By Rachael Kvapil
March is Women in Trades Month, an annual celebration of women who put their hearts and hands into building the world around us. In the modern era, Rosie the Riveter is the iconic World War II tradeswoman representing women who made up the skilled workforce at the time.
Though the number of tradeswomen declined after the war, many women persevered as carpenters, electricians, welders, engine repair mechanics, manufacturers, and more.
Now as the trades industry struggles to fill their employment rosters, women are stepping up in larger numbers to work alongside the men who have traditionally filled those roles.
Christine Fik: Union Carpenter
Christine Fik is no stranger to the trade industry. Her dad worked as a union carpenter in Chicago when she was a child. As a child, Christine helped her dad with small projects, such as building flower boxes and dog houses. Despite this, she says her dad wanted her to go to college instead of following in his footsteps. She heeded his advice. However, Christine says she didn’t choose a lucrative major and, after a few field seasons, left anthropology and started training as a carpenter.
“My dad wasn’t exactly happy I chose to do that,” she says. “But he must have been somewhat OK with it since he later wrote me a letter of recommendation.”
Christine understands his hesitation. In Chicago, her dad saw his female counterparts face negative attitudes and bullying from co-workers and clients. However, Christine says Fairbanks isn’t Chicago, and her experience is much more positive.
“The guys I work with are very respectful and incredibly awesome,” she says.
Over the years, Christine has worked on a wide range of projects, including the repair of both Spenard Building Supply roof collapses. Aging wood trusses and outdated engineering couldn’t manage excessive snow loads, which led to eventual failures. She says the destruction caused by the collapse blew her away between broken trusses and damaged store items. She says it’s more common to use steel instead of wood nowadays, and crews worked to replace the roof with one that can withstand the elements better.
Last year, Christine worked on a project slightly outside of the carpentry field. She joined a team hired by Eielson Air Force Base to inject a 2-part resin/epoxy mix into the basement walls of 130 units as part of a flood mitigation project. From fall 2022 to spring 2023, she drilled thousands of holes into basement walls before filling them with the mix that pushed water out and sealed the wall.
“That’s the benefit of working in Fairbanks,” Christine says. “You often don’t specialize in one aspect of carpentry like in the Lower 48. Out here, you’re on a job and work on different stuff from start to finish.”
Over the years, Christine has seen an increase in women entering the trades. She sees more women start training yearly thanks to a considerable recruitment effort and notices multiple females on larger jobs, even if she is the only female carpenter. She says women considering the trades shouldn’t worry about size or strength.
“My dad gave me some great advice,” Christine says. “We have tools and equipment for lifting. Nobody these days should pick up heavy things. Women are 100% just as capable as men.”
Joanna Schneider, Foreman Electrician
Joanna Schnieder entered the trade industry after a life-changing event that made her the primary breadwinner for her family. After learning more from an electrician who gave her insight into the job, pay, and benefits, She felt confident in her abilities to learn the trade and started training shortly afterward.
Joanna says there are a lot of logistics as an electrician. Hours are spent checking and ordering supplies, handling daily reports, managing morale, and working at job sites. She has worked on projects all around northern Alaska, including cable pulls at Pump Station No. 1 at Prudhoe Bay, setting transformers in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Engineering building, running pipes, installing lights at various locations, and crawling into tight spaces during hotel renovations. In many situations, she also helps with other aspects of a project.
“If someone else needs access to the space and I’m already down there, it’s not a big deal to pull a cable for them,” she says.
Joanna describes the trade industry as tough and says that tempers can sometimes flare when everyone is pushing to get a job done efficiently and safely. However, on teams where men and women are equal partners, the outbursts are an expression of frustration that is short-lived and quickly forgotten. She compares this to her previous office experience, where people got angry and stayed that way for a long time. In general, she says women who are willing to pull their weight physically and mentally will work well in the trade industry.
“As a woman, we have to build up our reputations no different than men,” Joanna says. “Women who go into a job expecting to be treated differently just because they’re a woman is going to set a bad tone. Women would be just as mad at men if they behaved that way.”
That isn’t to say she hasn’t faced challenges in her career. Early on, she faced an uncomfortable harassment situation with an outside project collaborator. Likewise, she realistically understands that men are stronger than women, and sometimes, women must develop creative ways to move things beyond their physical capacity. However, she says she has never had any problems with her co-workers, whom she describes as an amazing group of men and women.
“I think we’re a little tougher in Alaska,” she says. “Bust butt in school, be flexible, and negotiate with people. You won’t always have the answer and will have to ask for help from both men and women to get the job done correctly.”
Joanna has seen an increase in female electricians over the years. She says the UAF Engineering project had six female electricians, the most she’s ever worked with on one site. It’s more common that she is the only female electrician. For anyone considering the trade industry, she advises learning as much as possible about what the work entails.
Lilly Sawle, Union Carpenter Training Center
Lilly Sawle was working odd jobs when she first became interested in carpentry. She says many things about the career appealed to her, including working outside, the pay and benefits, and being challenged both physically and mentally. In 2021, Fairbanks Alaska Carpenter Training Center was looking for instructors and asked Lilly to teach since she had some previous experience.
Training for carpentry takes as much time and is as involved as earning a college degree. The carpentry and millwright apprenticeships are 4-year, 7,000-hour programs that must be completed before becoming a journeyman carpenter. The programs are separated into 1,120 hours of classroom training and 5,880 hours of on-the-job training with a journeyman carpenter. Lilly says the classroom portion provides a basic understanding of tools, building methods, job-site safety, and troubleshooting problems. She says it’s unrealistic for students to remember every single detail because, in reality, there are a million different ways to accomplish a single task. Instead, she prepares them by introducing them to the various aspects of carpentry they will run into in the field through shop projects.
“In Fairbanks, we do an excellent job giving apprentices the base knowledge they need to be successful in the field,” Lilly says.
She regularly attends instructor training at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas. ITC is the largest, most comprehensive training facility worldwide that offers specialized training for carpentry professionals. Lilly says she attends weeklong, in-depth classes on focused topics and then provides courses on those topics at the local training center.
Over the years, she has seen more women training for carpentry. When she first started, there were only 2 other females. Now, she says there are at least 10 women locally. She says the increase is partly due to active recruitment but also support groups formed within the last 5 years. She says the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America developed an international women’s group called Sisters in the Brotherhood, in which a few local women meet monthly. Likewise, she says a Women in Trades group meets on occasion, bringing together electricians, pipefitters, welders, plumbers, and more.
“It really helps to have a support system and having other women on the job site,” Lilly says. “It’s much easier than being the only female around.”
She prepares female students for challenges based on what she experienced in the field. She says it was often assumed that she lacked experience or was still an apprentice despite completing training. She teaches female students to speak up confidently and not allow others to push them aside or take credit for their good ideas.
“It’s been a challenge learning how to teach because I’m a quiet person,” Lilly says. “But confidence is key to becoming a valued member of the crew.”
For those curious about the carpentry trade specifically, she encourages people to contact the Fairbanks Alaska Carpenter Training Center. For those considering a trade in general, she recommends checking out Alaska Works Partnership, Inc. for information on training and events where they can get their hands dirty working on small carpentry, electrical and welding projects and decide if that’s a lifestyle they want before committing to additional training.