91视频

A group of middle school girls was asked to write down as much as possible to answer the question: 鈥淲hat do women in construction do?鈥�

In going through the answers, instructors at the in Portland were struck by responses that revealed no real understanding of construction whatsoever. In fact, one reply said simply, 鈥淭hey construct things.鈥�

Instructor Leah Chubb said that some of the girls were genuinely unaware of construction practices. Many young girls are not exposed to the trades, but the camp aims to change that.

鈥淪ome of these girls have never touched a drill (and) never held a hammer,鈥� said Chubb, who was outfitted on Wednesday for an afternoon of welding at the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute. 鈥淏ut the construction culture is relatively good for women in Oregon 鈥� nationwide, women make up 3 percent of the trades, but here it’s closer to 6 percent.鈥�

In protective jackets, gloves and welding helmets, campers learned some welding basics from Bob Mitchell, a teacher at the PNCI, before pairing up and heading into the welding booths. Sparks flew as the girls tried their hands at steel fabrication.

The young women are part of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.’s fifth annual construction summer camp, which ends today. The camp had four free sessions this year 鈥� two in East Portland at Mount Hood Community College, and two in North Portland at the University of Portland. Each site hosted a group of high school girls for one week, and then a group from junior high schools.

The camps featured hands-on work in carpentry, tiling, painting and welding, and included field trips to the and several industry training centers.

鈥淚 like the camp because they teach me to do things my older brothers can’t do,鈥� said Nia Monroe, a student at the Portland Village School. Monroe’s older sister is a carpenter, and her father is a plumber. 鈥淭hey make construction look fun,鈥� she said.

Monroe and her fellow campers added finishing touches to sheds that the older girls had framed the previous week. One shed will be donated to Legacy Emanuel’s Behavioral Health Garden, another to Shaver Elementary School’s community garden.

Several other girls at the camp noted that they have family members in the trades. Belle Casta帽eda, set to enter eighth grade at Laurelhurst School, said her stepfather is a carpenter and that her interest in construction began by helping him around the house.

鈥淚’m used to using hammers, but most girls are like, 鈥極h, I don’t want to break a nail.’ So I’m glad the other girls here aren’t like that,鈥� she said.

But the experience would be different if boys were at the camp, according to Casta帽eda. 鈥淏oys would try to say that we don’t know how to use the tools,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey’d be like, 鈥業’ve already done this before 鈥� mine is perfect.’ 鈥�

Casta帽eda imagined walking into a shop where there were 鈥渁 bunch of guys drilling鈥� and using other tools and admitted that she would be intimidated. But she believes she and her peers will become more confident as they mature, and then the difference in numbers won’t matter as much.

The main goal of the camp is to empower the young women 鈥� to reveal how capable they already are, according to instructor Manda Clayton. 鈥淲e want to open them up to the trades and show them that these are fields that they can and should work in,鈥� she said.

At the PNCI, Mitchell surveyed the group before he demonstrated proper welding technique. 鈥淗ow many of you want to be welders someday?鈥� he asked. The group of about 15 girls looked around, but no one raised a hand or said a word.

Mitchell, who taught his granddaughter to weld when she was 8 years old, laughed. 鈥淲ell, no matter what you end up doing 鈥� whether you’re an architect, an engineer or a veterinarian 鈥� this will help you later on,鈥� he said.

Several of the middle school girls said they expected to pursue a different career, but would do construction work on the side 鈥� performing repairs instead of hiring a plumber or an electrician, and building shelves or tables instead of buying them.

Monroe already plans on adding construction projects to her to-do list. 鈥淚 sewed myself a baby doll, I do ballet (and) now I want to build a birdhouse,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd my mom wants me to build a shed. I could do it 鈥� with a little help, maybe.鈥