By Tiffany M. Grant
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women make up under 5% of tradespeople. Nevertheless, women are increasingly entering the historically male-dominated field, making it a more diverse workforce. Even still there are challenges that women face in what society has deemed masculine occupations. One of those barriers is an adequate toilet and changeroom.
Jennifer Jones, the first female utility plant operator in Facilities Services (FS) works in the Central Utility Plant (CUP). Jones finds her work rewarding and “encourages women to step out of their comfort zone to explore opportunities in the trades and other male dominated industries.” Most of her work is performed at the south steam plant, a building with a single gender-neutral bathroom, used by not only male FS workers from the plant, but it is also used by contractors. It is a bathroom where the toilet seat is raised, the toilet paper is not on the tissue holder, and an aerosol can of disinfectant rests on the sink. Undoubtedly an inconvenience, she opted out of using the only bathroom in her immediate workspace. Instead, for the past four years, Jones would leave her workspace and go to nearby campus buildings to use designated women’s restrooms, even during overnight shifts at wee hours of the night.
Utility Plant Maintenance Mechanic, Grace Blue also a female CUP worker chose to seek out alternative restrooms. The search is over for the FS trades women thanks to the installation of two brand new women’s locker rooms. One of the new women’s locker rooms is at the South Campus Chiller Plant and the other one is located at the West Campus Combined Utility Plant where both females, Zone Manager, Campus North Building Engineering Shop, Rosie Johnson, and Assistant Zone Manager, Campus North Building Engineering Shop, Diana Alba have offices. Combined, there are 23 new lockers, three new toilet stalls, and two new showers. They are equipped with accessories including a bench and full-length mirror. The bright white floor tiles have gray undertones that match the gray steel Spacesaver lockers. There is a University maroon accent wall that immediately draws the eye to it. It is more than paint; it is purpose. It is indicative of the spirit of the world-class institution and will hopefully help boost the morale of the women who may have previously felt overlooked and underrepresented.
Now with a step towards inclusion and belonging, the ladies have sufficient facilities to use after performing the same labor-intense tasks as their male counterparts. Whether it be crawling into the narrow mouth of the boiler’s mud drum to clean its impurities or walking underground in the wet, steamy tunnel where insects often reside, the ladies can retreat to a safe space and securely stow away their personal items.
Dismantling gender biases and acknowledging that women indeed have a place in the trades, and realizing the impact a work environment can have, FS met with University leadership and advocated to have the essential project funded. Members from FS’ Planning, Capital Project Delivery, and Operations teams were all instrumental in the effort. Coincidingly, Sarah Haas, a female architect from McGuire Igleski & Associates, Inc. designed the locker rooms and managed the construction administration.
All women in the FS shops contribute to the department’s mission, of creating and sustaining environments to advance the mission of the University. Each one of them is welcome and invited to use the new facilities created with them in mind.