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Builder and renovator Ruth Brown, 79, at work on an earthquake-damaged house in Ngarimu St, Avonside. - Source: Farifax -
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Ruth Brown started her building business when she moved to Christchurch at the age of 56.
Now aged 79, she has no regrets about moving into an industry dominated by men - or any plans to retire.
"I've never advertised and I've never run out of work. I've threatened to retire, but I still can do it, so might as well keep going," she said.
Brown was working as a guidance counsellor at a secondary school in Auckland when she "thought I'd like to have a change".
"With one you're renovating people and one you're renovating houses."
She had earlier renovated and extended houses she had owned, but had no formal building training and mostly "learnt through doing". Despite more than two decades in the building industry, she often found men still tried to tell her how to do a job.
"I have endless stories of blokes trying to tell me how to do things. I don't mind helpful suggestions, but they think they know best," she said. "You have to say something without being rude. You have to do some subtle education."
Twenty years ago, the male staff at building supply stores "weren't very good" at dealing with tradeswomen, but had become much better, she said. "You don't get the snide comments. There's still the odd one, but generally they're very good." Brown said she did not know any other female builders of her age, and did not think there were many younger ones either.
"There's no physical reasons why they can't do it ... You do get comments, which I think the younger women find difficult."
Younger women entering the industry needed the support of a mentor, but starting out was never "going to be easy", she said. "If you're a minority, you have to be better than average to be accepted as average, and I think that goes for anything."
The rewards of the job made it worthwhile.
"What else could you do that you could fairly quickly own your own business and be your own boss, be responsible for your own work?" she said. "I can work when and how I want - and people say thank you."
Brown was at the launch of the Canterbury Women in Trades Network at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) last night.
The network encourages women to join the building industry as it gears up for Christchurch's earthquake rebuild and will provide a space for tradeswomen to support each other in their careers.
Ministry of Women's Affairs chief executive Rowena Phair said the 2006 census showed only 1% of tradespeople in New Zealand were women.
"Over the next few years, Christchurch will experience an unprecedented demand for tradespeople.
"Now is the time to open young women's eyes to the range of career opportunities," she said.
More than 7400 Canterbury women had lost their jobs since the February quake, but trades jobs were on the increase.
"Some of these women who have lost jobs after the earthquake may want to consider entering a trade."
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