Redfern Celebrates Blue-Collar Women During Welding Month

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Redfern Celebrates Women Welders Everywhere

It’s fantastic to speak with a talented woman, Emilee Walker, during welding month, which take place during the month of April every year! It’s clear that the welding industry, traditionally male-dominated, is experiencing a significant and exciting shift. We’re seeing a real upswing in the number of women welders – in fact, between 2016 and 2019, their numbers surged by an impressive 30%. While women currently make up a small percentage of the total welding workforce, this upward trend suggests a fundamental change in the industry’s landscape.

This isn’t just a fleeting moment. More women should consider welding as a viable and rewarding career path. Beyond the increasing demand for skilled tradespeople, which creates ample opportunities, welding offers potentially strong financial incentives and engaging, hands-on work where women are proving to excel.

Interestingly, women also bring some distinct advantages to the welding profession. For tasks requiring meticulous precision, it’s been observed that women often possess a steadier hand. Furthermore, when it comes to working at heights, a crucial aspect of some welding jobs, women tend to have a lower longitudinal center of gravity, contributing to superior balance and stability. This innate physical advantage, coupled with their potential for agility, can make women exceptionally well-suited for various welding applications. It’s an exciting time to be a woman in welding, and I’m eager to hear your experiences and insights!

Interview With Emilee on her Welding Journey:

Emilee welds wearing her Redfern patch

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Emilee (EMU), can you please introduce yourself and state your profession and where you work?

I’m Emilee. I’m a welder by trade and I work for RJ Smith Companies.

When did you start welding? And was it something you always knew you were going to do?

I started welding about two and a half years ago, and I started out at the shipyard in Newport News, where they have a school, and then eventually I left there because of traveling and stuff, and found the job where I’m now. No, I did not always want to be a welder. I kind of just woke up one morning was like, I’m gonna do this is seems cool. And I pursued it, and I’m actually good at it.

Was there any role model for you to get into it?

I didn’t have any role models. I woke up one day and thought like, hey, this would be cool to do, and it turned out I was pretty good at it.

When you first got into welding: was there any disparity between how they treated you versus how they treated a man?

Yeah, there was actually a lot. Men definitely get more attention than a female does. A lot of people in this work don’t think females should be working in a “man’s field.” So I’ve had my fair share of struggles with that, but can also learn to deal with it and I came out on top of it.

Is there something that you would say that a woman’s better at with welding versus a man?

Women seem to be more clear minded when it comes to welding, being able to focus more attention to detail, steady hands, stuff like that. In my opinion. Women can be more creative when it comes to fabricating, too.

Walk us through a day of life as a welder.

I can make anything really. Some days I’ll build a set of Skid Steer forks for skid steers on the jobs. I’ve redone excavator buckets; I’ve totally rebuilt them. I’ve built snow plows for snow trucks for. I’ve welded aluminum stuff; I’ve welded stainless steel things. There’s a lot I’ve done.

Welders are essential workers, the backbone of the economy; they literally keep things together.

What would you want to tell someone why it’s important to celebrate welding month?

It’s important because, without welders, we wouldn’t have, you know, buildings or roller coasters or, you know, pipes and stuff to build weapons for military and stuff like that. Think of car parts and stuff like that. You wouldn’t have your vehicles and so much more,

What’s your relationship with Redfern and what’s your favorite Redfern product? Also, please tell us how it helps you, especially being a welder.

I’ve been associate with Redfern for three years now. I started out working on the farm, with the cows and plants, and then gradually went towards learning everything in the Redfern Market. So I’m a little versatile. I help out during the concert seasons too (Atlantic Union After Hours). My favorite Redfern product is the THC Body Butter. Welding will definitely dry out your hands. So I use it for that.

And, if you’re a welder, you know that you can get flash burn all over you. So I definitely use it for that as well.

What is flash burn?

Flash burn is like a UV burn. Sometimes you can’t wear, like, your long sleeve shirt because it’s too hot in the shop. I get it on my arms sometimes. It’s like a sunburn from welding.

Is there anything else you want people to know about your profession during welding month?

If you’re interested in welding, go for it. The worst that can happen is, you know, you learn something, but you can also use it in life. If you don’t make it as a welder, you can always learn something new.

Last question. Is there any advice, particularly for women, that you would like to share?

If you want to join a blue collar field, I say: go for it. Ignore the nay-sayers and focus on what you’re doing at any given moment. And always keep the fire inside to always improve.

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