My Experience with the Carpentry/Building Industry
I started Carpentry school in Australia in January 2024. It’s been a wild ride.
Carpentry has brought up some issues I was mildly aware of, but didn’t realise were so bothersome. Some of those feelings are:
-Ashamed of Being a Woman: Feeling inferior to men generally, noted especially in regards to physical strength. (Not sure if this true at this stage)
-Most Men Think I’m Trash: Believing that most men feel women are inferior and definitely don’t belong on a building site, or even in carpentry school. (Not sure if this true at this stage)
-Wanting Men’s approval through my work: Wanting to prove that even though I am a woman, and therefore inferior, I will work really, really hard for men to make up for my gender. (“I’m not so bad….for a woman”)
Year One
The first year of school was a mix of me being super pissed about having to feel the above feelings, fearing power tools, and wondering if I was an idiot for even trying to be a female carpenter. What was I thinking?
I shot myself with a framing gun (don’t worry, it wasn’t deep), angry cried in the campus bathroom several times, and generally felt frustrated. Those times I did have bathroom tantrums were a good choice. When I didn’t do that, and instead seethed in class, it must have been very unpleasant for my teacher and classmates.
The framing gun and I are on friendlier terms these days.
During that first year, I also had a placement (internship) with God’s Way (GW), Divine Truth’s (DT) non-profit arm, designed to put DT teachings into practice. GW provided an environment where I could talk openly about these feelings with my supervisors, which was really comforting. I felt safe there. I had tantrums there as well, but in the bush instead of a bathroom. My supervisor was mainly Corny, who was generous with his knowledge of building/carpentry, as well as spiritual matters.
On the Drill Press during my Placement for God’s Way!
Year Two
In early 2025, I started my 2nd year of carpentry and got a job with a local builder. I was no longer in the comfy bubble of GW. Right from the start at my new job, I got my ass kicked physically. I questioned if I had “what it took” to be in the building industry. However, I also felt more at ease due to the fact that with a year of experience under my belt, I was much less afraid of power tools and much more confident in my abilities. I started to see that I liked building. It’s honest work that provides an essential gift to people: a place to live! My boss was very experienced and knowledgeable and gave me lots of feedback, some of which echoed Corny’s.
Around the same time, I attended one of Jesus and Mary’s (Main teachers of Divine Truth) talks in Murgon, QLD. It was all about God, and putting him/her first in our lives. Jesus gave the attendees homework:
- List the feelings about God: What does God think of me and what do I think of God?
- Ask ourselves: how much do I want to feel the above feelings?
- Pray for the truth of what God’s feelings are and what God’s true personality really is.
I really hated this homework. Here were my initial answers:
- God is a bossy, distant man who doesn’t think much of me outside of wanting my adoration.
- I don’t want to feel these feelings at all.
- Ok, I’ll pray, but I don’t have high expectations
I did the homework, and it sucked, meaning it was very painful. I did end up feeling a little, which surprised me considering my answer to #2. But I realised that the way I feel men perceive me, especially in a male dominated environment like a carpentry school or a job, closely resembles how I think God feels about me. So, my attraction to the carpentry trade is a perfect opportunity for me to sort out my issues with God. And it may seem obvious, but I realised that most of these feelings stem from my relationship with my Dad.
When I shared what I felt when doing my homework at another GW event, I found a lot of women related to what I said. My hope that in being transparent in my journey as a woman in a male-dominated industry, it may help other women and men in their own journeys with gender stuff.
Posing with the first Sawhorse I made at school.
From what I’ve heard, God doesn’t feel women are inferior to men nor does he feel that only men can be good carpenters. At this point, I don’t feel that is true. But I am growing faith that if I’m brave enough to keep going on this path, and even more importantly, feel whatever arises as I do so, I will have a chance to get to know how God really feels and what God is really like. As in, maybe God isn’t a bossy, distant egotistical man I’m desperate to get approval from. Maybe God loves me, not in spite of being a woman, but because he created me to be a woman and is happy and proud of that creation. Seeing God in this new way seems very far off to me at this point, but we shall see how I go.
PS: Jesus has recommended this Padgett message about the differences between the genders that I found helpful. I fell asleep the first time I read it, and I find it very confronting. So definitely worth a read!
