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All Ladies In Construction Etc…
What is a Tradeswoman?
Let’s break it down because that’s what we do as tradespeople. A trade can be defined as any occupation that requires hands-on training and practical expertise that is acquired through on the job training and experience. While there are some technical education paths for the trades, no schooling degree is necessary to enter the trades. Trades provide an expert service or skill in exchange for compensation. Earnings are high and stable, and there are often benefits available as well. Examples of trades include but are not limited to: carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, mechanic, welder, truck driver, gardener, arborist, etc… A woman in the trades is any non-male bodied, female-identifying individual who is actively engaged in trades work that can be defined by the terms above. Tradeswomen are a minority in the predominantly male industry due to cultural and social barriers like gendered labor, discrimination, and social bias.
It is important to note, a tradesperson is an umbrella term that encompasses any other-bodied or non-binary individuals who do not fit into the purview of tradeswoman but should not be excluded from the dialogue, as they are even more of an underrepresented minority in the trades than women.
Nationally, 4.5% of trades jobs are held by women. (1) Although this number has shown growth over the last few years according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and population surveys, tradeswomen are still largely underrepresented in the industry and face serious challenges that if continue unmitigated will stunt the future growth of the trades industry as a whole.
Why Trades? Why Women? Why Now?
The trades have been alive and well for generations, so what could possibly change that? The answer, generations of complex socio-cultural barriers that have systematically devalued skilled labor, leading to the gradual extinction of seasoned tradespeople. Most of the expert trades professionals are aging out of the industry without successors. Several factors are at play: 1) Gendered labor and discrimination making the trades a boys club, limiting the pool of viable workers 2) The rise of attention-encompassing technologies since the 90’s pulling focus from learning hands-on skills, 3) The growth of academia and the push for young people to pursue higher education instead of entering the trades, 4) A negative stigma towards trades jobs discouraging young people from even considering entering the industry.
In fact, amongst young people ages 18-20, 74% report a negative stigma associated with trades jobs and 79% report their parents encouraging them to pursue a college education, while only 5% report their parents encouraging them to enter the trades. (2) There is a lost generation of tradespeople. This is money left on the table. The negative stigma towards professions that don’t require higher education does not mean these jobs pay any less. While many college graduates are stacked with debt struggling to find employment in their field of study, trades salaries are at an all time high, steadily on the rise, and trades are one of the more stable sectors of work as they are not jeopardized by the advancement of AI.
Learning hands-on trades skills could be the antidote for tech burnout: staring at screens all day, sitting in one place, performing work in a digital realm with no real tangible outcome. The reality of the tech revolution is decimating people’s mental and physical health. Trades jobs are embodied, material, and require collaboration with other humans. Working with the body produces endorphins, acting as a natural mood booster. There is a sense of accomplishment and even camaraderie at the end of the day or the end of the job in seeing the results of one’s work. A strong argument can be made that working in the trades supports a lifestyle which optimizes mental and physical wellbeing, while providing a stable livable wage.
The current post-pandemic and climate-crisis market has also created an increased demand for trades professionals with the need to rethink industrial and residential infrastructure as populations shift accordingly to the current landscape. The work is there, however, the workers are not. It’s not that there aren’t people ready and willing and able to step into the trades industry, it’s just that historic cultural and social barriers make it extremely difficult for anyone not male-bodied to enter and be successful in the trades. Difficult does not mean impossible, 4.5% of women currently working in trades prove that.
It is crucial to note here when considering other factors beyond gender, like race and sexuality, the barriers become even steeper and harder to overcome. Let’s highlight the fact that— it is not to say there isn’t an abundance of potentially skilled tradespeople out there, it’s that social and cultural barriers make it extremely prohibitive to enter the trades and make a reasonable wage if one is not a straight, white, male.
A note to straight, white, men who are uncomfortable reading this now— this point is not to blame or shame you. It’s a fact. Highlighting this fact is not an attack on our male-bodied colleagues. By naming these realities and barriers, hopefully awareness can spread to help foster a new industry standard. Thank you to all who have worked in the trades for your service, for all that you’ve built and preserved and carried on the priceless burden of your bodies. You now no longer have to do the work alone. The conversation is— how do we work together, regardless of gender, race, or sexuality in the trades industry to all be successful.
Understanding historical barriers can help bridge how we go forward in the future. For starters, it was legal to actively discriminate against women (and other minorities) in the trades (and workplace in general) up until the late 60’s when the Civil Rights Act established the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (3) However, the historic social, cultural, and economic division of labor is more pervasive than any legal mitigations can address. A common entry point for people in the trades is through exposure to an individual already working in the industry. If socioculturally and socioeconomically labor is divided based on gender, and the trades industry is comprised of traditionally male labor, then who are these skills going to be passed down to? The generations of men, who continue to teach their sons how to change a tire, how to caulk a window, how to find a stud. It’s the few odd girls who watched their dads, uncles, or brothers learn and teach these things to each other, grasped a glimpse of practical knowledge for herself, and broke the mold becoming a woman who possesses trades knowledge. It was the even more odd man that may have actually taught their daughters, nieces, and wives these trades skills. Nowadays, with tech on the rise and tradespeople becoming scarce, it becomes less and less common that trades skills are shared in this manner. Many have to learn in vocational schools to reclaim this knowledge.
