Woodworking has traditionally been seen as a male-dominated hobby and profession. However, more women and girls are discovering a passion for working with wood and joining empowering woodworking communities for women and girls. This article explores the many benefits of woodworking for women and girls and provides tips for overcoming barriers to entry and creating inclusive spaces that encourage participation.
| Key Takeaway | Summary |
|---|---|
| Benefits of Woodworking | Boosts self-confidence, creativity, stress relief, sense of capability; Provides an outlet for innovation and self-expression |
| Barriers to Entry | Intimidating environments, lack of visible female role models, minimal marketing towards women, perception of woodworking as unfeminine |
| Creating Inclusive Communities | Host women-only classes and events; Spotlight women instructors; Use explicitly inclusive language and images; Offer childcare access |
| Teaching Beginners | Prioritize safety training; Cover basic tools/techniques; Suggest starter projects; Troubleshoot common issues |
| Marketing Considerations | Lead with creativity messaging; Showcase diversity; Promote female designers/leaders; Convey welcoming environment; Develop custom tools for women |
Benefits of Woodworking for Women and Girls
Woodworking offers many positives for women and girls beyond simply learning practical construction skills. Participating in woodworking can provide a boost of:
- Self-Confidence. Learning to safely use power tools and master complex builds gives a great sense of capability and achievement.
- Creativity. Woodworking provides an outlet for innovation, customization, and self-expression.
- Stress Relief. The focus and patience needed for woodworking can lower anxiety levels.
- Connection. Joining a community around a common interest provides camaraderie.
Women like April Wilkerson, who runs a popular YouTube woodworking channel, and Ana White, known for her free project plans, demonstrate how woodworking can be empowering. They have built confidence through acquiring new skills and share their passion by leading and inspiring others.
For many women, discovering woodworking later in life opens up new possibilities for creativity, purpose, and leaving a legacy. The sense of capability that comes from successfully completing complex projects can positively impact other areas of life as well.
Woodworking as Stress Relief
The focused hands-on nature of woodworking has been found to lower stress and anxiety levels. Planning cuts, jointing edges, smoothing surfaces – all of these tasks require close attention to detail in the present moment. This mindful focus combined with the satisfaction of learning new skills is the perfect mental escape.
Barriers to Entry
While woodworking participation is growing among women, barriers still remain that prevent more significant involvement. Some of the main obstacles include:
- Intimidating Environment. The woodworking section of stores, media representations, and general messaging have traditionally focused on men. This can make women feel out of place when first starting out.
- Lack of Visible Role Models. With fewer female woodworkers highlighted, it can be hard for girls and women to imagine themselves participating.
- Minimal Marketing. Many brands targeting the hobby do not focus advertising or retail placement specifically towards women.
- Perception of Woodworking as Unfeminine. Outdated gender stereotypes wrongly reinforce the idea that woodworking is solely a male hobby.
Here are some proven tips for overcoming these barriers:
- Seek out women-focused woodworking communities online or locally to find a safe space to learn among peers. For example, finding a woodworking community specifically for women beginners provides needed support.
- Follow prominent women woodworkers online and watch YouTube channels hosted by women to find inspiration and visible mentors. Spotlighting more diverse woodworking role models helps shift perceptions.
Creating Empowering Communities
For women and girls to fully engage with woodworking requires purposeful effort from community leaders. Some best practices for creating empowering participation include:
- Host women-only classes and workshops to provide a comfortable environment for gaining hands-on skills without feeling intimidated or self-conscious.
- Spotlight women instructors and woodworking professionals as much as possible to increase visible mentors/leaders that participants can relate to.
- Use explicitly inclusive language in all messaging, websites, and communications channels. Make sure photos also showcase diversity.
- Offer childcare access for events and classes. Providing kids programming alongside workshops removes a significant barrier to participation for mothers.
- Highlight women’s woodworking groups that exemplify empowering and supportive communities. Raise up their examples and successes to inspire more chapters and affiliations.
For example, the Women’s Woodshop in Los Angeles provides workspace access for women while also offering beginner classes, tool certification courses, and woodworking skills camps for girls. Promoting groups like this for aspiring female woodworkers showcases possibility and expands perceptions around who can participate in woodworking.
Tips for Building Inclusive Woodworking Communities
Here are some additional tips for leaders seeking to build more inclusion:
- Make sure messaging uses gender-inclusive language like “woodworkers” instead of “woodworking men.”
- Spotlight and interview women from your community on your website, blog, and social channels.
- Offer “bring a friend” days to encourage beginners to visit your space.
- Share success stories of women and girls within your community. These role model spotlights can motivate others that woodworking is a hobby for everyone.
Teaching Woodworking Skills to Beginners
Creating safe, open, and understanding learning environments helps lower barriers for women and girls starting out in woodworking. Consider the following approaches for successfully teaching new woodworkers:
Woodworking Safety
Ensure safety training comes first before allowing hands-on access. Important topics to cover include:
- Proper handling and respect for power tools
- Correct use of guards and switches
- Understanding kickback and binding dangers with saws
- Safety gear overview (eye/ear/lung protection)
- First aid and emergency procedures
Reinforce that asking questions and requesting assistance is expected and welcomed. Rushing is the enemy of safe procedure.
