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Women, welding, and a changing cultural landscape

Women, welding, and a changing cultural landscape

Cayce Callaway

There’s been a shift in America’s cultural landscape, and while the change has been a long time coming, it seems as if a seismic event happened at some point in late 2017. Politics, business, and art have all felt tremors as a litany of powerful men were exposed as criminally abusive bullies. Cosby, Weinstein, Spacey, Moore, Simmons, Lauer, Batali—apex predators at the top of the food chain whose ivory towers crumbled under the weight of their sins.

The blue-collar world will not be immune to this shakeup; perhaps not in scintillating headlines, but in how we go about our day-to-day interactions with women in our workplaces. It’s easy to be subjugated by times and tradition, however, and the last thing I want to do is judge men outside of the context of place and history.

As a country it’s been less than 100 years since women were allowed to vote. And while many millions of women worked skilled and labor-intensive factory jobs during the World Wars, they did so making substantially less money than their male counterparts. When the servicemen returned home from the battlefield, the women were mostly fired or let go, basically told by our government to become homemakers for the sake of our economy.

We aren’t talking about ancient times. Right or wrong, this was our parents’ and grandparents’ reality. Heck, when I graduated from high school in 1996, the mentality still existed that girls should take home economics and boys should take shop class. It was a cultural paradigm that many of us grew up in. To be clear, this isn’t to absolve men of seriously deviant sexual behavior or crimes. I do think certain ideologies, thoughts, and language are at least understandable for the time, even if we acknowledge the need to evolve going forward.

That last part is the trick. While the legacy of a respected man at the top of his craft can shatter in a singular moment with one admission of guilt, changing the way we think and talk will take time and sustained effort. Personally, I have a difficult time imagining a factory floor or job site without some off-color humor or crude language, especially in a trade long associated with tough men and crude behavior. But we can be better. And we can definitely do more to accept women and make them feel welcome in the trades.

To be honest, I was harsh on certain industry talking heads and their discourse on women in welding long before the current climate change. Not for blatant misogyny or abusive language, but for backhanded compliments and pandering comments that put blue-collar females in a nicely defined corner. The generalizations that young women mostly gravitate toward TIG welding because it’s clean, or because they are innately more artistic, or that they have some kind of built-in advantage over men due to their superior focus and attention to detail simply aren’t true. Yet seemingly every time the topic of bringing more women into the field pops up, these are the “qualities” they like to force on welding females. This sets a false ceiling and makes women who want to do more than that easier to dismiss as unqualified.

In Their Words

I’ve been in and out of factories for two decades, and while I’ve seen firsthand how working-class women are treated on the floor, I’m still a man.

Wagging my finger and admonishing others would be disingenuous and could lead to arguments that distract from the matter at hand. Maybe the best way, or at least a better way, to enlighten our industry would be to hear from female welders themselves. (Please see the photo gallery for images of the featured women welders.)

Cayce Callaway—“I started off as a CNA [certified nursing assistant]. The money wasn’t enough to support me and my son, so I decided to go into manufacturing. I ran machines and packed out product. When the machines broke down, I’d watch maintenance fix it and thought, ‘Hey, I understand this!’ The place trained their own maintenance workers, so I asked if they’d train me. I always got told, ‘No, there are not enough trainers and we aren’t training you.’

“I quit that job and started another one in the same field while also going to school for machine maintenance. I got my first taste of welding in a course there, and I loved it. I loved the smell, the dirt, and the drive needed to actually weld. But I had to drop out of school due to an abusive relationship and court proceedings. Then I found out three months later I was pregnant. I waited until I had my daughter, then researched schools and went back for welding. The course was nine months, but I completed it right before my daughter’s first birthday. I am now a structural welder, even though I went to school for pipe.

Women, welding, and a changing cultural landscape

Nicci Anderson

“Females work hard to break those barriers. Gentlemen, keep that in mind when you see a female welder. You never know what she had to go through to strike an arc. I want to be able to weld anything, to be as good as the men I work with if not better. To be able to make good money, to get paid based on my skill. Not being called homophobic slurs just because I weld. And to be seen as an equal.

“One day I’ll make more than I do now, I won’t struggle, and I’ll be better. That’s what I want: skill and security. Until then I guess I’ll be gaining hood time until opportunity knocks.”

Nicci Anderson—“I’m a single mother of four and decided to try something new; now five years later I am a union pipefitter/welder. Being a woman in a male-dominant field is hard as hell, but so worth it. I have done five welding competitions and I still find passion for this field of work. U.A. certified and proud to be union!”

