Female Techs

John R. Hall

I met a female installer today -- very nice and very attractive. Sometimes, her company sends her to calm down angry customers (usually male) and it works like a charm.

RonTC

Entry Level Female HVAC Apprentice

I would like to get some opinions on hiring, training, female Tech's. I have an opportunity through a state funded program to hire a female apprentice. I have compilled a list of Pro's & Con's. Please comment and or add to it.
Thanks, Ron

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Con: Many homeowners (male and female) will "wonder" about a female in a typically male-oriented position.

Pro: More likely to learn to deal with and design for the comfort requirements of women--provided she sometimes wears a skirt...

Janet_3

talk to other female Techs

Talk to other female Techs, search them out and talk to as many as you can, and get their opinion. Search out female architects, engineers, etc., any woman working in a male dominated field, and get her opinion. Your program at this point is probably not the first of it's kind, so I'm sure there is information out there, no need to invent the wheel. I'd say more, since I work in a male dominated field, but I have to run. I will try and post tomorrow.

jeff_51

couldn't down load the attatchment but here is my experince

1-if they know the buisness, why not

2-there is still some resistence by service custs, they wonder if they really know the buisness

3-still alot of resistence in the trades around here. lets face it, some real jerks in the trades

4-most women who have entered in this area haven't stayed in for whatever reason

gerry gill

my 2 cents

i worked with woman shipfitters in the navy and found that they were better than their male counterparts, worked twice as hard and put up with twice as much crap just to be treated the same as the guys..in other words they felt they had to be twice as good just to be treated equal..while this was unfortunate it DID make them twice as good...in the civilian world i think woman customers would be fine with a female tech..matter of fact it would probably make them feel at ease..provided that tech really knows her stuff..the problem will be with male customers..here again she'll have to be twice as good just to be able to put the male customer at ease..while thats not right, you can see that one coming a mile away..if it were me i'd go for it but on a case by case basis..don't let this next sentence offend anyone..thats not my intention..but i would look for a tech prospect who was a little less ladylike and more tomboy-ish because she is going to have to be tough..you know the roman plumbers were woman, don't you? they were..

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Weezbo

And WhyNot? *~/:)

there are very quick minded young ladies who are mechanically inclined. a preachers wife called out the window to Cindy as she was zipping in the wirsbo on a radiant job spinning HRMN around like a strobe" Young Lady,Young Lady , would you have some time to tell me how to do that?" Cindy can Blaze at some things i honestly dont have to say things over and over again she "Gets It: the first go around and honestly, she is Quick. Bernedette she blazes along at things like its going out of style....the sheet rock girl,the roofer girl, the HVAC girl are all great workers in my opinion. i f it were i i would hire a young lady on, and tell those that needs to know and know Early, that she is to be treated like a young lady and no off colour or snide remarks...

on large jobs i have had to let the guys know that while she may be cheerleader for the Long John SIlver with her friends at the chippendale party that in no way infers that she needs to be harrassed each and every day or has anyinterest in anything other than work when shes at work.

everyone likes a high brow joke or two buh not too many like a steady diet of it in thier conversation. it may seem strange that my mind keyed in on this aspect however this is what i would say is the thing that i have ever seen that truely is upsetting to a young lady interested in one of the trades. Oh and the Break room on larger companies absolutely dont need the wall paper.

Rookie_3

The state is putting out funds to hire women techs? I can't tell you the pros and cons but if I was a woman with any kind of pride I'd pass on a job that someone got paid to hire me otherwise I wouldn't get the job. Once word gets out that funds are out for people who hire women techs I would guess that as soon as a female shows up on a call it will be assumed that they are getting a second rate job because she is a funded quota. Just for the record I'm not saying a female tech couldn't do a good job but the fact that someone has to get funds to hire her leads you to believe that...........ROOKIE

oil-2-4-6-gas

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i would take any tech that is enthusiastic ,wants to learn,can turn a wrench,cares about what they are doing - and has common sense --it doesn't matter ---race age sex --**** i was servicing 600 hp Cleaver Brooks boilers when i was 18 --do you think the stationary engineers trusted me --i looked like i was just out of Middle School -but they got over it --some of them would call for me after a while and would wait until i was available ----

Janet_3

talk to blue collar women

On my ride home, I thought more about your question. I wanted to add that you probably should talk to a bunch of female blue-collar workers and ask them what kind of advice they would pass onto your female apprentice, or even if they would be available as a mentor or sounding board. I would also look on the Internet to see if there are any interviews with the only or first(?)female captain in the NYFD - Rochelle "Rocky" Jones. I think that her story would be worth hearing and learing from, and a source of inspiration for both you and your female apprentice about women in all male fields, and issues around people having confidence in those women.

