A WIRRAL woman has spoken of her experience encountering sexism and prejudice during her 35 years in the industry working as an electrician.
Lisa Marie Evans, the owner of G Evans Electrical, started out as a six-year-old helping her grandad Gerry, who founded G Evans Electrical in 1983.
She enjoyed helping her grandad that much, she’d often bunk off school to do jobs for him, and by the time she was 16, she could re-wire a whole house.
Lisa told the Globe: “My grandad Gerry was a legend and everyone knew him.
“He did all the small local domestic jobs but also had big clients such as Unilever.
“No matter who he worked for he was always happy and gave great service with a smile.
“He was a proper grafter who worked until he was 75 and I learned a lot from him as both an electrician and a person.”
Lisa went on to score the highest mark possible in her electrical qualifications and, after working for her grandad, Lisa went to work for the Council in a team of more than 1,000 men.
It was there that she encountered sexism for the first time.
Lisa said: “As a female electrician I’ve encountered it all from turning up at people’s houses and having men refusing the work to having builders patronise me and even try to rip me off.
“I’ve even had domestic clients turning me away from home visits.”
Lisa went on to work for a building company and took some time out to raise her son Kyle, meanwhile, her grandad was forced to retire and closed G Evans Electrical.
Seeing how disappointed he was and knowing how much he wanted her to take over the family business, in 2010 Lisa took the helm and built G Evans Electrical up again from scratch.
Lisa said: “It was always my grandad’s dream for me to take on the business after working so hard and teaching me all I know.
“It was hard starting over again but the family business was built on a great reputation so people and businesses soon started booking in jobs.”
Lisa bought a work van, put a sticker of her grandad, Gerry, on it, and hired her brother Sean as her second in command.
Gerry sadly passed away in 2012 but in his memory, Lisa and Sean have been running the business successfully.
Despite this success, Lisa has still had to fight against sexism.
Lisa said: “Most people love the novelty of a female electrician. I’m very friendly and enjoy cups of tea with my clients — I’ve even been invited to their weddings.
“I don’t mind banter and always have a laugh but I still come across people who don’t trust I’ll do a good job, patronise me, and also people who try to take advantage.”
She added: “One recent example was a builder who tried to commission me to do a dodgy job with not enough sockets in the building and no fire alarm.
“He acted very differently when he spoke with my brother. Some people think you’re soft if you’re a woman, but I can sense the dodgy people a mile off and can tell which ones are likely to try to rip me off.”
G Evans Electrical is soon to celebrate its 40th anniversary, with Lisa at the helm for the past 12 years.
Lisa said: “My grandad Gerry taught me a lot, both as a person and an electrician, and I am so proud to continue the family business in his name.
“I’d also like to show other women that you can be successful in a man’s industry — just work hard, be great at what you do and always give as good as you get.
“Be nice and provide great service but don’t take any sh*t.”
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