T HE WORST TIME I've had was from my fellow apprentices. They started, so they weren't at exactly the same level at work and they gave me real hell. When we were at college every morning when 1 walked in they'll say: "Fuck off, cow. We don't want you?, Every time I did anything they laughed at it. They used to break my pencils, and sometimes hit me.
But I didn't mind being hit so much. I mean, 1 used to have some fights with them, especially at the beginming, but that was okay. Some of them wouldn't touch me and if anybody talked to me or sat next to ine, they'd all laugh at him.
It was a very difficult cycle to break, and it didn't for two years. There were horrific occasions when they used to throw things at me. Bur I could cope with all of that, It wa ust the fact that nobody would talk It was very odd being in this all-male through aw fal rituals the whole time. They were very inhuman to each Friday aflernoons they always beat somebody up, with semco-operation from the instructors; anually it was the apprentice who got the worst marks that week.
They'd all charge after him, strap. him to a bench, take his trousers off. and rub him over with Swarfega. They'd never do much damage, but it was a very brutalising experience They used to pick on me, and there was a lad with a slight speech defect they picked an, and another lad who was very small and weedy and used to crawl to the teacher, so they picked What I couldn't the fact that nobody sand that really didn talked to me, change very much I'mreally angry with the teachers think they thought that if they tool any notice of the fact that I was getting such hostile treatment it would get worse It's like the attitude of many people to racism: ignore it and I'll go away, If It happened blatantly n front of them, If someone hit me, a TENCOLN But on the whole they jus would probably sec igmored it. 5o for the first two vears, half the time i was with these horrible ON SITE I was 19 when I began apprenticeship, which is very old. I'd let-school at 38.
acrory and realised that 1 definitel: didn't want to go to university, earn how to manage other people ives for them. I thought I'd get skilled job. I wrote to the autbority and asked what trades they did apprenticeships in. They sent me back a list and when I looked down it I realised for the first time they jobs that men did.
I was living in Leeds at the time and I applied to all the firms in the which took apprentices. 1 hac just one offer, from a very large firm of electrical contractors, which does hig jobs like the Humber Bridge as well as lots of smaller ones hospitals, shops, and railway work.
After two interviews and a test they took me on as an apprentice under the joint industry board scheme. But they had to get an exemption, on account of my age. I started on a 17-year-olds taking home about El4 a week. I'm now on E35 — £1.28 an hour — and when 1 qualify as an electricianinstallation in a year's time 11l get E1.50 an hour The firm was very surprised that a woman would want to do the job and, I suppose, a bit suspicious. But they took me on. I think they were thinking to the future. They see me going into management so that if in 20 years time there are women doing these jobs, then it's handy to have a few in higher ranks. If's interesting that a private company should take me on, when British Rail and the Yorkshire Eleciricity Board curned me down flat.
Starting work on a building site is uite brutalising. Lads were beate p on site, I think it has to do wit proving you're maD.
working entirely with men, in very horrible situations. As an apprentice you're in a real hicrarchy and you are at the bottom with the rubbish jobs and people picking on you the whole timse There is really witty repartee, which is great, but quite often it cope them my to WCTE like centres on destroying someone, and that's nearly always an apprentice. There's apprentices, about toughening theit)
mcant he asks. You haven't done nothing yet, but that's for when you do. I've never had that from a man. But that was what the lads were going through, and they took it our on me, probably because they saw me as a threat to their masculinity. Although 1 was working HEJUST as unpicasant a situation as them, they helieve that and even when 1 was working on the same job they jus didn't believe it and thought 1 got all the cushy jobs. I was shouted at left, right and centre.
The really nice thing working on site is the people and the social atmosphere. There are a lot of different people; around the whole time, front site bo site, every two months, six months witever Peosie are comine and going, the various different contracTou Te tors. and most Dunny sues are be Triendly places.
You go into all sorts of situations. If it's a new bualding there's all chese contractors SUDHADIE chatting to the labourers and the heating engincers, If it's an existing huilding, say a hospital, everything is tradition ahout cups of tea and things.
A lot of the women are supportive and gang against the otber electricians cheyne really movest to see mee durine are quire excited oing a greal wouldn't Janer says she wants to do this about calk to electricians.
opinion abour you're moving don't see that they have any very reactionary lot of peopic seem and small businesses.
clectrician. going on just as though you weren't there. Everyone ignores you because you're jusr the electrician, and you watch the life of the hospital going on around you. Nurses bringing you very On site they up with me dilficult at first You also get older women who worked in They You're job". Quire often romen say: 1 always wanted to he mechanic. Now I'm a murse', or: 'Our That's really nice, but the job i filthy.
and again.
