way to the work. 

Do You Think A Career In The Trades Is Like Being In On A Secret?

Caroline, “I do. I feel like I’ve unlocked the secret to life. Especially as an artist, it’s impossible to make a livable wage. I had a teacher tell me, never try to be an artist, always have another way you are supporting yourself. So, discovering the trades it just felt like a no brainer because all of the skills and things I was doing were supporting my work as an artist… So they feed each other, and I am able to support myself as a single woman paying my rent with two animals, and life is good.”

In Maine, 42% of households live paycheck to paycheck, which is lower than the national average of 60%. A majority of people in Maine are not making livable wages, and while I do not have statistics on it, I would venture a guess that a majority of people are also not doing jobs that they enjoy. As we’ve discussed, the trades work is there. The money is good. Salaries are high, and wages are stable. There is flexibility in your work day if you desire. The fact that a single woman is able to afford rent, utilities, groceries, and two animals in this day and age is no small accomplishment. The fact that we are able to also enjoy how we are making our money, is also no small accomplishment. In this capitalist society, our jobs are our lives, so you better spend time making money by doing something that brings you joy. The fact that we have found deeper meaning in the work beyond our own personal joy, creating a legacy for other generations of non-traditional tradespeople to step into that we ourselves may never experience, that is no small accomplishment. 

We are encouraged to go to school and give away our money before we’ve earned it, to entrap ourselves in systems that lock us in rooms in front of computer screens and leech the life from our marrow, but what if there was a way to learn and make money at the same time? What if there was a way to be actively engaged in your life and the world around you?

What Is A Trades Apprenticeship? How Long Do They Take? What Should You Know?

Wendy Kostenbauder, program manager of the Maine Apprenticeship Program, Maine Department of Labor, calls in to join the discussion to say, “The first thing I want to encourage is understanding what a registered apprenticeship is. That is a job where you earn while you learn, so you are making a paycheck while you’re learning… Gaining hands on experience in a structured environment supported with a mentor down the pathway that you’ve chosen… Also engrained in that is building skills… And you are getting paid while doing this… You also will take a national credential at the end of your apprenticeship… And that is a piece I think is very worthwhile to support this ‘secret’… Registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships have proven their pathways to high wages. You are going to learn something and get paid while you’re doing it, while not taking on student debt. In the past two years, Maine apprentices  have completed their programs increasing their wages by nearly 40%, and nationally they retain their apprentices in the workplace by nearly 94%, so the company that has trained them, they stay with them. The trades offer real opportunity. Only about 15% of Maine’s construction workforce is made up of women, and that means there’s lots of room for growth, and we want to encourage these women out there to go for it. (apprenticeship) can vary in time… depending on trade… but the minimum is one year.”

Jo Remillard, founder and lead instructor of Peoples Inclusive Welding calls in to add their expertise to the conversation, “(People’s Inclusive Welding), is the result of my experience in the industrial welding world. Just like Rachel was talking about… My early career, I was one of the only femme people on most crews. I worked on ships, on bridges, and then became a boiler maker and just saw a lack of minorities in general and especially a lack of women. So People’s Inclusive Welding stemmed from a desire of mine to teach incarcerated women how to weld, and I decided we needed a brick and mortar… We had an angel donor, and now we are in our fifth year. It’s a small space, but we have hit over 100 students, with 85% of those student alums being women, nonbinary, trans, and quote on quote other non-traditional demographics. Shoutout to all of the nonbinary and trans trades workers of Maine. There’s a lot of us, and creating safe spaces for them to work as well is really important, so I am happy to be part of this work and this discussion.”

Whether it’s by way of a traditional apprenticeship, or an alternative route like the ones being carved out by tradespeople like Jo, there are numerous avenues for people to start to find their way to these well paying, abundant trades jobs we’re all fervently discussing. 

Tune in next to hear ‘Part Two,’ where A.L.I.C.E summarizes and discusses how the audience responds as Rooks opens the lines to callers. We hear tradeswomen react to being confronted by misogyny live on air. We also hear a prerecorded conversation between Rooks and Dale McCormick, ‘first journey level carpenter,’ in the country and author of Against The Grain: A Carpentry Manual for Women. She is a testament to the work we are hoping to do here. In the next installment, A.L.I.C.E will continue to explore— How do we boost engagement and access of trades jobs to non-traditional potential tradespeople? Is the trades industry ready and willing to accept the solution to its labor shortage? Why aren’t we seeing more progress in the trades?

We Want To Hear From You!

Amplifying the voices of women working in the trades is one of the ways we can increase visibility, foster community, and provide mentorship through our shared experience and wisdom. We want to hear from you! Bring us your questions, anecdotes, and stories. Are you a woman in the trades? Are you a woman wanting to get into the trades? Are you a man working alongside women in the trades? We want to hear from you! We are a panel of All Women In Construction Etc… We have countless storied experiences under our tool belts: funny, frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring. We know it can be hard to ask questions on the job site because there is so much pressure to be perceived a certain way. We know absurd encounters happen on the job site and you may just want to vent. Allow this be an anonymous platform to share, ask, and explore what it means to be a tradeswoman with others who are passionate, curious, and committed to creating a safe and functional space in the trades for all regardless of gender, race, or sexuality.

Reach out to the Tradeswomen of Maine to get involved!

Email: info@tradeswomenofmaine.org

Include “Ask Alice” in the subject line

Resources and References:

Caroline Keefe
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