5 Q2 2022 BUILD Rated People reveals what it’s like to work as a tradeswoman in the UK and takes a stand against the shockingly low representation of women in the trades industry. • 39% of tradeswomen say they’re not taken seriously because of their gender and almost one in 10 say customers have refused to let them do a job because they’re a woman • Just 1% of carpenters are women and less than 2% of electricians and plumbers are women • Across 15 key trades in the industry, women earn just 72% of what men do – for floorers and tilers, this drops to 41% • Change is on the horizon though – 32% of women would now consider working as a tradeswoman and women admissions to trade apprenticeships have increased by 27% • Rated People has launched its new ‘Rated People Empowering Tradeswomen Programme’ to help change attitudes and make it easier for more women to get into and thrive in the industry New research from the find-a-tradesperson platform, Rated People has revealed the biggest challenges faced by women who work in the trades industry, inclusive of all who identify as women, as well as the trades which have the lowest representation of women and the biggest gender pay gaps. The study discovered well over a third of tradeswomen (39%) aren’t taken seriously because of their gender. One in seven (15%) have had personal safety concerns when working, and almost one in 10 (9%) say they’ve had customers who won’t let them work on a job when they see they’re a woman. It’s 2022 and this needs to change The findings are taken from the newly-launched 2022 edition of Rated People’s Home Improvement Trends Report, where researchers spoke to more than 600 tradespeople across the UK about working in the industry, and over 2,000 homeowners about their attitudes to hiring tradeswomen. Positively, there’s growing demand from UK homeowners - nearly half (46%) say they’d definitely hire a tradeswoman, 43% have no preference and only 11% of UK homeowners say they’d prefer a tradesman. Almost one in three (29%) women in the UK also say they would feel safer hiring a tradeswoman to do a home improvement or maintenance job in their home. But the research highlights just how out of balance the industry is. Over half (11) of the 20 professions with the worst levels of representation of women in the UK are within the trades industry. Women make up less than 1% (0.99%) of carpenters and joiners in the UK, and less than 4% of electricians, plumbers, floorers and tilers are women. Across the 10 trades with the lowest representation of women, none of them have more than 5% of women in the workforce. To see the full research and the newest edition of the Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report, click here. 1 in 3 Women Experience Gender Discrimination In The Trades Industry 5. Get rid of your unwanted items for good There’s no excuse for holding onto your clutter when there are so many ways to get rid of it in an eco-friendly way. There are loads of different apps, social sites and websites where you can post your unwanted items and actually make money out of your things, if you don’t feel like passing them on for free. And, if your unwanted bits aren’t in a good state or you haven’t got time to sort through them then HIPPOBAGs are a brilliant solution! These fully recyclable skip bags are a completely hassle-free, eco-friendly alternative to the metal skip. They come in three handy flat-packed sizes so don’t take up valuable room outside your home until you need to use them and you can easily order them online or through the HIPPO App. Once you’ve filled your bag, HIPPO will take it away, contact-free, and ensure that over 95% of it is recycled for you, with the remainder disposed of ethically. What’s not to love? Gareth Lloyd-Jones, MD of HIPPO, comments: “At HIPPO, we are passionate about providing our customers with convenient, conscientious waste removal options. What’s more, with fly-tipping statistics in the UK continuing to rise*, we are excited about collaborating with Dilly Carter to encourage decluttering in a way that will benefit both householders and our environment. “Since establishing HIPPO in 2002, one of my key ambitions has been to provide a waste removal service that diverts as much waste from landfill as is entirely possible. Currently, that figure sits at over 95% with the remainder disposed of ethically. However, we continue to strive towards higher recycling and repurposing percentages, which includes campaigning for positive behaviour change among residents in the UK. Our work with Dilly is one way that we can do that.”
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