密歇根新闻广播 两名电工女性的心路历程

 

Women make up just around nine percent of the workers in the skilled trades, according to 2016 data from the Bureau of Labor¹ Statistics.

So, if you're a woman just getting started, it can feel like you're the odd one out on the construction site.

For our Work in Progress series, we brought together two women in the field, one just starting out, one 25 years in — to talk about why they decided² to pursue careers as electricians, and what it takes to thrive as a woman in the skilled trades.

Grace Trudell is a business representative with the IBEW Local 58 in Detroit, where she chairs the women's committee. Samantha Forsyth recently graduated from the Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) pre-apprenticeship⁴ program, and plans to become an apprentice³ in the electrical field.

Neither Trudell nor Forsyth started their work in the skilled trades right out of high school.

I never really thought it was even an option, Forsyth said.

In high school, she was told that college was the only way to get anywhere, so Forsyth enrolled⁵ part-time after graduating. But she stopped attending when maintaining a full-time⁶ job and going to school became too much. Forsyth says she was always a hands-on kind of person, and when her aunt sent her information about WIST, it seemed like a good fit.

Trudell started her apprenticeship in 1999. She was working with kids at the time, when her then brother-in-law handed her a pamphlet with a list of all the skilled trades.

I was looking at what careers paid the most, first of all, and which ones I qualified⁷ for. And that was either a plumber⁸ or an electrician. And the more I thought about it, I was like, you know what, I don't really want to be dealing⁹ with toilets that much, so I decided, I'm going to give the electrical field a try, recalled Trudell.

Her first time on a job, Trudell says she was in awe¹⁰, a feeling that she'd have over and over again as she worked in auto¹¹ plants, steel mills, hospitals, and more.

Being an electrician is a demanding job, both mentally and physically¹². When Forsyth asked Trudell what

kind of person is successful in the skilled trades, Trudell told her someone with a strong will and thick skin.

This is definitely one of those careers that there's going to be some negativity around you just because you're a woman. That can be hard sometimes.

For Forsyth, pursuing a career as an electrician means finally having steady pay and regular hours. That's a welcome change from her previous job as a bartender and server. And it means she'll get to spend more time with her son. Both Trudell and Forsyth say that they would like to see more women in the trade.

“We went through statistics, it was only like nine percent of the construction trade is women. What I want to see is just more inclusion on the job site, you know. I want it to be not abnormal to see a woman in a hard hat,” Forsyth said.

And the skilled trades would be better off with more women, Trudell said, because they bring important strengths to the job. She says without competitive machismo, women are often more aware of safety issues. And as moms, Trudell told Forsyth, they've honed the ability to tune¹³ things out and focus in the middle of a chaotic¹⁴ situation—a particularly useful skill when you are on a work site with heavy equipment, saws buzzing, people yelling, and sparks flying.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

4 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

5 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

11 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

12 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

13 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

14 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。