NYCHA Plumber Organizes Workshops for Girls

“Jobs don’t have genders,” says Judaline Cassidy, who first picked up plumbing tools 25 years ago and has been working in the industry ever since. Five years ago, she founded Tools and Tiaras, a non-profit committed to advancing the participation of females in traditionally male-dominated industries such as electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and auto mechanic trades. In her efforts to get more girls interested in these trades, Ms. Cassidy’s organization hosts a one-week summer camp and monthly workshops throughout the year that teach girls through hands-on projects in construction.

“Only 3.9 percent of U.S. construction workers are women,” said Ms. Cassidy. “For years now, I would be the only woman on a construction site. Women were coming, but they were not staying – they were not comfortable with the male-dominated workspace. They weren’t getting the same opportunities as men. So I decided, what if I train young girls to learn the trade and get used to being a minority in the industry? Young girls don’t have the hesitation. I figured if I work with them, they’ll feel empowered. That’s what the camp is about.”  

Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Cassidy wanted to study law but didn’t have the financial means to pursue her dream after losing her great-grandmother – her only guardian. 

“The trades were the next best option for me,” said Ms. Cassidy. “I had a choice of plumbing or electrical, and I thought to myself: in plumbing you can get wet, in electrical you can get shocked, so I chose to plumb.” 

After getting married and moving to the United States, Ms. Cassidy worked as a housekeeper and personal shopper before becoming a full-time plumber. After more than two decades of plumbing work experience, Ms. Cassidy decided to begin teaching girls and women about plumbing through her monthly workshops and summer camp, which is located in Jamaica, Queens. This year, 12 girls from all over the city participated in the summer camp. 

“The parents of the enrolled girls say they wish they had a similar workshop when they were younger. The girls light up when they realize they can use a wrench, they can fit a pipe,” explained Ms. Cassidy. “We expose them to different careers in the construction industry because we believe that girls can do anything, and we aim to help girls learn trade skills by exposing, inspiring, and mentoring them to excel in these areas. We want women and girls to shatter the stereotypes about the jobs.”

All the instructors at Tools and Tiaras are women working in various male-dominated industries. They’re there not only to teach but also to inspire the participants.

“One of our T&T girls, the daughter of immigrant parents, decided to study engineering after attending our workshops,” said Ms. Cassidy. “Another girl, who we introduced to female pilots from JetBlue during our workshop, is in Aviation High School now. They see that they can take unconventional roles and they go for it.”