Female joiner claims ‘sexist pig’ construction bosses offered her receptionist job because she is a woman

A female joiner claims 'sexist pigs' at a construction firm offered her a receptionist job after realising she was a woman at her interview - now she's a self-employed success. Charlie Dawe believes bosses at the company in Warrington, Cheshire, mistook her name to mean she was male and so were 'immediately not interested' once she turned up for the meeting.

The 24-year-old says the interviewers didn't ask any questions about her joinery college qualification or builders' merchants experience, later offering her a receptionist job instead of the job of 'joiner' she had applied for. Charlie says she told them to 'stuff the offer' but it left her questioning if there was 'any point' applying for other roles in her dream vocation.

The 'upset' tradie felt the interview, in early 2020, was 'sexist' and suspects men's attitudes to women in trades was the reason she also wasn't offered an apprenticeship during her three years at college, despite her passing all her modules.

Charlie said: "It made me think the world is full of sexist pigs so what's the point in me trying to look for jobs? I'd done three years at college to be a joiner not to sit at the desk and answer the phone and emails.

"When I got to the interview they looked confused and didn't know why I was there so I explained I was there for an interview to be a joiner. They weren't interested in my qualifications and I got the impression immediately that they weren't interested in me.

A couple of weeks later they called to tell Charlie they had a receptionist job for her which she declined. She said: "My bubble burst and it upset me but I tried not to let it affect me because that's just one person and there's plenty of other people out there. It was sexist for them to think I'm more suited to that than what I'm qualified for."

She accepted her joinery qualification would 'probably go to waste' but things changed when she became a computer technician and realised she didn't suit the role. In October she set up The Handywoman and she's now a successful full-time joiner, working in her dream trade and helping with odd jobs.

Charlie, whose interest in DIY stems from helping her dad as a child, worked at builders' merchants while at college and for a few years after leaving in 2019. She now takes on jobs in Warrington and says she's booked up for the whole month, and much of next month, and is struggling to keep up with the volume of requests for her work.

Charlie said: "I stuck it out at the builders' merchants due to it not being stable to work on my own but in the end I just said 'I'm going to have to go for it'. When I first set things up it was nice and steady but now I'm booked up for this month and booked up for most of next month."

Charlie believes the company who offered her the receptionist role have since gone out of business.