International Women's Day - Life As a Tradeswoman in the UK

For International Women's Day (March 8th), we've surveyed a range of tradeswomen to find out what life is really like as a female in the trades industry. 

What is it really like working as a tradeswoman in the UK?

This is one of the many questions that we got the answers to in our survey of female trades workers to help us better understand exactly what tradeswomen experience on a daily basis.

To help us gain some insight, we put together a survey of 20 tradeswomen aged between 16 and 60 who shared the revealing truths about working in the trade industry.

Gender Pay Gap

On average, tradeswomen earn over 38% less than men.

Despite the progression over the years for women in the workplace, there is still a 7,9% overall pay gap between men and women working in the UK. This gap is even more significant in the trades industry, with 42% of our surveyed tradeswomen stating that there is a significant difference between the pay for men and women.

Many of the participants were unsure of the pay gap, since salary discussions between colleagues is seen as a taboo subject. Three of the women surveyed are plumbers and heating engineers with salaries starting at £22,000. This is over £13,000 less than the average tradesman salary of £35,979.

Out of these three women, there was one outlier who earns £35,000 per year after working in the trades industry for over 11 years. This showcases a slight growth of equality in the trades sector.

Discrimination In The Workplace

Over 57% of tradeswomen experienced workplace discrimination.

Unfortunately, it’s still not uncommon for women to experience discrimination in the workplace when it comes to working in the trades industry. Often times, women feel like they are looked down on and won’t be given equal job roles as the male employees.

“Upon searching to work for other landscaping companies I was looked down on, was told that I would have to bear in mind that I would be using the same toilet as the men and that I would start on a lower wage as I wouldn’t be doing the main parts of the job, I would just be helping and making drinks!” – Angela, 22, Landscaper

When it comes to working in a male-dominated industry, many females feel objectified or sexualised in the workplace. Alternatively, they may be insulted for choosing to take on a role that has always been completed predominantly by men.

“If you work on a site as a woman, they see you as either too blokey/ fat/ other to be the object of their sexual interest, so get harassed for something else instead; or you're young, fit and hot and suddenly you're just the focus of their testosterone. That kind of behaviour would be incredibly intimidating for a lot of people, even if it is all banter and them being "guys", it's not a welcoming feeling.” – Debbie, 36, Conservation Specialist

Sexist Customers

More than 68.4% of tradeswomen were subjected to sexist remarks from customers and clients.

Since trades jobs have always been completed by mostly men, some customers feel like they can’t trust women to complete the work well, despite having the same training and qualifications as the men doing the same work.

“Customers have asked me to leave as I'm female. Some have called back in to have my work ‘checked’ and others have made sexual comments against me.” – Rachael, 38, Gas Engineer

Some women can feel ignored on the job, as customers will direct their questions towards the male employees.

“I work alongside my husband, both doing the same job and it's not unusual for customers to direct questions at my husband rather than me. Many don't believe that I am just as qualified as my husband.” – Jackie, 38, Vehicle Body Repairer

Why Are There Fewer Women in the Trades Industry?

Only around 13% of the trades industry workers are women.

Here’s what our surveyed tradeswomen had to say:

Limited Education

Some women feel like there hasn’t been much progression in the way jobs are advertised. Despite more trades employers actively reaching out the women for their open jobs, some jobs are still primarily targeted towards men.

The same goes when it comes to learning about jobs in school. However, schools are now more openly encouraging people to take on any job role, regardless of the previous stereotypes. There has been a huge change in the way children are being taught about work.

“Schools, historically have promoted the learning of manual trades to boys, girls tend to have been pushed into gender stereotyped roles such as cooking and textiles.” – Abigail, 32, Bench Joiner

Physical Ability

Women are often just as capable as men at completing heavy labour work. However, many people still don’t see this and believe that labour intensive work should be left to the men.

“Women have always been looked at as “the weaker sex” and being on a site or turning up to a job a man “should” be doing is difficult when you’re judged with comments like, surely you should be on reception etc.” – Sophie, 30, Drainage Engineer

Unsuitable Equipment

Since the trades industry has always been dominated by men, the equipment is often tailored to suit men. However, with the increase in female tradespeople, we are seeing more and more manufacturers creating a whole new range of equipment to help women in trades. However, there is still an issue with this as it is often much more difficult to source equipment that is tailored to women in this field.

“More equipment/tools suitable for women would make life easier, I'm 5ft 1 and can never find protective boots etc, would prefer it if plaster came in 20kg bags instead of 25kg!! Things like that make trades discouraging.”  – Karoline, 38, Plasterer

Lack of Support

Many women feel like employers should be more open to supporting them in their job roles. This would help to make women feel less discriminated against for their gender but will also result in a much more harmonious workplace.

“I've had three women start with me. None of them drive, but they all need to be back for 3pm to get their kids from school and can't start until 8.45. I think generally the way that the construction industry is arranged means that it's almost impossible for anyone who isn't an unencumbered, able bodied male to be in the right set of circumstances to get a chance.” – Debbie, 36, Conservation Specialist

How Can More Women Be Encouraged to Take Up a Trade?

There has been an increase over recent years in trades employers encouraging women to join their teams.

Here’s what our surveyed tradeswomen thought about this question:

Financial Support

Many women believe that there should be more support when it comes to maternity and childcare. If employers offered more support in these areas, more women may be likely to want to take up work in the trades industry.

“Better pay for maternity and childcare.” – Karoline, 38, Plasterer

Better Education

Some of the women surveyed thought that education may play a part in encouraging more women to take up work in the trades industry.

“Offer more courses in colleges and maybe free courses for older women.” – Jennifer, 43, Builder

More Representation

Representation is something that has progressed significantly over the years to help make the trades industry more appealing the women. By showing more women in advertisements, trades employers are promoting a much more diverse workplace. Previously, most advertisements and promotions for trades work showed just men. However, women are being included much more than they were before. There is still a way to go, though, to make it more equal. 

“Advertising , photos of women in construction in advertising and books. Women in construction should also speak in schools about their career.” – Renee, 49, Building Surveyor

Lack of Support

Women often feel like there is a lack of support in this industry for women. To encourage a more diverse workplace, it’s important for employers to offer support to everyone.

“I think generally the way that the construction industry is arranged means that it's almost impossible for anyone who isn't an unencumbered, able bodied male to be in the right set of circumstances to get a chance.” – Debbie, 36, Conservation Specialist

The Modern Progression of Female Tradespeople

According to new research by the Chartered Institute of Building, 3 in 5 UK residents would hire a female tradesperson. Around one third of the people surveyed said they would prefer to hire a female tradesperson.

Helping to support the women in trades was the most popular reason for wanting to hire a female tradesperson. Some of those surveyed said that they would feel more at ease by having a woman carry out the work in their home.

This is very encouraging to hear and one of the many reasons why females should consider taking up work in the trades industry. This is also something that trades employers should be more aware of. Since many people would prefer a female tradesperson, employers should be making extra efforts to reach out to females when conducting their new employee searches.

In order to attract more women in the trades industry, it’s important to fight discrimination on the worksite and avoid previous stereotypes that can often divide job roles according to genders. Fortunately, this is something that most employers in the trades industry are actively doing.

The progression can be seen in the number of female tradespeople in the UK. In the past 5 years, there has been an increase of almost 400% in the number of young females taking on apprenticeships in engineering and construction.