Social landlords are striving to get more women in senior jobs but, in some building trades, females are outnumbered 99 to 1. Ellen Bennett met one of the women changing that
It's widely recognised that there are not enough women executives in social housing. A lot of effort has gone into pushing up the numbers, including initiatives such as the Housing Corporation's Leadership 2010 programme, which aims to have female chief executives at half of the top housing associations by the end of the decade.

The lack of women working in construction is more readily accepted, however. As a result, just one in 100 construction trade workers is female.

At the same time, the construction industry is suffering from a chronic shortage of skilled labourers. It needs 76,000 new recruits each year, according to the Construction Industry Training Board.

Affordable housing provider Lovell is working to tackle both these issues.

Last year, in partnership with a training organisation called Building Work for Women, it offered 13-week placements to two female trainee plumbers and one, Pauline Brown, is now working for the housebuilder in this traditionally male-dominated trade.

Brown applied for the training programme last July through the Women's Education in Building Centre at Ladbroke Grove, west London. She says it is "the best thing I have ever done".

Fascinated
Brown first became interested in plumbing when, as a housewife with two children, she called in a plumber to fix a blocked toilet.

"I was just fascinated," she says. "And I thought 'that's it, that's what I want to do'."

Brown has adjusted to a male-dominated working environment with ease. "You've got to have the right attitude," she says. "I do get stick, but so does everyone else.

"It's not personal. You have to be mentally tough, but as long as you've got the right attitude, whether you're male or female, people will accept you."

Brown believes that more women should get involved in plumbing – but she warns that you have to be strong physically as well as mentally. "You can't expect people to lift and carry things for you," she says. "You have to do it yourself. And I've had to crawl around on the roof of a four-storey building – it's no good being afraid of heights."

As well as working for Lovell, Brown is training one day a week for her NVQ level 3 in fitting gas appliances. In the future, she says: "I'm going to get more qualifications, run my own business, get involved in the design side.

  "This girl's going to do a lot of studying – but it's going to be worth it."

Source

Housing Today