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JENNY THOMPSON The Painter-Decorator “I’d wanted
to do a trade since I was in school, but my parents, like many at that time, weren’t too keen on the idea. I ended up studying Environmental Science, and went off to America on a J1 visa in the ‘80s. A friend of mine had flown over and gotten a job in painting, so I followed suit – I stayed beyond the initial visa, and was painting by ’85. When I came back to Ireland in the late ‘80s I set up a business straight away, which is still going strong 30 years later. I’ve trained several women in the last number of years, all of whom have gone on to establish their own businesses; they’re very successful in their own right. I’m currently looking for apprentices and, in many ways, wish I could positively discriminate in favour of females! Considering the challenges they have to face, women really choose to do a trade; men typically fall into it. “I started my training in San Francisco and, comparatively speaking, there were so many more tradeswomen [in the city] – because the training was so fantastic in the States, tradespeople were far more respected and well-regarded relative to Ireland. There’s a general dearth in trade because everyone feels their kids should go to college and, by consequence, apprenticeships are severely undervalued. Because of the high-calibre training I received in San Fran, my business thrived back home – through word-ofmouth we flourished in our niche, high-end market, and took lots of pride in our work. “Around ten years ago I was working with two builders, one of whom was always encouraging me to come out to France and paint with him. Once the recession came and everything stopped here, I took him up on that offer – then once my Irish clients heard, they began asking me to work on their French villas. Now I go to Paris every Spring. I was painting in St. Tropez a few months ago and last year we did a house in Notting Hill. Outside of the business I’ve established, I don’t think I’d ever come across another Irish tradeswoman before finding WITNI – zero in 30 years. It’s unbelievable, really. By contrast, back in San Francisco, I actually worked on an all-women painting crew, while it wasn’t unusual to meet female electricians and carpenters onsite. “Unsurprisingly, I get all my work clothes from America – friends in San Francisco will always ship some over when we need them. I’m 5’1”, and find it impossible to find a short pair of whites here. They’re often too big at the waist – it might have changed more recently but, for years, the smallest waist size you’d be able to get was a 32”. It’s absolutely geared towards men. I don’t struggle as much with getting gloves, thankfully, and I get all of our tops made up. “Jen and I first met two or three years ago, at the Construction Industry Federation meeting on International Women’s Day. I quickly became a fan of hers – I found it so inspirational that she had set up WITNI. I’d love to be helping out even more with the network, but I just don’t have the time to… I’d especially love to go into schools to talk with Transition Year students about women in trades. You don’t have role Women really choose to do a trade; men typically fall into it. models in the classroom, from a young age, that represent tradeswomen. For any physical job, a man is always presented. Discussions should be starting in primary school, let alone secondary school. Trades are struggling here, irrespective of gender, and I firmly believe that if the psychology of doing a trade changes in this country, the perception of women in trade will change alongside it. WITNI is what gives me a little bit of hope: if it hadn’t been established, you simply couldn’t find that same concentration of support and camaraderie. ➝ 26