it's a man's world...or is it?
by sandi tomlin-sutker

When you think of hardware stores or home repair warehouses, bet you think of a mostly male domain of contractors and “honey do” weekend shoppers.

Well, you’d be wrong. Much has changed in the do-it-yourself world, and at least some of the credit goes to a woman I’ll call Edie (not her real name). Edie has worked for the past six years in a local home repair/hardware store (that also will remain nameless due to corporate policy). After working for some years in the plumbing department, she is now head of three departments that include flooring and appliances.

I got to know Edie through my friend Sandy McCall, author of the WNC Woman column Mother of Invention. She is constantly working on new home remodeling projects and was more than delighted to find a woman at the helm in several areas of the store where she usually shops. No more snide comments when she needed help with a plumbing job, or condescending comments about where was the “man of the house” when she needed him!

At first glance, Edie is a petite, feminine woman, even in her blue jeans. And she is a strong, hard-working woman who is also knowledgeable and resourceful. And best of all she is aware that many women, even though they are taking on more and more home repair tasks, are intimidated by their own lack of experience. She is willing to help customers think through a process, to help them get the relevant information-and she’s there to encourage them if they encounter problems. And she requires that same level of support from the employees she supervises, several of whom are men.
I met with Edie to talk about the experiences and influences that brought her to this unusual career. “My most important influences were my Dad and my Mom…and Christopher Lowell! My dad was the earliest influence. He just naturally took care of things around the house, we lived in the country and he fixed things instead of replacing them.

“Then when my Dad was injured and unable to work, my Mom had to take over. There was little money so, again, she had to repair rather than replace. Even today, at age 84, she does a lot of things around her house. And if the young men who mow her lawn don’t do a satisfactory job, well, she goes out, starts the mower and shows them how it should be done!”

What’s the influence of Lowell, I ask? “When my Dad died I was depressed for months and watched a lot of TV. Lowell said, over and over on his show, ‘You can do it.’ My daughter worked in a bookstore where Lowell did a book signing (Seven Layers of Design) and in my book he wrote: “Edie, you can do it!” He made everything look simple. I learned that everything has a progression, things connect…you just have to understand that and you have to try.”

Then, in the way life often goes, when Edie was six months pregnant her husband went to Florida for a new job. And, as life often goes, immediately the sump pump in their basement broke. She didn’t know any neighbors to call on and her husband was in Florida; so she fixed the pump with the method she’d seen her Dad use as a first resort: smack it with a big wrench! That worked…and when the furnace quit or the well pump stopped, she learned ways to get them going again. Necessity truly was the Mother of Invention, and if she couldn’t fix things, she found out whom to call, whom to ask for help.

Then six years ago, with the youngest of her kids (2 sons, 1 daughter) past middle-school age, Edie was ready for a career change. She looked at the local hardware store and said to herself, “This is a male-dominated place I’d like to be!” She felt confident that she could hold her own—after all, from the age of three her brother had allowed her to “help” when he worked on his car, she was often around boys and men growing up who were always fixing things. And there was a strong counter experience from childhood: Edie was the youngest and often felt herself “in the way” as everyone else worked on projects, so part of her motivation today is proving herself.

Initially the store where she applied for a job was mainly hiring cashiers, but she wanted to work, and was hired, in receiving. She was 42 at the time, strong and ready to take on the job of lifting and moving things (and many of the men she encountered were ready to test her ability and willingness to tackle those heavy jobs by asking her to load something, walking away, then returning to see if she’d been able to do it.)
She proved herself in that department and soon afterward the store offered her a job in plumbing. The company realized that more and more women did their own repairs and they wanted those customers to feel comfortable shopping for supplies. The only problem Edie encountered there were the few men who simply would not ask her for help, instead waiting for a man to assist them.

I wondered what the cause of the increase in female do-it-yourselfers might be. “I think it’s a combination of things: there are more single women; the nature of households has changed; many sons (and grandsons) haven’t learned to do things around the house so Mom has to lead the way. And after all, the building or repair process is very much like the sewing process!

Then, once a woman feels the self-satisfaction, say, of laying a tile floor, she wants to do more. And those women really appreciate having someone like me to help them figure out how to get the job done…with patience for their inexperience and confidence in their ability.”

I imagine Edie had some difficult times, especially at the beginning, and ask her if she has gotten much negative response. “Yes, early on I’d have people ask for ‘someone who knows something’ or ‘a man who knows something’! My response was, ‘Well, I can get someone else or you can speak to the woman who runs the department’. At that point they usually backed down.

Also, at the beginning, some co-workers played practical jokes by calling and pretending to be a customer—again, testing me to see what I knew.”

But her philosophy is to get things done by setting the example and, thereby, earning respect. “I think today most people realize that how a person looks has little to do with their capabilities. My daughter, for instance, is a real girly-girl, high heel shoes and all, but she can easily advise her friends on plumbing issues!”

Finally, I wonder if Edie feels she is being paid what she’s worth and whether there’s room for women to move up in her industry. “My experience is that if you’re willing to earn it, and you’re willing to ask, they have no problem paying it. There are some women store managers in a few places already—it’s not easy to get there but it’s happening and there will be more.”

As we part, filled with good coffee and treats from Well-Bred Bakery, I think there really has been a turning point in opportunities for women in this formerly man’s world. There are still many inequities in the working world that must change: lower wages for women doing the same work as men, structural problems in pension plans that penalize women who move in and out of work due to family responsibilities, to name just two. But perhaps one tactic will be for women to make themselves indispensable to corporations such as Edie’s employer…indispensable because consumers vocally support those companies who offer real opportunities to women. It has been said that women make 80% of all purchasing decisions: we can begin asking for “a woman who knows something” when we shop and make our influence felt!

One anecdote Edie told me from her teen years speaks volumes: when she was 16 her dad and brother got her a 1968 Camaro, but wouldn’t let her have the keys until she could change the spark plugs and the oil. They told her: “You’re not going on a date without knowing how to take care of the car and of yourself.” Have confidence in yourself, know where to turn for help, and remember that You Can Do it!