Why are there so few female kitchen and bathroom fitters?
There are just two female fitters on the books of the British Institute of Kitchen Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI). Female plumbers are a bit easier to find, but only by a small margin so if the skills crisis in the KBB industry is to be solved, this clearly needs to change. We spoke to a selection of tradeswomen to discuss the key issues and ask how change might happen…
In the news a few months ago, it was reported that a Cheshire building firm had offered a joiner the job of a receptionist when they discovered she was a woman.
According to the story on Cheshire Live, she believed bosses got confused by her name and were not interested in hiring her. The interview abruptly ended with her uttering several expletives…
While this is an extreme, headline-grabbing, example, it does highlight just how alien it still is, in 2024, for women to work in the trades.
On the bright side, Construction News has reported that women now make up a higher proportion of the construction workforce than at any time since official records began, so that’s definitely something to be celebrated. However, this is still just 15.8% (April to June 2023), up 1.2% on the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Before the pandemic this figure stood at 12.6%.
So, just what are the key issues for women in, or trying to enter, the KBB associated trades? And how can the industry make this sector more attractive to women?
In terms of issues faced, the most frequently mentioned ones are not being listened to, or being dismissed, and also being overlooked or ignored.
installer and qualified plumber
Olivia Weaver, business owner and BiKBBI-registered installer and qualified plumber says: “You might be in a meeting and you’re just not listened to, or people talk over you just because you’re female.”
She adds that there are certain physical limitations which can present challenges, “but I overcome these with my tools, and this limitation won’t apply to everyone as some women do have that physical strength.”
Weaver does believe, however, that things have improved in some areas since she began in the industry as an apprentice nearly a decade ago. “I do see more females in management, and more female directors, but these tend to be in the showrooms rather than the trades themselves”.
Plumber Emily Ridley agrees: “The only infuriating moments regarding my gender have happened at trade counters where the person serving has talked past me to my male labourer to check what I’d asked for was what he really wanted. They then look surprised when I point out I’m his boss so they can address me directly.
“Or, when I’ve signed for a delivery to site and the driver says it will be too heavy for me, or they ask my labourer if it’s his business. I just smile and lift the heavy item. So, overall, the only issues have been with suppliers, not with other tradespeople or customers, but thankfully these have been rare, isolated incidents.”
Accepting
Elisa Foyle, AKA PlumbMum, is a plumber based in Harrogate with a background in HR and emergency medical response. She decided to switch careers later in life and notes how little support there is for those embarking on a career change.
With her background in HR, and as a member of the female plumber’s association, Stopcocks, she also regularly gives advice to other members.
“In one particularly memorable case,” Foyle recalls, “a woman came to me with some serious concerns regarding her maternity rights and around risk assessments which weren’t being carried out properly.”
It is unsurprising that legislation concerning females within the construction and installation trades is still lacking, but this is just one of many areas that needs addressing if the gender gap is to be narrowed.
Corrine Mill is new business development manager for Omega Plc, and explored this issue for her final thesis at the University of Lincoln. In her research, carried out in 2022, common issues cited included a lack of respect, and “being judged for being a woman”.
Mill also noted the very different ways that men and women tend to work. Men were more team-focused while women more solitary, working on their own rather than in pairs. The female participants preferred to find their own work, as this provided them with variety that they could choose from. They usually decide to work for other women, in a domestic setting, rather than have it continually supplied by contract firms. This solitary nature could be detrimental to women and may be one of the reasons that women would find it difficult working on a building site, for instance, when lifting loads that are too heavy for one person.
“Men on the other hand, work in pairs as a rule and rely on each other for support at different stages in the installation,” Mill said.
Each of our contributors and Mill’s thesis subjects also noted that they thought being self-employed was the only viable option as they feel undervalued in employment – both in terms of money and respect given. That said, Elisa Foyle noted how there is also a great vulnerability in being self-employed, which can be off-putting, especially to mothers like herself.
“Being self-employed is great because it gives you freedom to set your own hours and work around life, and I think women are sometimes undervalued in employment,” she explains. “But there is also a vulnerability there as you don’t have the protections offered by a big employer. You can’t afford to have a bad job. And the stigma sometimes attached to tradespeople as ‘cowboys’ doesn’t help that.”
Olivia Weaver sees it slightly differently: “Being self-employed means you’re the dictator of your own future,” she says.
TIME FOR CHANGE
Hattie Hasan MBE is the founder of Stopcocks, an organisation that helps and supports female plumbers, and is said to have helped hundreds of women since it was founded back in 2006. She believes the industry needs to reflect on itself if meaningful change is ever to happen…
“I’ve been in the industry for 34 years, and in all that time the most frequent question I’m asked is ‘why aren’t there more women in the industry?’ and I think it’s high time the industry started looking at itself instead of looking to women to find the answers.“This is my opinion; the industry is not attractive to women - if it was, we wouldn’t have this issue. Because it’s not attractive, very few women enter it, therefore there are very few role models and nothing for young women to aspire to.“Until this industry changes, the cycle will go on forever. It’s why I started Stopcocks and the Women Installers Together Conference.”
Strong representation
But it is important to say that this is not the whole story for women in this industry – the negativity women face tends to come from a small minority. Each of our contributors also noted how, after becoming established, they are respected by the men they work with.
As Emma Ridley says: “I wish I could let girls know just how welcomed we are by the vast majority of our male counterparts.”