I've worked in white collar all male environments. The sexism is less out in the open but it is still there. Your apprentice will have to figure out how to let the men around her know that they don't have to walk on eggshells when they interact with her, that they can just be themselves, but at the same time that she won't take any BS. It is a fine balancing act. It takes making a lot of mistakes and trying over and over.

As a woman, I feel very happy to have worked in an all male field, even though it has not always been easy.

hr

Speaking of women in plumbing

Try this link for more insight

http://www.pmmag.com/CDA/Articles/Column/62a8dc9e8f028010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____

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Steve Garson_2

The tech that provides service to my boiler is a woman. She's fine. No reason a woman can't do anything a man does given the chance.

Nick_13

Women in the trade.

I loved your list. Neater paper work LOL, how true that is.
If you look at the cons there are arguments for those. Nowadays, you can't get away from the harassment thing irregardless.
Time off for pregnancy. Though it wasn't near as long, i took 2 weeks off when my son was born, under the family medical leave act, so it didn't touch my paid time off.
Heavy lifting, this may be true to a degree, but do you send your tech w/ 35 years in the business to do heavy lifting? You usually want to play to strengths, and i believe that Dan H. wrote an article on why women would make a wonderful salewoman. Though I don't remember all the details, women are better at relating to other women, usually, who better to explain to her why the transformer is bad now, just 2 weeks after it was cleaned, and not caught.
I agree though not only would cust. think they were getting 2nd rate workers if the word got out, but what kind of worker would you get if they knew you were only hiring them for the kickback, and not their abailities?

Unknown

I had to go check

my records. To date I have trained 31 women to service gas equipment, install boilers and furnaces etc. Two of them are no longer in the trade (they got married) and left to raise a family. One of them owns her own business with 5 women working for her.

All of them were some of my best students and handle themselves better than a lot of men on the job. Several of them are great techs but even better at selling female customers on new equipment and able to put the minds of their female counterparts at ease when it comes to explaining technical questions.

Two of the girls I trained do body building and by the way can out lift most of the guys they work with.

Over all most of them are a quick study and will try harder simply because they are competing with guys and feel that have to be twice as good.

I stongly recommend getting involved with bringing women into the trades.

I just had my Christmas Party for my recent night gas liscense class 3 guys 1 girl in the class. She has been able to keep up with the guys on every level and has never done this kind of work before. Up to now she was a working single mother who drives a school bus. Her test scores and performance are equal to the guys and better in some cases. At the dinner she said "I love this stuff it is really fun". That is a great attitude.

Dean_7

Female techs

Anyone ever hear of 'Rosie the Riviter".
By the way I'm a critical care RN.

ernie_3

women in the trade

wow, wer're a philosophical bunch, aren't we? Do we really believe that it's a male dominated trade by choice? Let's face it, in the 30's, smoking was considered a male dominated vice. Men gravitated toward plumbing and heating because it was barely acceptable for a 'lady' to work, let alone work in a trade. Obviously these boundaries are ever so slowly expanding. I would welcome any competent technician into the trade regardless, (irregardless is not a word) of their own personal plumbing.

RonTC

Female Techs

The program helps pay for training and screens applicants. I will know more on Monday. I will be interviewing 3 applicants. The Web site for the program is www.nvnv.org

Bob Bona_4

funny you should ask

I have one starting today.

Glen

women in trades -

WIT programs have established themselves very nicely in quite a few trade schools and tech schools. My daughters are now in their 20's - go ahead and tell them they can't fix something because they're a "goil". Time's are a changin' - I'm not sure if the trade is ready though for a gender neutral work force - that's a lot of testosterone to get out of the way. From an ability or aptitude view point - absolutely!

