Women who ‘talk the tools’ and ‘walk the work’: Using capital to do gender differently and re-gender the skilled trades

Abstract

Social and cultural capital are valuable assets that assist individuals to succeed in work. This article reports on gender segregation in the skilled trades. We use Bourdieu’s theory of capital to illuminate how women are successfully recruited and retained in the skilled trades. Our findings indicate that women with pre-existing forms of capital are advantaged. Notably tradeswomen utilise masculine gender capital while maintaining aspects of feminine and female gender capital. In doing so, they re-gender the skilled trades and do gender differently. The study also found that female and feminine gender capital detracts from other forms of capital women bring with them or acquire in their trades work. Male gender capital privileges men and disadvantages women. We conclude that capital is an important point of intervention where women can be supported; however, the problems that gender capital creates for women can only be resolved by cultural change.

“A trade of one's own”: The role of social and cultural capital in the success of women in male‐dominated occupations

“…In the skilled trades, male gender capital is a valuable and exchangeable resource. However, gender capital can work against women in an industry that presumes a male body and assumes that men are more naturally suited to the work (Wulff et al, 2021). Women's abilities and skills can be devalued in male-dominated industries because they are seen to displace gender norms (Smith, 2013), to speak the wrong language (Ness, 2012) and therefore, cultural capital is more difficult for them to acquire (Taylor et al, 2015;Wulff et al, 2021).…”

“…However, gender capital can work against women in an industry that presumes a male body and assumes that men are more naturally suited to the work (Wulff et al, 2021). Women's abilities and skills can be devalued in male-dominated industries because they are seen to displace gender norms (Smith, 2013), to speak the wrong language (Ness, 2012) and therefore, cultural capital is more difficult for them to acquire (Taylor et al, 2015;Wulff et al, 2021). Yet, gender theorists agree that women can accumulate appropriate forms of cultural capital from education and work (Huppatz & Goodwin, 2013;McCall, 1992;Reay, 2004;Skeggs, 2004;Taylor et al, 2015).…”

“…(p. 244). Therefore, women can acquire cultural capital through education, training, and work in the same way that men can (Wulff et al, 2021) specifically by learning on-the-job, gaining experience of the working environment, and by immersing and socializing into the workplace and educational environments. They do so by investing their time, developing their attributes and skills which become assets supported by the social capital and habitus of family and community-brothers, fathers, uncles, friends, and associates.…”

“…Once the initial shock of the wrong body is overcome, women who display combined, social and cultural capital are more likely to be able to obtain the much-needed "symbolic capital, the form that the various species of capital assume when they are perceived and recognized as legitimate" (Bourdieu, 1989, p. 17). Cultural capital offers women a unique opportunity to circumvent traditional resistance, by the simple fact that it provides them with competency and cultural legitimacy (Wulff et al, 2021).…”

“…Theoretical approaches to the problem are broadly located in feminist organizational studies (Galea et al, 2015;Ibáñez, 2016;Kelly et al, 2015;Ma-cIsaac & Domene, 2014;Potter & Hill, 2009;Whittock, 2002) gender, sexuality, and masculinity theories (Denissen & Saguy, 2014;Wright 2013Wright , 2016 and a mix of the two (Agapiou, 2002;Smith, 2013) but few have employed a Bourdieusian approach. With the exceptions of Taylor et al (2015) and Wulff et al (2021) there has been little engagement within the field with this germane framework. 2…”