Two or three years ago, (female) CB member abbyt wrote an article for
Protocol magazine stating (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here because I cannot find the article) that becoming an ETCP-Certified technician has helped her to overcome the, alleged, perception that stagehands should be male.
The Abby in question would be me. There's definitely male preference in the industry. (But- that is certainly not isolated to the entertainment industry, in my opinion.)
I guess, in my experience, I feel like men are frequently assumed capable of doing the job until proven otherwise...and women, on the other
hand, are frequently assumed incapable or *almost* capable until proven otherwise. I've found that as the years have gone on and I've moved up in my career, I don't get that attitude as often as I used to. I'm not sure if my "give a darn" is busted, or if it's a sign of different times. I have found it easier as time goes by that the more letters behind my name and certificates on the wall, the smoother things tend to go in these regards.
As Derek alluded to above, the
ETCP Certification has certainly helped me come into some situations on more equal footing.
I do think the original poster should have a conversation about this and
point out the "perceived" gender
bias. If education solves the problem, there's no need to escalate it further, in my opinion. Often, ignorance is curable with the right information and the right tone in which that info is presented.
-Abby
