Walk In My Boots

Here’s the question men at a construction site never get: Are you qualified?

Women get asked this every day of every job. So, allow me to answer for all us: Hell, yes, we’re qualified.

We attended the same apprenticeship programs, passed the same tests and perform the same job-related tasks as well as men do – and often better.

So, if you want to know how it feels to be a woman in construction – particularly, a Black woman – then know this: Walking in my boots is both overwhelming (it can feel as if the air is being taken away from me on every step) and exhilarating (as I keep climbing in the industry, I plant my flag of success as if I’ve climbed Mt. Everest).

The passion and love I have for my craft is sometimes the painkiller that makes all the agony go away until another day. I joke that the relationship I have with the construction trade is like that of a marriage where one person cooks, cleans and performs various tasks but never gets the credit.

It’s difficult. Always having people doubt your capabilities and passion is hard. Knowing the opportunity for advancement isn't as readily available to you, is harder still. Then there’s this: If you push for it, you are talked about, called a "troublemaker."

Not that it matters in the end. Women, it seems, are the first to get let go when the layoffs begin. And they’ll get so many reasons except the truth: It’s because you are a woman.

If you walk in my boots, you’ll see that life is different for me. And you won’t see many of me. 

When I look around at job sites, I'm deeply saddened that there's no visible representation of me, a Black woman, in leadership roles. So, I lace up my boots, right then left, and go to work, head held high like Rosa Parks and Angela Davis. I tell myself that someday my hard work will be recognized, and I’ll get promoted.

Am I qualified? You better believe I am. 

Here’s the question I’d like to ask men at a job site: Are YOU qualified to walk in MY boots?

About the author: First-Generation Immigrant, history-making Plumber, Tradeswomen Activist, CNN Champion For Change, L'Oreal Woman of Worth, and Groundbreaking Woman In Construction hailing from the beautiful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, Judaline Cassidy is a real-life Wonder Woman with a wrench. A working plumber with Plumbers Local Union No. 1 NYC, Judaline has devoted her 30 year career as a respected tradeswoman to fighting for gender and racial equity in the construction industry, breaking barriers and making history in the process. She does this while inspiring a community of young empowered builders, leaders, and next generation groundbreakers through Tools & Tiaras Inc., the nonprofit Judaline founded in 2017. Her trademarked phrase, Jobs Don’t Have Genders®, is what informs the impact-rich work her organization does for girls.