Plasterer and self-proclaimed ‘girly girl’ says she’s been told she’s ‘too pretty’ to be a tradesperson and needs to work harder than her male colleagues to earn the respect of customers
- Melissa Borsellino, 27, from Hudson, felt overwhelmed working as a bar manager
- Decided to learn the plastering trade from her father, who worked for 40 years
- She said her glamorous appearance has caused confusion while she is on site
- Added: ‘It can be patronising…I am yet to meet another woman in the industry’
A self-proclaimed ‘girly-girl’ has revealed she has been told she is ‘too pretty’ for her job as a plasterer – and said she has never met another woman working in the trade.
Melissa Borsellino, 27, from Hudson, previously worked as a bar manager until she developed anxiety and began to feel overwhelmed by the crowds.
Instead, she decided to follow into her father’s industry of plastering, learning the ropes and walking onto building sites full of men.
She said her glamorous appearance has caused confusion while working on site, adding: ‘I am yet to meet another woman in the industry…I understand it is unusual seeing a girl turn up with 24-inch hair extensions and false nails, but I have learnt to ignore the shocked faces.’
Melissa Borsellino, 27, from Hudson, has revealed she has been told she is ‘too pretty’ for her job as a plasterer – and said she has never met another woman working in the trade
She decided to follow into her father’s industry of plastering, learning the ropes and walking onto building sites full of men (left and right, at work)
The 27-year-old previously worked as a bar manager until she developed anxiety and began to feel overwhelmed by the crowds
She said: ‘I needed to leave the hospitality industry because it was making me anxious but I am dyslexia, so my options were limited as I struggle with computers.’
‘I thought ‘what can I do to earn a decent income like a bloke?’
She decided to jack in the job and push herself out of her comfort zone by learning a trade.
She said: ‘Then I had a light bulb moment and asked my dad Tony, 56, to let me work with him as he has been plastering for 40 years.
The plasterer and self-confessed girly girl said her glamorous appearance has caused confusion while working on site (left and right)
The former hospitality worker decided to jack in the job and push herself out of her comfort zone by learning a trade
‘He was sceptical as I am a girly girl, so I had to prove myself.
‘I did this by painting his shed which has nothing to do with plastering, but I just wanted him to show I am up for manual labour and don’t mind getting mucky.
‘The transition from bar manager to plasterer hasn’t been easy.
‘I couldn’t even lift a bag of materials when I first started so I joined the gym and within weeks I was flinging it over my shoulder.’
Now, three years on, Melissa can be seen plastering walls wearing overalls and steel cap boots along with hair and eyelash extensions along with fake nails.
It isn’t just the physical tasks in the job, Melissa had to adjust too but the ‘undermining’ comments from others as well
It isn’t just the physical tasks, Melissa had to adjust too but the ‘undermining’ comments from others as well.
Her glamorous appearance has been known to cause confusion and doubts in the male dominantly industry and she has even been told she is ‘too pretty’ to be a plasterer.
But the determined young woman has made it her mission to prove it isn’t a man’s world and encourages other women to do the same.
She said: ‘There’s nothing more daunting than having to work on a construction site with just men.
Her glamorous appearance has been known to cause confusion and doubts in the male dominantly industry and she has even been told she is ‘too pretty’ to be a plasterer
‘It can be patronising, but I have learnt to shake it off.
‘I have been told I am ‘too pretty’ to be in this profession, but I didn’t realise there was a certain look for it.
‘Some people assume I am a cleaner or labourer, I used to correct them but now I let my work do the talking.
‘I have had to earn my respect from other tradesmen or male customers but I am getting better by the day so I can take the banter on the chin.’
But the determined young woman has made it her mission to prove it isn’t a man’s world and encourages other women to do the same
When dolled up, Melissa says strangers are in disbelief when she reveals her job role and the only way, she can prove it is by showing the callus on her hands.
Working in construction has helped Melissa’s anxiety massively, she has learnt to conquer her fears by stepping completely out of her comfort zone.
She adds: ‘Work is fun, and I am always laughing and joking.
‘We spend the day singing to songs whilst working so it is home time before we know it.
Working in construction has helped Melissa’s anxiety massively, she has learnt to conquer her fears by stepping completely out of her comfort zone
She admitted that at different times in the profession, ‘times have been tough’ but she has now pushed forward and her work ‘does the talking’
‘Times have been tough, but I have pushed forward and now my work does the talking.
‘I hope my story inspires other women to become whatever they want to be.
‘It is a man’s world, but it doesn’t have to be.’
She added: ‘It doesn’t matter what others think about jobs that aren’t stereotypically for women.
‘The only thing that matters are being happy within the workplace and continuing to thrive.’
Meanwhile the glamorous plasterer said it ‘doesn’t matter what others think about jobs that aren’t stereotypically for women’ because
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