Crystal Warren—“I was a single mom of three, supporting my kids by waitressing and cleaning houses. I wanted/needed a change. I put myself through school for welding, the most antisocial career I could think of. Now I work at a mechanic/fabrication shop with the best crew anyone could ask for! It’s especially satisfying after being turned down for numerous jobs simply on the basis of my being female and not my skills.”

Sarah Henry—“I’m a union pipe welder for the Local 716. I’m a welder because my dad is my hero and always has been. My whole life I’ve only wanted to do what he did, so I started fitting pipe and welding for the same company he worked for when I was 19, which was 17 years ago. Most men in my family were welders and mill workers, so I consider myself a legacy.”

Hanna Shatley—“I went to Job Corps to learn a trade, and my family shunned me for it because I’m a woman. I ended up becoming a shop foreman (not all it’s cracked up to be), graduated from a two-year course in nine months, then went on to design and fabricate aluminum boats at Ranger Boats in Flippin, Ark. I have gaps throughout my career because I’ve had three children since 2012. I welded all the way to term for two of my pregnancies. Now I work at All Sports Manufacturing in Florida. I’m glad I got on with this company because I’m not a production robot, and I can design and be creative. Four months ago I had my third son and thank God I can come and go as I please. It’s been a long road but I’m thankful to be a welder mama!”

Kay Summers—“I’m still a student. About six years ago, the factory I was working in decided to open their own welding department. I was able to get the chance to try copper brazing and some welding. I was hooked. Unfortunately, my company wouldn’t let me switch positions. Fast-forward to now and I’ve finished my first MIG and TIG classes, I’m heading back for my second semester this fall, then I’m planning on taking a fabrication class in spring. I’m not sure where I want to be career-wise, but I know that I love TIG and would love the chance to do something with cars. We’ll see where this journey takes me!

“I hear a lot of women talk about misogyny being prevalent in many ‘male-dominated’ trades, which I still believe to be true about the welding industry. Luckily, I haven’t run into too much prejudice, but I have heard a few things: ‘How does your boyfriend feel about you welding?’ or ‘You should take your welds down from your Facebook, they look like shit and you’ll never be as good as me.’ The latter was written by a random guy on Facebook after I complimented another woman welder.

“I’ve worked in factories for most of my life. I’ve got thick skin and I’m stubborn as hell, so I have gotten used to, and kind of like, the criticism because it pushes me so much harder to be a great welder. I think you need to have thick skin as a woman in this industry. You’ll be doubted, criticized, made fun of, and all of your flaws will be magnified. You have to be able to let it roll off your back or let it motivate you.”

Susana Mendoza—“Although those sayings [the desire to be clean, attention to detail, and interested in art] can be true for some women that are welders, it’s not true for everyone. Actually, my favorite welding process is flux-core. I love the sound of the metal burning and the beautiful braid-looking bead that’s hiding underneath a nice, thick layer of slag. Then chipping that slag off, and having the satisfaction of laying thick, sturdy beads all day, which is seen from all the dirt on my face, hair, and clothes. Also, all the holes in my clothes from the sparks are good conversation starters.

Women, welding, and a changing cultural landscape

Crystal Warren

“A lot of people don’t realize that there are women who like to weld, who are completely OK with getting dirty. I always get replies like ‘What?! But you’re a woman...’ or ‘No way, that’s a lot of work for a girl.’ It helps open people’s mindsets that stereotypes are just ideas that people pass around, but in reality there are lots of women who like tough work, are fine with getting dirty, and actually enjoy all the processes of welding.”

A New Reality

Women are equally capable of welding well. Not better, not worse. They have the same potential as men to hone hand/eye coordination and develop muscle memory.

Blue-collar workers will never be as buttoned-up as the desk jockeys, and that’s OK. But, we have an obligation to move to a higher level of consciousness when it comes to diversity in the welding community. Women are too often thought about as either oddities or in overtly sexual terms. Part of it is nature, but it’s also been nurtured over generations of formerly acceptable practices.

Think about your wife, sister, girlfriend, or daughter for a moment. Would you be cool with her working in the environment we are immersed in every day? I definitely wouldn’t want a woman I love anywhere near most, if not all, of the factories I’ve worked in.

The world is changing and we must evolve with it.

About the Author
Brown Dog Welding

Josh Welton

Owner, Brown Dog Welding

(586) 258-8255