Weaver is also keen to point out that she now feels like an equal, no matter who’s in the room. Foyle, meanwhile, says she is highly sought after, as women living alone who might feel vulnerable tend to prefer a female tradesperson coming in.
Looking at potential solutions, it is agreed that a whole change of culture and mindset is required – this is often mentioned by both BiKBBI and Stopcocks. It needs to begin in schools, and with a curriculum, with teachers and parents who still sometimes see the trades as the downgrade to more academic pathways.
“You don’t know you can be something you cannot see,” Weaver says. “Representation is a huge issue. Working in the trades is still seen as something that just isn’t for girls, and it’s also not presented as an attractive option in schools to any pupils.”
So, representation in schools would be really helpful, for example calling in tradeswomen on careers days or educating students towards this potentially very profitable career path.
“We need to demonstrate to girls that this is a rewarding industry and there is much enjoyment to be had,” says Weaver.
“We need more female role models. Social media could even play a part, with real tradeswomen showing other girls on TikTok what they do, and the rewards that can be had.”
Additionally, there could be more emphasis in the curriculum on practical, vocational subjects. If these subjects were given equal weight besides the more traditional academic subjects, and promoted more in schools and colleges by female advocates, this could help to attract a young and more diverse workforce into the profession.
After all, according to BiKBBI, the average age of a KBB installer in the UK is 58, and within the next ten years, 30% of those currently employed or subcontracted will retire.
Team effort
This is all making for a big problem for the future of the KBB industry, which will persist unless action is taken.
As well as the government updating the curriculum to better reflect our society’s needs, manufacturers can play a bigger role – again this is something that BiKBBI has long been calling for. Fortunately, some suppliers are already interested. Grohe, for example, has supported and encouraged women into the KBB installer industry through its sponsorship of the HIP Skills competition and its GIVE programme.
But there’s so much more manufacturers could be doing. They could, for example, sponsor apprenticeships in their local area, which focus on bringing in a diverse range of talent. These could be funded in turn by the government as an initiative to get young people into work.
In her thesis, Mill goes on to say that the KBB industry must consider new approaches to attract talent into the installer profession, working together to create an environment that will encourage racially and gender diverse, younger and middle-aged entrants into the profession.
She explains: “With the average installer demographic as it is, there is a clear business case for more diverse approaches to recruitment in the KBB industry, and the need for balance, considering both age and gender.
“Recent studies indicate that taking a gender-balanced approach has significant commercial benefits to an organisation and will, in addition, contribute towards addressing the skills shortage. Stress the importance of attracting ‘new blood’, and consider this the key issue suppliers and retailers must address through a unified and concerted approach.”
Ridley says the answers come down to working together. “It’s a community effort, all of us should be supportive of each other no matter what demographic you fit into – there’s enough work to go round and we all have our own niche areas so network, promote each other and welcome newbies. It’s simply just being a good human.”
Looking ahead
So what practical and legislative changes could be made to both protect women already in the industry and to attract newcomers?
There is, almost certainly, a need for greater flexibility of working, easier access to childcare, and a recognition of the fact that not everyone can work within a 9-to-5 framework
There also may be a need for an update to legislation around health and safety at work, which takes into account the potential broadening of demographics in the industry. If this was done pre-emptively, and promoted within the industry, it may also help to encourage change.
Because female tradespeople are sometimes preferred by those who might feel more vulnerable, manufacturers and retailers could maybe do more to promote female fitters, and celebrate the few women already in the KBB installation industry.
The real question in about taking the long-term view, what will the future would look like if this issue isn’t addressed?
“You won’t have one!”, Olivia Weaver of Harrison James argues “If installers retire and there isn’t anyone to follow in their footsteps, things are going to get very expensive, and the industry will suffer as a consequence.”
Elisa Foyle, the “Plumb Mum” predicts that we could see a lot more “poorly made off-the-shelf solutions coming on to the market, with poorly-trained people fitting them.”
However, Emily Ridley of HomeTech has a more upbeat outlook. “Personally, I feel positive about the future of the industry. I put myself out there not to virtue signal,but to show the next generation of girls that it’s a great place to be and that most of the guys within it are great allies – not the enemy.”
While it’s positive that the women we spoke to do generally feel welcome once they’re established, it is clear that we do need to work together to attract newcomers and do more to promote and celebrate diversity, and we, as an industry, need to push for change at a grassroots and systemic level. If we don’t act, we face an uncertain future, where not only the KBB sector, but the entire construction industry, could suffer.
CHAMPIONING CHANGE – Chris Penney, leader of the GIVE Program at LIXIL EMENA
“To champion and encourage women within the field, GIVE was proud to be the headline sponsor for the second year in a row of the Female Skills competition 2024 run by HIP. The trade industry has long been considered a male-dominated field, with women facing barriers to entry and advancement.
"The current gender imbalance not only represents inequity, but also poses a threat to the growth and success of the industry, particularly given the ongoing shortages of skilled labourers and installers in the UK. To address this issue, it’s crucial that we prioritise making the trade industry more inclusive for all women, tapping into their full potential, and fostering a more diverse workforce.
"For manufacturers, there’s a number of initiatives and processes that can be implemented to break down barriers and challenge the stereotypes and biases that may discourage women from entering the plumbing. A good starting point is developing specific educational resources or implementing flexible work arrangements. Overall, it’s crucial to promote and truly foster a diverse and inclusive workplace, that actively works towards positive change.”