Corky's Painters, mother berlin taskher 'trading places'

TaskHer highlights construction's gender bias with drag

The 'Trade Places' campaign, created by Mother Berlin, addresses the fact that 39 per cent of tradeswomen are not taken seriously

By creative salon

11 April 2024

Online booking platform for tradeswomen TaskHer has partnered with Mother Berlin, in National Decorating Month, to help tackle the construction industry’s taboo: gender-based discrimination.

The construction industry has an issue with women. The average hourly rate for self-employed men is 43 per cent higher than women - meaning women have to work five more months each year to achieve parity. 39 per cent of tradeswomen aren’t taken seriously because of their gender, and almost one in 10 (9 per cent) had customers who will not let them work on a job when they find out they’re a woman. This is further amplified when considering the LGBTQIA+ community, with 60 per cent of LGBTQIA+ employees experiencing homophobic and derogatory terms at work.

TaskHer wants to help change these statistics with a new awareness-raising campaign. 'Trade Places' stars LGBTQIA+ decorating collective Corky’s Painters, who share their experiences of being tradeswomen in a male-dominated industry - all while being transformed into male counterparts via drag.

Drag is rooted in challenging and subverting society’s oppressive gender norms, making it the ideal artistic medium to shed light on the construction trade’s gender injustice. One of Corky's Painters is a decorator by day and a drag king by night, so the campaign was a nod to their authentic experience in the drag community.

Anna Moynihan, Co-Founder, from TaskHer said: “We all have unconscious bias. Assuming everyone working in the trades are all men is such a hugely common one - even to people who are free thinkers in other areas. Our mission at TaskHer is to diversify the trades - because diversity improves everything, for everyone.

“This project speaks directly to our north star. Having Mother create content that shines a light on an industry that needs an update when it comes to equality felt like a great collaboration. The trades are an exciting, lucrative and flexible arena to work in, and there’s space for more people to benefit from that.”

With the burgeoning demand for nearly a million new tradespeople over the next decade, it has never been more important to raise awareness of the growing gender pay gap and help change it for the women considering joining the industry. TaskHer, the online platform for skilled and trusted tradeswomen, is launching a women’s painter and decorator directory for National Decorating Month to help more women in decorating get hired.

Creative Team Saph and Gabs, Mother Berlin added: “This idea came out of a conversation with the Corky’s Painters team — if you’re not male, in a male-dominated industry, barriers are literally everywhere. So we wanted to create something memorable that would help raise the profile of tradeswomen and help get them hired. Thankfully, the brilliant team at TaskHer shares our ambition to make positive change.”

The 'Trade Places' campaign will be live online and on social media. To view the photo series and watch the campaign film, head to www.taskher.co.uk/trade-places.

Amelie Schad, Managing Director at Mother Berlin said: “When Saph and Gabs shared their idea, we knew we had to make it happen. We’re firm believers in the power of creativity to address injustices wherever they may be.”