Intro to Tools and Techniques
Provide an orientation to essential woodworking tools like:
- Saws (miter, circular, jig)
- Sanders (orbital, belt, etc.)
- Drills and drivers
- Hammers and mallets
- Clamps
- Chisels and planes
Demonstrate proper handling, adjustments, remembering “unplugged before adjusted.” Review use cases and techniques for each tool. Again emphasize assistance requests expected from beginners.
Project Ideas for Beginners
Great starter projects to build confidence include:
Use photos of women successfully completing beginner-friendly builds to inspire capability and possibility.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Issues like uneven cuts, cracking wood, or tools not fitting flush are completely normal as part of the learning process. Cover techniques for correcting:
- Improper blade angles – use combination squares and straight edge to check
- Wood not cutting flush – adjust fence alignment/depth stop
- Sanding swirl marks – step down grits and sand evenly
- Rushing process steps – remind about patience and focus
Make clear that perfection is not expected early on. Growth comes through problem-solving together.
Marketing to Women and Girls
Much opportunity exists for expanding woodworking market visibility towards women and girls. Some best practices for brands and retailers targeting this audience include:
- Lead with creativity messaging – Emphasize artistic possibility over manual labor.
- Showcase diversity – Use photos and videos that authentically represent women woodworkers.
- Promote female designers/leaders – Incorporate inspirational quotes and advice from women.
- Convey welcoming environment – Make inclusive messaging obvious throughout.
- Offer custom tools – Develop and carry products tailored for smaller hands.
An example of a woman-focused woodworking business doing this well is Annie’s Craft Store. They sell beginner kits catered to crafting interests common among women while also spotlighting and interviewing female designers regularly.
Marketing Via Social Channels
Here are some additional digital marketing tips for engaging women in woodworking:
- Create video tutorials on TikTok and YouTube starring women teachers
- Develop an Instagram presence that spotlights diversity using relevant hashtags
- Sponsor relevant bloggers, email newsletters, and podcasts with predominately women audiences
- Run Facebook/Pinterest ad campaigns focused on creative hobbies and DIY
The goal is to ensure messaging and imaging makes it obvious to female audiences that woodworking is a hobby for women too. Representation matters not just during Women’s History Month but all year long.
Conclusion
The growth in woodworking popularity presents an opportunity to meaningfully expand participation among women and girls. As highlighted in this article, there are many benefits ranging from mental health to hands-on capabilities that come from developing woodworking skills.
By taking purposeful steps to reduce barriers to entry, teach beginners the fundamentals, and shift restrictive perceptions, even more women could discover a passion in this creative hobby and community. Leaders play a key role in directly addressing assumptions and making space more visibly open and accessible. Each effort to spotlight, support and celebrate women woodworkers moves the needle forward.
There are so many possibilities yet to be created – new makers with inspiring stories still waiting to be told. Let’s inspire young girls and encourage women of all ages to picture themselves as capable woodworkers! The first step begins with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need prior building experience to start woodworking as a woman?
A: Absolutely not! Beyond enthusiasm, no prior skills are required. All woodworkers start as beginners learning fundamentals. Joining a women’s community will provide you the support needed.
Q: Where can women go to learn woodworking in a comfortable environment?
A: Great places to start locally include woodworking stores offering women’s classes, community centers, makerspaces with women’s nights, even public libraries. There are also wonderful online learning resources like websites, YouTube channels, forums, and Facebook groups specifically for women in woodworking that allow you to learn remotely in privacy.
Q: What safety gear will I need starting out?
A: At minimum you’ll want eye protection like shop glasses, breathing protection like N95 masks, ear muffs or plugs for noise, closed toe shoes, hair ties for long hair, and gloves. Some communities offer starter safety packages with all these items included and more for one price. Ask what’s recommended for the tools you’ll be using.
Q: What basic tools should I invest in first as a beginner?
A: Start with just essential hand tools (hammer, tape measure, chisels, sandpaper, handsaw, screwdrivers) and perhaps a power drill or small scroll saw. Building these core skills first before adding more advanced power tools ensures you progress safely while building capability confidence. Many communities also have shared shop access for trying different tools before purchasing.
Q: Is woodworking equally viable as a profession for women?
A: Absolutely! While historically underrepresented, nothing is barring women from succeeding equally as woodworkers. In fact, the unique perspectives women bring enhances the field. Prominent women-run woodworking businesses are pioneering everyday. With passion and grit, women can rise to renown as artists, carpenters, cabinet builders or even entrepreneurs.
Q: What are your best tips for girls and women starting woodworking?
A: First, find community for camaraderie, advice, and growth in your abilities. Then be patient with yourself as a lifelong learner. Set reasonable goals and build skills progressively through purposeful practice. Invest time envisioning what you wish to create, break projects into smaller milestones, and don’t be afraid to fail forward. With focus and perseverance, you’ll continue gaining confidence in your woodworking!
Further Reading
To learn more, explore these valuable resources: