A GLAM electrician has swapped her high heels for overalls to become a sparky like her dad – and loves proving sexist blokes wrong who underestimate her.
Dione Gibson, 22, had always dreamed of studying English Literature at University of Glasgow after leaving school.
Dione Gibson is a glam electrician from Glasgow[/caption]
Dione swaps he heels for overalls and tools in her day job[/caption]
The 22-year-old was inspired to follow in her dad’s footsteps[/caption]
But fears over student debt prompted her to set her sights on a very different career path instead.
Dione said she felt inspired to follow in her dad’s footsteps and study to become an electrician at college.
The tradeswoman, who lives in Glasgow, started the course at 17 – and was the only female working on-site in a company of 100 people when she first began her apprenticeship.
After four years, she is now a qualified sparky – but admits she has faced some backlash working in a male-dominated industry.
On her first day of college, Dione revealed a staff member pointed her in the direction of the hair and beauty building after she walked into her construction lecture.
And she said male customers constantly underestimate her – enquiring about her background and following her around on jobs to ensure she can carry out the work correctly.
But Dione said she’s “thick-skinned” and enjoys proving critics wrong, demonstrating that anyone can work as an electrician if they work hard.
She said: “When I would stay at my dad’s on a weekend and he got called out to a job, I would get dragged along because there was no one else to watch me.
“I wasn’t really interested. I liked the idea of solving something that was an emergency. But like many people, I thought this sort of job wasn’t for girls.
“Then when I got all my offers for university, I was looking into it and thought about all the debt I’d be in.
“I said to my dad maybe I’ll be a sparky like you and he got me into work experience to try and put me off and I’ve been there ever since.
“I was really worried at first if I’d made the right decision. I thought you’d just finish school and go to university but I absolutely loved the job.
“My whole apprenticeship, I was more commercial-based, attending around four or five jobs a day, going to pubs, bars, restaurants, places like that.”
After a four-year apprenticeship, Dione is now a qualified electrician but admits she has faced a considerable amount of backlash since entering the industry.
“Comments really don’t bother me. To be in this industry and be a woman, you need to be thick-skinned”, she said.
“You get a lot of double looks. Male managers when you go to jobs often want to follow you to make sure you know what you’re doing.
“On-site you get a lot of comments from other tradies giggling amongst themselves. I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’m a lesbian. People instantly assume that’s what I am.”
But she added: “I’m definitely quite glam. I still enjoy getting dressed up and going out on the weekends.
“I’ve had people say you’re too pretty for this job. I miss being able to dress up so enjoy doing that at the weekends.
“It gets to me sometimes that people don’t take me as seriously because I’m a woman. One time I had someone phone us about an issue and when he found out it was me going to the job, he asked about my background.
“It’s just sad really that people are so closed-minded. A lot of women want to get into the industry but don’t know how. I was lucky I had my dad.”
Now, Dione wants to encourage other women to consider a job in a male-dominated trade.
She insisted: “It’s satisfying when people underestimate you because you’re a woman and you can prove them wrong.
“It doesn’t matter what you look like and what gender you are, if you’re good at your job, that’s what matters. It’s not just a man’s job. Anyone can do it.”
