The trades is the least sexist field I’ve worked in

I’m not saying it’s perfect and I’m sure the fact I work in that field in recent/’more woke’ years makes a difference but construction people have been overall less sexist than any other field I’ve worked in. Of course this is just my experience and others might have a totally different one. There are certain ideas about the trades that are out of date and others that are overlooked. That specific set of misinformation really leads to women not considering the field and giving people who don’t deserve it a bad wrap. It can lead to unfairly stereotyping the women who work in the trades. You’ll notice in this discussion that I talk about ‘the guys’ around me. I do see the odd lady in my travels but it’s really rare and I’m always excited when I do. Plus generally when we’re discussing sexism that’s where it’s coming from.

Sexism in previous jobs

I’ve worked I’m male dominated industries in the past and those that are staffed by mostly women too. I’ve been a lifeguard, bartender, server, housekeeper, STEM scientist, teacher and childcare worker in the past. Some of those jobs were for a year or two but some went on for decades. I’ve had some larger issues in the past and a couple of minor run ins in this field. Over all though as a lifeguard my physical strengths were regularly questioned, as a server and bartender I was sexually harassed regularly and as a researcher and teacher my knowledge was questioned based on my gender. I’ve had to change my appearance to earn more in the service industry and tone it down to be taken seriously as a scientist.

People still say and do the ‘wrong’ things

I think we have a clearer idea than ever before of how people should act towards women these days. We get that it’s possible for a…