Are you at the right place ?

Are you at the right place ?

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?
What’s in a Name?

Recently we put a question to our Like Minded Tradie Facebook group. We asked them, as women working in trades, what name they prefer to be given. Is it tradie? Trades women? Lady Tradie? Eve Workwear wanted to know! Of course, our community didn’t disappoint, and gave us some fascinating insights.

There were plenty of members that were proud to be women working in construction and wanted to highlight that! ‘Trades women’ was a popular choice and those that mentioned this were quite comfortable with the gendered distinction – with some welcoming it! We have worked hard to be women in the construction industry, so why not shout it from the rooftops?

Some members agreed that a label that singles out women was not ideal for them. They felt that names like ‘trades women’ or ‘lady tradie’ placed unnecessary focus on the fact that they are a woman, and that gender-driven labels were only singling them out. For these members, a name that did not separate them from the men was preferred.

The most popular option was the classic and age-old ‘tradie’. This label was familiar to a lot of people and what they were most comfortable with. They also thought that it would help them to fit in more seamlessly with their predominately male counterparts and avoid any stereotyping. Most thought that we are just as capable as men, and do the same job, so why should we be called anything different?

Other options included ‘trades person’, ‘lady tradie’ or, a personal favourite, ‘woman in work boots’. The possibilities are endless, but by far the most important takeaway from the discussion, was to be considerate. Asking a woman that works in construction what she would prefer to be identified as and saying it a respectful tone. After all, that’s what we’re here to do – respect our fellow women in tools and help boost each other up!

Thanks to everyone that got involved and shared your thoughts. We’d love to have more discussions like this in the future. We want to know about your experiences being a female in trades. If you’re not a member of our Like Minded Tradies group, we’d love to welcome you to the community! Join here.