Guy_6

Fear

I agree that a Female tech will most likely outperform her male counterparts, but I still have one fear.
It's kind of a paternal thing, but I am still afraid of a female going into a home or building where she may become a victim. I know that thinking like that is a bit sexist, but I would still worry. I KNOW that these women are more than capable of defending themselves,and I know that I should be an equal opportunity worrier. It's an unfortunate side of our society that has brought around this line of thought.
There is a male who has moved around the country and is victimizing female real estate agents, "luring" them into vacant homes under the guise as a buyer. Granted, it is easier for him to "stalk" the unfortunate victim, as it is his choice who he calls, but still the ...opportunity would still be there.

Plumdog_2

I Have

Near Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran there's a big old WW II ship turned into a educational display and museum with a story about Rosie. When all the boys went off to Europe and the Pacific; the girls took over and did all the building of War machinery and pretty much everything else.

Joannie_9

From a Female

I'm a female, and I work in this male-dominated trade, though not in the field. My position is technical, however, Applications Engineering. Some of the people on the Wall know me.

So you know where I'm coming from: I'm no femi-nazi. I think of myself as an engineer, not a female engineer. I wouldn't align myself with so-called "women's rights" groups if you paid me, because I think they do more harm than good.

The vast majority of the people I work with (inside and outside of the company) couldn't care less what gender I am. There are a few men and women that I run into once in a great while that treat me like it's so cute that they let a "girl" deal with Applications Engineering. Doesn't happen very often, though. Once I help one of those people, they tend to forget what my chromosome makeup is.

The items on your list so far, in my humble opinion, are not relevent, with the exception of being able to lift a certain amount of weight, but you need to consider that for any employee, not just the female ones. (Although I recognize that females, as a group, are not as physically strong as men, as a group.....we are built differently, and denying that is just stupid).

But, really..."time off for pregnancy" and "neater paperwork" make me wonder whether you are ready for a female apprentice. I'm not being mean here. I'm sincerely trying to help. If those are the kinds of questions you are asking yourself, then I fear that if you do hire a female, you would treat her like the "girl" in the group. That would not work out, because you'd all end up frustrated. She'd feel like she wasn't part of the team, and you'd be feeling like you have to tip-toe around her to not hurt her little feelings.

I hope you'll take these comments as constructive. I guess what I'm suggesting is that you also turn the question around and write some pros and cons on whether you think YOU are ready to hire a female apprentice.

One of the reasons I joined my company more than 11 years ago was because when I interviewed with my potential boss, I could tell that he was looking for a good employee, regardless of gender. And I was right.

I hope this helps. And I hope it all works out.

Joannie

Laars Heating Systems

Joe Mattiello_2

Taco has Female technician Deb P

I have been training Deb for over a year now, and I think she is doing a good job, but some people are intimidated by a woman technician, and prefer to talk to a male, which is OK with me. I believe anyone can do any job giving the proper training and support.

Joe Mattiello
Technical Support Technician
Tel. 401-942-8000 X 484
Fax. 401-942-2360
joemat@taco-hvac.com

jeff_51

gotta agree with guy on that one

there have been a few places I have been afraid to go in alone!!!!

oil-2-4-6-gas

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a supply house i go to has a female at the counter --if you want your parts pulled correctly or have to order anything she is the 1 to go to --i'll let others go in front of me until she's available --

bob young

job qualification

it is not always like that. we had a woman at a local supply house that was just the opposite. dumb & lazy & an attitude to match. i have met plenty of men like that too. sex has zero to do with it. it all boils down to whether or not you are capable of doing the job and WILL do it for the salary offered. period. you put someone too bright in a menial job and it won't work out well.

Barb

My two cents.

I am a woman who has been in the trades for over 20 years. I ran my own business and hired mostly women. The way I see it, women are by and large the ones who will answer the door when someone shows up, so they like seeing women. It makes them feel safer I think, and it's easier for them to ask a question if they don't understand what's going on.

We were confident in ourselves, so the customers were confident in us. We were neat and considerate, and they liked that too. I did hire one woman who never talked, and I had some customers insist that she not come to their house. She did good work, but it didn't matter.

I guess my point is that to run a successful residential business, you want someone who can do the job but who can also talk to your customers, male or female.