The tide is turning
Women are moving away from their traditional role in the workplace – of secretary, carer, cleaner or cashier – and seeking a career in jobs usually carried out by men. But there is still a long way to go until a gender balance in the workplace is achieved.

Skills gap
In UK schools, girls continue to be advised to pursue stereotypical careers. However, the shortage of skilled workers such as plumbers, electricians and gas fitters – due in part to a lack of investment in vocational qualifications - has meant that women are realising they have an opportunity to try something different.

Lorraine Winns had been working for the National Health Service (NHS) for 12 years when she decided she needed a change so trained to be a gas fitter. ‘…I just couldn’t bear the thought of doing the same job for another 10 years. In this job, I get to use my head and my hands…’.

According to Michelle, a gas fitter since the age of 16, her colleagues have been welcoming but the same cannot be said about the customers. Women in particular are finding it difficult to come to terms with female gas fitters – ‘some of them will answer the door in a negligee, expecting to get a man’, says Michelle.  (source: The Independent, 1 October 2005)

The benefits
There are added incentives available to those who consider such a career change. Grants are available for the training, salaries are high – typically starting at around £30,000 - and there is the added benefit of the flexibility to work for yourself.

Fighting fire
Across the border in Scotland, the number of women who become fire-fighters has tripled in the past 10 years. Jill Robertson is a fire-fighter in Aberdeen. She says, ‘…the image of the fire service is a macho one but all the guys are fully supportive of us’. Anyone over 18 can join the fire service and there are no specific academic requirements. (source: The Times, 19 September 2005)

All things being equal
The Equal Opportunities Commission wants to see this trend continue and is campaigning for girls at school to be encouraged to take up a skill not usually associated with women. Its aim is for men and women to have equal chances in life.

Connie
December/January 2005

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