Took down on you and never ask your anything. Building workers know what's going on. bu power to change anything. A lot of them are There's this crood chat if you worl hard enough you can make it and a to helieve it. front of me There's also a lot of self employed They soc people, either lump working or very I've yet to work with a militant There's very little organisation, in spite of the closed they walking Dy miscrable. other: bowerer recently EnE 0U55 shop. Few go to meetings - just 20 of us tuen up at the Bradford branch of the Electricians" Union, which is prey much moribund. My politica involvemeut in the town was mainly with the Socialist Unity campaign all find it quite accept workin with a Monar Mind dreamt o They've working with a woman before and than worker The first week on a site is always awful. The first morning 1 walk inta the canteen, there's a hundred blokes there and the walls are covered with page three from the Sun. A bush falls right! over the canteen and I shake all over. Then during the first week there's the same old comments which become very horing, the same jokes again If I'm sweeping up its always: woman's work is never dene. or: "! bet you're good at than There's Jokes about hoyfriends and when I'm going to get married. They say: "Of is your hostricod a ballet dancer! And there's always a big discussion about whether they can swear again me on a completely taken different level from their wife. For u lot of tem, une bai way toey bin cope with me is to pretend I'm a boy It really annoys rue. People call m Fred, and say good lad" • I always know. say. No. I'm nor a lad. That's one way they cope with me being There and the te surprised 1 don't want to be an honoracy min and that insist Fam a woman, And that [ couldn't care less about people swearing in front of me, but I don't want to be Normally they dont swear in front very tricky of a lady, so if 1 allow myself to be sworn in front of thar means l'to not a lady so l'm not the same kind of person as their wife, while lot trying to say 1'ai like their wile One of the ways in which they cope with me is to deny me any sexuality, and that happened particularly with the apprentices. But it also happens a bit on site. There's pressure on you to be like a man, partly because you're wearing these cloches; you learn to sit with your legs apart and walk around taking big strides And you begin to become confused about what female sexuality is. Then gel out the pornocraphs or they'l comment on ail the women and ils a horrible experince because you can't jon i0, feel very isolated and I used to he very worried about you learned to read Everyone knows me now tend to get made the pet of the site ! walk on the site and twenty peopl say good morning to me. A Jot o people are very nice to me: pend my tools when they break; talk to me in a way they don t talk to each about thei hopes; thei disappointments, family life; whereas in the canteen it's always cars and politic, mostly issues raised in that day's newspaper RESPONSES Tbere are basically three kinds of responses 1o nic Some people are supportive, and very nice and take Tat of trouble and interest in teaching me. And mosdy if 1 work with one hoven her ey share the ta STarted threatened by me and make a lot of horrible remarks. Others can*t really ape, so they ignace m Imay be getting on very well wi the bloke I'm working with, but quite often there's a lot problems created by lie osher bikes.
working for a couple of weeks with another apprentio - this happened worked topetber well, dividing work fairly equally. But if ever th other blokes saw ine being in of some particular stage operation they'd niway: the other apprentice: Don't let Watch out, she'll be taking your job soon.
That threw his into the position of having to delend giving me equalit?
Thene's always a vague fear in thei mind that in a year's time there'll be hundreds of women pouring on the site. They'll say: We don't mind ycu but we don't want any more They feel threatened that women will take their jobs, skilled jobs.
There is a I6-year-old girl whu starts at my firen this month. 1 just bope to god she doesn't easier for her. I find it tremendously encouraging. You get where you think, well should any woman ever waat to do this job?
lo your head you know that it is a good job ab i that it's a lot better being packer or a factory and tha imporiant women do this kind of work women and I thought, I wasn't mad. 1 was I think the main political impac I've had is simply by blokes secing me there and working with moe. The makes quite an impression on people Quite often they are surprised when !
jump to the defence of, wife when they run their own wife down. When they make anti-women jokes they expect me to laugh and takes them a while to work our why laughing and I'm attacking them. It makes them think This contribution by JENNY b ERDAN YOU know someone - - perhaps yourself!
who could muke a good subject for our Ar Work series, do let us Socialist Challenge 21 September 1978 Page 13 wet idea
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Her training began three years ago, when she was 19, and Jenny will almost certainly be the first woman in Britain to qualify under the electrical industry's apprenticeship scheme. Jenny's experience has been bad and good, as she describes here