So I attended an #InternationalWomensDay online event today…organised specifically for women in #retrofit by the consultants that a certain UK government department pay to deliver ‘guidance’ on said subject.
Sound bites tossed in a word salad.
I can recall two details which were somehow remarked on as an improvement on previous years
1-2% of those working in retrofit trades are women
If you expand the figure to include office based retrofit workers, the number of women is 15%.
Hmmm….
But why is it desirable to have more women working in #retrofit?
My view is that we see things from a different perspective to men because of our lived life experiences to date.
If we’ve lived alone, we know the cost and loneliness of trying to heat a home on one (usually lower than a man’s) wage.
If we have kids, we know the worry of keeping newborns the right temperature through to teenagers warm enough to focus on homework.
We don’t cut corners on risks…like asbestos and wiring.
Knowing that a home is safe, makes someone’s life more comfortable and less stressful should not be a gendered thing.
Knowing that you are actively contributing to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions when 25% come from domestic properties again shouldn’t be a gendered thing.
We all have our ways of thinking and saying these things…and I genuinely think the above matters to men in retrofit too, but unless a woman is there the bit said out loud is all about cost and what can be got away with.
Juggling With Eggs