I never thought that being in a male dominated field would be so difficult for a woman. She often attended university classes with only one to a handful of women: she was studying mechanical engineering. It wasn’t a problem, and we got along with the guys. No one prepared me for what I would find once I started working.
After college, I was hired by a power utility company. After a training period (in which I was sent to a nuclear power plant twice), I was assigned to a coal power plant for 5 years.
I was the first and only woman inside the plant – there was a replacement receptionist who was a woman (but she was very jealous of me getting into… “her territory” – I was very happy when the original receptionist came back to work – she was great).
Below are the things I had to put up with:
– It was smoked in the office and it was smoked everywhere (I have always been a non-smoker).
– There was coal dust everywhere.
– There was asbestos dust in the air.
– Men did not trust me in what I did. A woman had no credibility.
– Some of my bosses perceived me as a type of secretary to do their typing and such.
– There were “naked” pin-ups everywhere.
– There were nude magazines in the bathrooms (called “reading material”) and the boys spent a lot of time in those bathrooms. The bathrooms were always disgusting.
– When the wives of the men called on the phone and I answered, they often became abrupt or hostile towards me.
– There were many unfounded rumors about me.
– Management decided it needed a women’s restroom with a shower, so the maintenance department built a toilet, dressing room, and shower. I figured they probably built a peephole as well, so I didn’t use the shower (I lived less than 5 minutes away, so there was no need to shower in there, anyway). I always had a jacket that covered me when using the facilities.
– It was easier to wash my work clothes if I hosed them down first, from all the encrusted dust and oil.
– A boss started a cash pool for the guys to guess my measurements – and he asked me to tell him what my measurements are, so he can pick a winner – what? She was so angry and hurt-no, I didn’t tell him or anyone! Then I realized that the people at the power plant were probably sizing me up and staring.
– Sometimes the guys in my office would go out for a liquid lunch, so I had to cover for them in the afternoon, while they hung out at the lake until they sobered up.
– One day, the mechanics decided to sit on the stairs leading to my office area, preventing me from going up. I was frustrated, but I had steel-toed shoes on, so I climbed over them to get where I needed to go. I’m not sure if I hurt anyone, but I’ve never been blocked again.
– Once, I was going to check the vibration of a fan (it was a very big fan), but when I opened the door of the room, a guy was peeing in the drain hole. I dropped the door handle in shock, but then decided that I was supposed to be there (and he wasn’t supposed to be doing that), so I went inside. He had rushed off with an arc of urine falling through the air. Apparently, he had gone to the control room and confessed, so within the hour, there were notices posted telling the men to use the toilets and not any other part of the plant.
– I was asked multiple times to sleep with some of the guys – one was frustrated that his wife was pregnant and “unattractive” – no I didn’t.
– Guys looked down the catwalks to try to see something (like someone could see something with my jeans/overalls on?).
– Women were being graded as they walked through the welders area – they all came out and watched us walk and graded us (this was on the next floor, where I worked for 6 months after 5 years on the first).
Changes were made over time. Nudie’s posters fell, though they largely remained inside maintenance tool cabinets. More security procedures were implemented. The men learned to respect me more and realized that I could contribute.
Over time they realized that I was very good at balancing rotating equipment (I became one of 3 “balance experts” in the company). We spent many hours and nights balancing, because large equipment could go out of service at night, when the power load was less.
The operators reluctantly allowed me to teach them how to use the computer, when the controls were changed from pneumatic to electronic.
Once, the plant manager took me for a walk and asked me about the situations: he made changes, including the transfer of the current boss and the suspension of liquid lunches.
In truth, this power plant turned out to be more bearable in many ways, during those 5 years. I’m lucky no one imposed on me, but I was very assertive about it. I made some friends at the plant who took care of me. I was never comfortable working on the second floor, even with more women there.
I was once proposed to sue the company for the discrimination I dealt with (I didn’t sue, because I felt I would have trouble finding another job, with the stigma of the lawsuit on my back, and I knew it would be very emotional).
Honestly, I was a part of the “#MeToo” culture. I endured a lot of adversity, being a woman in a man’s field of work. I’m glad I helped make changes that would help other women after me.
My motto has become: “A power plant is a good place to be DE.”