Let’s focus here for a moment on the “odd girls,” because there are very few examples of femininity that include being competent with trades skills in popular culture. The examples available to young girls in pop culture create the idea that if one is competent in the trades they are also masculine. If we see examples of handy women, they are often also gay and stereotyped, puffing themselves up performing traditional masculinity. Women are not portrayed existing simultaneously as both feminine and industriously savvy. Gendered labor and the lack of role models for women in the trades are major social and cultural barriers. Even if labor laws make it illegal to discriminate, the cultural socialization of gendered labor has created a gaping chasm in the practical trades knowledge of most women, and the lack of representation of women in the trades can make it unappealing to those who don’t necessarily want to sacrifice their femininity to be a tradeswoman. Because trades spaces are dominated and occupied by men, gaining entry and access can be daunting, dangerous, and demoralizing, making this initial barrier of entry almost insurmountable to most women.
Women in the trades are tough though. Is any barrier really insurmountable? Say you’ve gained the skills and knowledge to call yourself a tradeswoman. Now what? More barriers?! To name a few: discrimination in hiring, sexual harassment on the job from coworkers, clients, and management, gender bias & stereotyping, less likely to be promoted, less likely to be retained as a key crew member, more likely to be isolated on the job, and adverse onsite conditions. Not to mention, that once a woman enters the trades, there is usually pressure for her to assume an administrative or managerial role rather than a tool-holding field position. (4) Perhaps the most insulting barrier of all is that women still get paid less than men for doing the same work, and the wage gap is continuing to increase! (5)
With every swing of the hammer, a tradeswoman currently on the job is smashing through these barriers, but she can’t do it alone. Thus, the job of tradeswoman becomes about so much more than performing a trade, completing a functional and flawless end product in exchange for compensation. To be a tradeswoman is to actively participate in the re-matriation of skills and knowledge that have traditionally been passed down by men to men. To be a tradeswoman now is to be part of a paradigm shift where all genders are supported and encouraged to learn and perform practical hands-on tasks that make them feel strong, independent, capable, and competent. To be a tradeswoman is to believe in creating a better future for those still yet to come, and frankly, time is running out. It is time to approach the work differently.
How Do You Become a Tradeswoman?
Earn-while-you-learn style one-on-one apprenticeships are a common way to enter the trades, especially if one desires to become an independently operating sub-contractor or business owner. Entry level positions with already established trades companies are another common way to enter the trades without experience: the benefits of which include getting experience working on a crew, not being responsible for client communication, and access to organization and inventory available in larger companies. Keep in mind, you will almost always be the only woman on a job site though… For now. Only if you are really lucky will you encounter a full-fledged tradeswoman in the wild and get the rare privilege to learn trades skills from another woman herself. Understand that if you learned trades skills from another woman, you represent the first generations of re-matriated trades knowledge, and you may want to consider how you’d like to contribute to that legacy. The most crucial aspect in becoming and maintaining a lifestyle as a tradeswoman is community with other women in the industry because otherwise it can be defeating and soul-crushing to feel like such an outlier in the industry. Hopefully, we’ll see that change as more women realize the potential in the trades industry.
Who Are The Tradeswomen of Maine?
Zooming in now, here in Maine, we see a microcosm of these described conditions exacerbated due to our uniquely rugged social, cultural, and physical landscape. In Maine, women make up about 15% of the trades workforce, higher than national average. (6) This puts the tradeswomen of Maine at an advantage because a tradeswoman’s greatest asset is other women working in the trades.
The Tradeswomen of Maine is a non-profit collective of women actively working in the trades in Midcoast Maine— roughly a tri-county stretch between Waldo, Knox, and Lincoln. The group formed as an outpost for local tradeswomen who want to foster a much needed sense of community and increase the visibility of women in the industry, while building a foundation of support and resources to help uplift the skills and abilities of the next generation of tradeswomen through mentorship. By hosting social gatherings and formal skill sharing, the aim is to provide women with the tools and resources to help them flourish in their varying trades industries. Most importantly, the group creates a safe space to discuss the realities of working in the trades as a woman amongst other women who are passionate about establishing new industry standards that are rooted in inclusivity and respect.
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 Trades Women of Maine to get involved!
https://tradeswomenofmaine.org/contact-us
https://tradeswomenofmaine.org/blog
Resources & References:
“IWPR” Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Women-in-Construction-Quick-Figure-2024-update.pdf) March 2024.
Ezra Greenberg, Erik Schaefer, Brooke Weddle, ”Tradespeople wanted: The need for critical trade skills in the US.” (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/tradespeople-wanted-the-need-for-critical-trade-skills-in-the-us) April 9, 2024.
National Women’s History Alliance. https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/. 2026.
Maine Permanent commission on the Status of Women, Department of Secretary of State. “A Report on Maine Women’s Labor and Economic Security” https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/content/assets/MaineStatusOfWomenReport2024FINAL-1.pdf. 2024.
“IWPR” Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Fact Sheet. (https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Occupational-Wage-Gap-2024-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf). March 2024.
Maine Permanent commission on the Status of Women, Department of Secretary of State. “A Report on Maine Women’s Labor and Economic Security” https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/content/assets/MaineStatusOfWomenReport2024FINAL-1.pdf. 2024.
Chicago Women in the Trades. https://cwit.org/. 2025.
Tradeswomen Taskforce. https://tradeswomentaskforce.org. 2026.
Tradeswomen of Maine. https://tradeswomenofmaine.org/. 2026.