Celebrating Women in the Trades Throughout New England

Gloria Gemma, our matriarch, inspires our company every day to celebrate women and their mark on the home services industry throughout Rhode Island & Massachusetts. So, for this National Women’s History Month, we thought it fitting to join the celebration by highlighting the women in our very own industry.

A History on Women in the Trades

It wasn’t until the 1930s, during World War II, that women in New England began to enter the field. While their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons were away at war, women filled their shoes at home. This paved the way for women to fill labor-intensive jobs traditionally filled by men, inspired by none other than the iconic Rosie the Riveter.

Since then, women have continued to pursue opportunities in construction to HVAC and everything in between. According to The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the number of women working in construction rose 17% between 2017 and 2018, the highest increase in over two decades. Now that’s something to celebrate!

At GEM, we strive to increase the number of women in skilled labor roles by encouraging women to start a career in skilled trades.

Women in the Trades at GEM in RI & MA

At GEM, we empower our female teammates to grow and succeed through every area of our company, from trades to business. In fact, our VP of Operations, Jenn D’Ambra, was named the April 2020 Woman in PHCP Spotlight.

We appreciate our tradeswomen

Our technicians are the backbone of our company, and we are grateful for each and every one of them. We both recognize and appreciate the hard work it takes for women to make it in our industry, an arena that’s largely dominated by men.

While there may be far fewer women in trades roles than there are men, we know that women are more than capable of being technicians — they stand shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. Overcoming the gender gap in our industry is part of the growth process, and GEM hopes to foster this change across the industry, beginning right here with our own team.

Pushing the Effort Forward

In honor and remembrance of Gloria, we support the movement towards gender equality in our industry. We stand with women as we celebrate this month, and hope to encourage women to pursue careers in the trades.

HOW WE PAY IT FORWARD

Our very own GEM Institute in greater Providence, RI provides training and career development programs for budding HVAC, electrical, and plumbing technicians. We invest in the success of our trainees, regardless of gender (or any other characteristic, for that matter). Learn more about the GEM Institute and our career opportunities.