Gender discrimination can happen in any work place, and how you deal with it can often determine your future success. As Tara-Jay Rimmer, Helen Yost and Amanda McCallum have discovered, women working in male dominated fields often have to work harder to prove themselves.
Tara-Jay Rimmer (above, right) started The Van That Can a delivery and removals company in 2013, after she received bad delivery service when she ordered a stand up paddle board. Coming from a top tier accounting firm meant that there was a big mental shift going from corporate offices to managing customers and staff expectations but has discovered that, whilst some people judge her for being a woman in the transport industry, it actually helps the business thrive.
Using her insight as a businesswoman, she has developed a business that cares for the customer and their home. Tara-Jay understands that letting strangers into your home can sometimes be a risky experience, therefore she goes above and beyond in the hiring process.
Tara-Jay has received some sexist remarks mostly from men in the industry but uses the criticism as motivation, with her planning the Australia wide expansion of The Van That Can for early next year.
Stand up for yourself
Sometimes simply just standing up for yourself is enough to stop casual sexism in its tracks. Use this time to set boundaries for the relationship and educate the person that is being sexist. It will improve the dynamics of the relationship and hopefully prevent it from happening again.
“Females running businesses or in leadership roles will have a great economical impact as it was discovered that companies that perform the best financially have the greatest number of females in leadership roles” Tara-Jay says
Amanda McCallum (above, left) of Ezylec, an electrical services contractor, started the company over 10 years ago with over 20 years in the industry. Her spark for the industry began when she realized that her passion for detail could make a difference.
McCallum noticed that the industry had a reputation for unreliable, unclean and unprofessional electricians and wanted to make a difference. As the managing director she is in charge of a team with both males and females but never has any difficulty the males respecting her. They know that she is exceptional at her job and believe that under her guidance they can achieve great things.
Have thick skin
Don’t take criticism personally, remembering that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. Try to understand the context of the comment, as often it is more about the speaker than the listener.
Helen Yost (center) owns Tradettes, a Female Only Plumbing Service, and is trying to get women into the traditionally male dominated industry. There is more to plumbing than plaid shirts and plumber’s cracks.
Yost is leading the way as a growing number of female construction workers, builders and other tradies shake of the gender stereotype and proudly work their way up the career ladder or start their own business.
After years of being surrounded by your stereotypical plumber, she noticed a gap in the market. Often women feel unsafe, if they are home alone and a male tradie comes to their house but with Yost’s friendly and approachable personality this immediately made customers feel at ease.
Yost believes that women in tradie industries can still be themselves, wearing nice clothes and glamming up for events and still succeed even after spending the day knee deep in bodily fluids. Tradettes plan to expand interstate by 2017.
Presentation is key
Whilst showing off your personal style is fun, often work isn’t the right place. Remembering that it only takes seven seconds to make your first impressions, looking the part and dressing for the task at hand is vital. This doesn’t mean dressing ‘manly’ but consider that you will already be standing out by being a women, you don’t want to stand out for the wrong reasons.
