"Fast Eddie" Rendell, the mayor of my hometown, is spearheading the revitalization of our downtown district — and doing so with some degree of
success. To folks who live in the downtown area as I do, revitalization
translates into construction, construction, and more construction.
As I walk or bike around the city, I seem to come upon a construction
crew on every third block. Each time I do, I can't help but stop and
search their ranks for The Woman. Although as recently as a year ago it was like
searching for a glimpse of a rare and exotic bird, I now spot one woman
in every other crew. One day I spotted two women — twins, yet! —
repairing a water main near City Hall. I almost fell off my mountain bike
with surprise and pleasure.
Hard Hatted Women: Stories of Struggle and Success in the Trades is about
8 years old and, fortunately or unfortunately, not a bit out of date. I'd like
to think that tradeswomen today have more success and less struggle, but
who knows. In this vibrant collection, 26 women share their tales
of life in nontraditional blue collar work.
Beginning with its very title, the book seeks to make clear that its emphasis is on women in the blue collar trades. Volumes have already been written and read about women employed as doctors, lawyers, Fortune 500 CEOs, broadcasters, politicians, and the like. The 26 women featured here are employed as welders, police officers, carpenters, plumbers, machinists, and iron workers, to name but a few — and there's not a white collar
in sight.
Though each tradesperson offers a different take on "How I Became A Hard Hatted
Woman," some common themes emerge. While only one of the women admits to
growing up with a desire to enter her particular trade, many confess
to entering the trades for the same reason: a man in the trades could earn
two to four times as much as the average secretary. Earning a wage they
could actually live on was a far more powerful incentive than being a
feminist pioneer.
The only featured tradewoman who seems to have ducked on-the-job sexual
harassment is a fisherwoman who works alone much of the time. I guess
the average salmon has more important things to worry about than the gender
of the human behind the net. The lesbian sheet-metal worker who finally gave
her clueless coworker the number for Dial-A-Prayer when he kept pestering her
for her personal number found a humorous way to deal with
her problem. The police officer whose partner pulled a gun on her in an alley to "see how fast you women cops can run" had bigger issues to deal with. Women of color describe having to deal with co-workers who couldn't
decide whether to harass them racially, sexually, or both.
Some found their own internalized sexism more damaging than anything an employer or co-worker could dish out. All write with bemusement of the massive amounts of self-confidence gained from learning a skill no one can take away from them. There is a palpable sense of relief that blue collar workers don't require any pesky Y chromosones to do a good job.
"The general foreman looked at me, looked at the muddy hole in the ground and asked, 'Would you be able to handle working in this?' 'Sure, why not?' I said ... and he told me who to call. I set up an 'interview' for the next day with a superintendent of another job site. When I got there the next day, instead of an interview, I got a little speech that was becoming all too familiar.
'Well, uh, er, we have had other girls work here before. (PUFF, PUFF on
the cigar.) And, uh, er, they just haven't been able to handle the work.'
TRANSLATION: We don't really want you broads here, but we're being forced to
hire you. The other women couldn't take the abuse...will you?
'One girl missed a lot of time, and another didn't want to do the heavy
work.'
TRANSLATION: Your period is no excuse...and you're gonna get the shittiest, dirtiest jobs we've got. You're gonna have to work twice as hard as the men if you want to stick around."
— Nina Saltman, Carpenter Foreman
(page 125)
In 1996, the barriers of occupational segregation still haven't
been completely broken, but women at least have a workbooted foot in the door. Editor Molly Martin, a founding member of Tradeswomen magazine, has done a terrific job of drawing together women who cross the lines of class, race, age, sexual orientation, and skill. These women are what I refer to as "useful heroines." The humor, self-respect, and sheer persistence through adversity exemplified by these women provide the kind of relevant role models a woman needs — no matter what job she pursues.
Hard Hatted Women: Stories of Struggle and Success in the Trades is currently out of print, but a second volume is expected in early 1997.
