Labor Spotlight- Michele Williams

Thirteen years ago, when I sat in my first electricity diploma course at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, the disparity was brought to my attention. “Does it bother you? You’re the only girl in here.”  I had to look around. I hadn’t even noticed.

Every year has changed what it means to be a woman in the trades. In my first year, it meant that I needed to be louder and physically stronger, a goal set out for me on my first long job. Shouting across parking lots and garages, forcing my voice over hammer drills and saws, repeating “GOOD!” once the wire reached length -- grew my voice to a constant outside level. Strength and stamina come from the repetition of tasks but everything doesn’t require brute force and I learned there can be techniques to accomplish the same tasks that someone else can carry out with sheer body strength. All this was a striking contrast to the quiet stillness I had cultivated in my previous bookstore life.

In the year I topped out, it meant facing the isolation of larger work.  At a smaller company, I was sheltered from some of the harsher realities of being an Only. I learned -- as all Onlys learn -- you have to seek out your community. Otherwise, you are watched, judged, and I have seen, pushed out of the career you have worked hard to learn and enjoy. On a more practical note, I also learned to demand a bathroom.

Currently, being a woman in the trades means reaching out and greeting all the Onlys. Building that community is critical to keeping skilled and talented women long term. 

The companies I have worked for have all offered me leadership opportunities.  Local 494 has given me opportunities from meeting other women in the field to presenting at our JATC to now Vice President Kamala Harris.

I’m uncertain anyone sets out to become a “woman” in the trades. I like the usefulness of my skills and the constant movement required in construction work. I sat down in that first class and never looked back.