The evolution of the female technician experience

The marine technician role is a hard job that requires technical knowledge, stamina, and the ability to problem solve. Being a female marine technician presents some additional challenges, from not having consistent access to a women’s restroom to being discredited because of gender. Has the situation improved over the last decade?

Cindy Tufts, ABYC Master Technician at Town and Country Marine Services in the Virgin Islands, switched careers to join the marine industry after her youngest child started high school. “I was suffering burnout as a massage therapist when I started at IYRS School of Technology & Trades (Newport, Rhode Island) to become a marine technician, so I was excited to start my new career and take the first step in my new life dream,” said Tufts. She achieved her first ABYC Certification in 2012 and became an ABYC Master Technician in 2013.

However, even after graduating from IYRS with three ABYC certifications and “hitting the job search with confidence and enthusiasm,” Tufts experienced rejection after rejection, usually with the implication that it was because of her gender. The tipping point of this was her final technician interview.

“After what seemed like a positive conversation, he stood up, handed me my resume back and told me to come back after I had experience,” she said. “And he knew a woman was capable of doing the job. [If I were a male technician], I believe he would have taken the chance and given me an opportunity to gain experience with his company.” She eventually accepted a job cleaning boats with the promise of some technician work but had to continue to advocate for herself with the lead mechanic.

Now, more than a decade into her career, she remains confident in her abilities as a marine technician and has been working successfully as a tech for many years. She’s especially proud of her attention to detail, a quality that has repeatedly led to her being trusted with important projects. But her experience hasn’t been perfect.

“Sadly, I have encountered extremely few other female techs,” Tufts said. “I have been facing the belief that I don’t belong in this profession for over 12 years now. In some ways, the situation has improved, yet the archaic beliefs still affect me.”

Julia Briggs, an ABYC Master Marine Technician at Irish Boat Shop in Michigan, started her marine tech journey a few years after Tufts. She worked in other marine career jobs before officially starting technician work around 2018. While her interview experiences were primarily skills-based with no tangible gender bias, she has experienced shock from both clients and fellow technicians when she doesn’t fit their mental image of a marine technician.

She remembers back to her first few weeks at Irish Boat Shop: “[The other technicians] definitely didn’t treat me any differently when I first started, but there were comments after a couple weeks like, ‘we were so worried that you were going to be just useless because you’re a girl.’”

Irish Boat Shop remains a leader in the industry for training and employee engagement, and the team continues to view her the same as any male tech in the field. But Briggs admits that in regard to the industry as a whole, “there’s always that expectation when you come in that there’s a reason you’re hired and it’s not because you know what you’re doing; it’s because they needed to check a couple boxes.”

She brings some special skills to the table as a female tech like “yacht yoga,” or the ability to fit into smaller spaces to make repairs that many male techs can’t access. She also frequently helps with training, thanks to her patience and understanding that new techs can’t be expected to excel at tasks they’ve never done before.

“I try to give people more slack than I was ever given,” she said. She got over her fear of asking for help after realizing that others may know exactly how to help, and if they don’t, a problem can create an opportunity for collaboration.

So, what are women facing now in the industry? Mia Jackson, a recent graduate from The Landing School in Maine (where she was the only female student in her class), is new to the marine industry. She has begun interviewing for technician jobs, and reports that they’ve been purely skills-based, especially interested in her experience, ABYC certifications, and the results of her final project from TLS.

During one of her first projects, Jackson got an indication that her experience would be different from her peers. While disassembling an engine, she realized she would be facing strength issues. “The guys around me didn’t seem to have trouble lifting things, but I struggled,” she said. “It made me aware of the physical challenges I might face, but it also pushed me to find smarter ways to work through them.”

Her classmates didn’t use this as an opportunity to single her out; instead, they offered an inviting community, often spending time together outside of the classroom. “Everyone was always invited. Being included like that made me feel seen and valued,” Jackson said.

When asked about her expectations for her first technician job, her answer had nothing to do with how she might feel being the only female tech in the yard. “I’d love to have a ‘home base.’ My own toolbox, my tools, maybe even a barstool,” she said. “Somewhere I can take pride in and work comfortably from.”

This isn’t to say that female technicians have now broken every barrier, but it’s encouraging to see the shift in a female technician’s focus when asked about her expectations within the field.

“It will always be challenging, but the types of challenges change as you learn and gain experience,” Tufts said, addressing what she wishes someone would have told her on her first day as a marine tech.

“Don’t stress so much,” Briggs added. “We’re helping people have fun.”

Does the broader marine industry still have progress to make? Absolutely. And on a day sooner than we think, we’ll have enough women in the yards that we won’t need to single them out as outstanding female techs – they’ll just be outstanding techs.