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Need a plumber or an electrician? Beginning in March 2021, you will be able to search a UK national register of tradeswoman to find a woman to do the job. This will help vulnerable households who feel safer having women in the house as well as people who want to empower tradeswomen.
This project was the brainchild of Hattie Hasan, the founder of Stopcocks Women Plumbers, according to Positive News. She wants to make sure that people who feel safer with women workers will be able to find them.
The idea for the register came because of an increase in domestic abuse caused by the coronavirus pandemic according to PHPI, the business magazine for the plumbing industry.
“Women are scared to allow tradesmen into their home, not only out of fear of the men themselves, but because of the reaction of their abusive partner if they talk to the tradesman or offer him a cup of tea,” Hasan told Positive News. “Being able to access a register of certified, fully qualified tradeswomen is one way they can take back some control.”
There are already 300 vetted and verified tradeswomen in the registery and there are hundreds more that have to be authenticated. These include, plumbers, electricians, painters, decorators, carpenters, car mechanics, builders, and roofers.
“It quickly emerged that no-one knows how many women plumbers and gas engineers, or other skilled tradeswomen there are in [the] UK. We realized that as well as making tradeswomen easier to find, we can count them, which will give us the data to know what needs to be done to increase the numbers of tradeswomen available to householders. We want all tradeswomen to join, whatever their employment status,” Hasan told PHPI.
“We want all tradeswomen, not only self-employed ones, to register so we can get an accurate picture in the UK and work towards making the changes we want to see.”
The register will not be a searchable database, instead, women from the organization will assign tradeswomen to people who request information according to Positive News.
The plan is also to extend the training that Stopcocks already does for plumbers to other trades including the launching of a tradeswomen’s college. They are hoping to teach women how to work with women who are experiencing domestic abuse.
This good idea could easily be incorporated on a municipality, state or province basis too. Far too many women are afraid to let male strangers into their homes for a variety of reasons, now they don’t have to.
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