In the 1960s and 1970s, actress Jane Withers portrayed the character, “Josephine the Plumber” in a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser. The character was so beloved and effective that the Los Angeles Times referred to Josephine the Plumber as “one of the longest-running continuing characters in TV.” Yet, women continue to be rarities in the field of plumbing.

As a trade, plumbing needs more service plumbers. Between plumbers getting old and retiring and not enough people entering the trade, it is tough to keep up with demand. A partial solution may be to turn to the half of the population that is dramatically underrepresented. Maybe we should put forth more of an effort to recruit women into the trade.

By now, there are enough examples of women who have successfully performed in the field that there can be little doubt they are up to the task. In many ways, women outperform men in service plumbing.

First, most consumers who answer the door when a plumber arrives are women. They are more receptive to the recommendations of other women, who they implicitly trust more than men.

Then, there is the ick factor. Some men give it to women. Other men cannot detect it. Women can. The ick factor makes female consumers less apt to feel comfortable, thus less apt to trust a plumber’s recommendations. This results in lower tickets and worse reviews.

Women are naturally more empathetic than men. They usually build rapport with each other naturally. In sort, female plumbers have an advantage vis-à-vis male plumbers. As a result, they can outperform men in sales.

When I ran a 65-location contracting business, my top-rated field service person was a woman. It wasn’t close. I would have hired a hundred more like her.

The rap that men will make against women in the field is usually related to strength. If there is a task that a woman isn’t strong enough to perform on her own, it is likely that men shouldn’t either. If a woman can’t wrestle a water heater by herself, a man likely shouldn’t either. Use a helper. It will lower worker’s comp and lost days due to injury.

It is true that companies may need to make concessions to women in the field, particularly mothers, especially single mothers. They might need to set up their schedules around their children. Accommodate their needs and they will make up for it in loyalty and performance.

Single mothers in particular will make stellar employees if given the flexibility they need. They are extremely loyal and if presented with sales opportunities, often become top performers. After all, most single mothers are very money motivated. The same is true for single fathers with primary custody as well.

Another juggling act is managing who is on call. In truth, after hours service needs to be reviewed for all plumbers, not just women. Almost everyone hates it. It burns people out. It destroys family time.

Today, it’s far harder to find a plumber than it is to find a customer, so we might need to adjust our thinking and be more plumber friendly. It seems like heresy to say, but plumbing contractors should be willing to sacrifice a customer to keep a plumber. Take steps to reduce after hours calls unless dire and even then, respond to stop the bleeding until morning (e.g., turn off the water at the meter). How many true emergencies do you encounter in a year?

Consider negotiating with a local hotel for a discounted rate to house people in emergency situations and suggest customers make a mini-holiday out of it by bunking up in the hotel. Suggest that a night’s hotel stay is less expensive than after hours service.

Another strategy used by some contractors is to hire someone specifically to stay on call and take emergency service calls. This might be a facilities maintenance person for a commercial building, university, etc. It might be a retired plumber.

Clearly, not every woman is qualified or inclined to work in the trades. But, some are. In today’s labor environment, some is better than none. Write recruiting ads that state women are welcome, that you will train them, that the pay is great, and that you will be flexible.