‘It’s not brain surgery’: In male-dominated field, local women in trades prove they can do it too
An industry where you barely find women—the trades. In fact, according to the state, there are just 4% of women working in those fields right now. We connected with two women who are changing the stereotype.
At Jim’s Automotive in Norwood—it’s not just all guys driving the business. Danielle Gearty co-owns the autobody shop, handling all the pricing and sales. She started working here when she was in high school.
“So I went from basically just organizing invoices to ordering parts, pricing, doing the invoices, basically just setting up jobs and stuff like that,” said Gearty. “And then, just basically telling everyone what to do.”
Danielle admits when she first started, she knew nothing about cars. She says the key to her growth? Asking questions. Over time, she learned enough to answer her customers’ questions.
“Do you notice it more when you, pull in or back into a spot or just kind of any time you’re on a tight turn?” Gearty asked a customer who was taking their car in to be serviced.
Even though Danielle co-owns the business, she says she still gets the occasional person doubting her automotive knowledge because she is a woman.
“I feel like I have to prove myself a lot more than I know what I’m talking about,” said Gearty. “For instance, like, they’ll be like, oh, do you have to ask one of the guys what a price would be? And I’ll be like, no I’ll get you the price. They don’t price it, I do. So I would know what the price is more than them.”
Sue Jacobs, a fifth-generation plumber, says she had to prove to her father that she could be successful in a male-dominated field.
“I wanted to do it,” said Sue Jacobs, owner of Ms. Fix It Plumbing. “And he goes, well, I don’t really think girls can be plumbers. And this is back in the late 70s. So I went and got an office job. Hated it, hated it. I begged him to come back.”
Sue has been a plumber for over 40 years and says she has a few advantages being a woman.
“I take my time, I explain things better, I clean up after myself,” said Jacobs. “Women communicate, I think, better than some contractor men.”
Sue shows off her work on social media to prove it’s not a job just for men. She also posts how-to videos and holds workshops to teach others how to do simple fixes around the house—helping them save some money.
“If I can do it, you can do it,” said Jacobs. “Because it’s not, you know, it’s not brain surgery.”
And it’s that confidence that Sue and Danielle hope to inspire other women that they too can do anything they want.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a male-dominated field or what it is,” said Gearty. “You can do that if you put your mind to it. You can definitely break down some walls.”
To encourage more students to go into the trades, Sue’s family holds an annual wiffle ball tournament every summer in honor of her late husband. They award a $1,000 scholarship to a Norwood High School student, which pays for a year of trade school.
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