I’m a female carpenter and work on a construction site full of men – I get asked some seriously sexist questions
A FEMALE carpenter is hitting back at outdated expectations of women in the workplace with a rocking sense of humor.
Jess Bessell is breaking new ground as a carpenter and is sharing her life and work on her TikTok platform.
Carpentry is traditionally a male-dominated profession, but young women like Jess are beginning to make their mark.
She is a rare breed as one of the few women working on a construction site full of men.
Jess loves her work but is less keen on the old-fashioned questions she has to endure at her workplace.
No shrinking violet, she tackles them with humor in her TikTok posts.
She captions her latest video with: “Some of the questions I get asked.”
First up is: “What made you get into this then luv?”
Followed by the all-time classic: “Do you have a boyfriend?”
And finally, another banger: “Does your boyfriend mind you working with all those men?”
Comments to her post were both empathetic and impressed by the chutzpah of this young chippie.
Another woman in a male-dominated industry related to her post: “Yep, I feel the pain.”
Another said: “I have my fair share of men like this on site. But there is hope for the male species I currently work with are a load of great guys.”
A female engineer shared her story: “My fave has been, ‘you’re awfully female to be an engineer!’”
A dad understood too: “I’m a groundworker and my 17-year-old daughter is my apprentice. She gets these questions all the time.”
Finally, keep up the good work: “Keep doing what you’re doing. As a woman, I’d much rather hire another woman than a man. We need you.”