Male Vs Female Decorators

I’ve been a Professional Decorator for over 20 years now, and I’ve been involved with The Decorators Forum UK since 2020. I wanted to take a few moments to talk about male Vs female Decorators.

I’m going to start by pointing out that I’m a male Decorator, so you may think I’m not qualified to talk about the industry from a female perspective, and you’re right. However, I am an industry geek, and I have employed both male and female Decorators. I also have both male and female decorators on my review team, so my experience must count for something, right?

Can Women be Decorators?

As I’ve already mentioned, I have worked with and continue to work with female Decorators. The way I see it, there are two aspects of our trade; The work can be physical, so a Painter and Decorator needs to be strong enough to cope with hard graft. The other aspect is “attention to detail”, which is much more important. Providing someone can cope with both things, I don’t think it matters whether a Decorator is male or female. And if you lack in one aspect, you can make up for it on the other.

Women seem to have more care and respect than men (very generally speaking based on my own experience). Being female can also be an advantage; the girls seem to be more trusted by clients in their homes, which is very important.

There were very few female Decorators 15 years ago. Now roughly 10% of Decorators in the UK are women. So, I find the question about whether women can be Decorators ridiculous really. It honestly doesn’t matter one way or another. I certainly don’t think women are in any way less equipped to be good Decorators than men are.

Sexism in the Decorating Industry

OK, this is something that I’m probably less qualified to answer than a female Decorator, but I can explain what I’ve seen. 10 years ago, sexism in the building industry (including decorating), was rife. I could see it everywhere, from the real world, to Facebook forums. I can remember a girl doing work experience with us on site, and all the other trades were whistling or shouting to her, or hounding me about her. It was strange; had these lads never seen a woman before?

There’s more as well. Some men we worked for had a slightly different attitude towards the women Decorators. Almost like they didn’t expect them to know what they were doing. It obviously wasn’t a conscious thing, but I have experienced men treating women Decorators differently to male Decorators. Just small things, like watching their work, asking them why they’re doing things in a certain way, or making suggestions (almost telling them how to do their job). Or walking into a room, ignoring a women Decorator, and asking the male Decorator how the job was progressing.

Now things seem a lot better. There’s a lot more acceptance of women in the industry. I’m sure sexism is still a thing, but it isn’t something that is as apparent now.

I hope I’ve given a fair assessment. You’d need to speak to a female Decorator and get her account.

Final Thoughts

Some of the best Decorators I know are women. Decorating isn’t just about pushing a brush around anymore. There’s a vast range of products and techniques to know about. There’s also the sales process, customer relations, being organised, being clean and tidy, marketing, the list goes on. Point to something on that list that men can do better than women, or vice versa.

Maybe it’s time to drop the male Vs female debate altogether. In the coming decades, the proportion of women in the industry will grow, so it may be male dominated now, but that won’t last.

FAQs

Are there noticeable differences in the work quality of male and female Painters and Decorators?

Not in the slightest. You should judge a Decorator on the individual’s ability. The question of whether they’re male or female honestly shouldn’t come into it.

Do male and female Decorators approach projects differently?

I think they probably do from what I’ve seen (speaking very generally). A female Decorator is more likely to talk colours and how a room is going to look after they’ve completed the work. This is a positive, because it gets the client excited about having the work done.

Is there a gender preference among clients when hiring Painters and Decorators?

The elderly, or single female clients tend to prefer female Decorators. The flip side of that is the misconceptions some men seem to have towards female Decorators.

Are female Painters and Decorators underrepresented in the industry?

No, absolutely not. I see a lot of female Decorators getting the accolades they deserve, whether it be Apprentice Decorator of the Year, or other awards. There are also a few female Decorators who are successful on social media, including Joanna Hey, Painting With Lily, Charlotte Decorator, and others.

Do male Painters and Decorators dominate certain types of projects?

There seems to be a higher proportion of male Painters and Decorators that work on building sites. This may be to do with how physical the work is.