Why aren't there more technical women in shading?

Portrait of Inge Hoekstra of De Groot Zonwering

As in other sectors where technology plays the leading role, technical women in the sun protection industry are thin on the ground. And this is despite the fact that our sector is also experiencing a tight labor market: a good technician is worth his weight in gold. Why do technically trained women rarely, if ever, choose the profession of awning technician? 

Inge Hoekstra of De Groot Zonwering in Scheemda thinks she knows why this is. "The proportion of women taking technical courses is not high. Young women often don't know that there are opportunities in the technical world. They may not be made aware of them. You then have to roll into it by chance. Another problem is that many technical courses are more likely to connect with companies in other sectors that are more obvious, such as metals. Unknown makes unloved. By telling about my own career, I hope to inspire women to come our way. Because of course they are out there, women with a sense of engineering." 

Inge Hoekstra, owner and mechanic of De Groot Zonwering in Scheemda.

From extension ladder to career ladder
In the 1990s, Inge Hoekstra took a technical training in bicycle technology. "That was a course within the apprenticeship system, where you combine going to school with working, to gain practical experience right away. Going into engineering and working with your hands was much more appealing to me than sitting in an office all day. In 1996 I went to work at De Groot's bike store in Zuidlaren. In addition to the bike store, De Groot also had an awning company. Once, when a mechanic was out of work and the need arose, he asked me along to assemble. That was a turning point in my life! I found that working in blinds was actually more fun than working in the bike business. The difference between grumbling customers coming to check out a repaired bike and customers leaving you happy because you made something beautiful on the facade. The awning bug had infected me." 

Over the years Hoekstra gained more and more affinity with sun blinds and shutters. A continuous learning process she calls it herself. "In 2001, De Groot opened a blinds store in Scheemda where I came to work as a full-time blinds technician. It didn't stop at fitting and repairing. I was introduced to all business processes, such as administration, purchasing, sales and measuring. As De Groot's retirement approached, I was given the opportunity to take over the business. I didn't have to think long about that!" 

Lifting is done with your mind
Whether Inge Hoekstra has ever suffered from prejudice against women in technical positions? "Yes of course! Every woman in a technical profession has that. You have to prove yourself twice as hard to get people from your  qualities.  

However, that never bothered me. We've even gained additional exposure because of it. By now we play such an important role in the region's awning industry that people do know me." 

An obvious question is whether she has ever been bothered by the physical difference between men and women. "Despite the fact that a woman's physical condition differs from a man's, it has never caused me any problems," Hoekstra said. "Quite simply, lifting is not only done with your body, but mainly with your mind. If something is too heavy for a woman, assume it is too heavy for a man as well. Responsible lifting should be part of every technical practical training." 

Inge Hoekstra certainly does not perform only office work in the role of owner. "Fortunately not. You can still find me regularly on the ladder. I wouldn't want it any other way either. Much less than before, of course, but it's still your job. The best part of my job is the contact with customers and I don't want to limit that to just customers in the showroom. Happy faces when the awning turns out for the first time, or the roller shutter goes down for the first time. That's what I do it for!" 

Making a case for this fine profession
"It's actually quite a shame that technically educated women don't know that our industry is so beautiful," continues Inge Hoekstra. "Of course working in a metal company is fun if engineering is your passion, but you hardly have any contact with customers. I am sure that technical women would embrace our industry if they knew how happy they make customers by their technical efforts. Therefore, I hope that women who are currently pursuing technical training will want to put out their feelers in the awning industry. If I succeeded, they will succeed too!" 

For that matter, has she already thought about business succession, before she herself will reach retirement? A question to which a surprising answer follows. "I am about to start a family. In fact, I am pregnant! The baby is due in November. Whether there will be a technical child in the cradle by then, I don't know, of course. What I do know is that, regardless of whether it will be a boy or a girl, I will give my child every opportunity to take over this beautiful company, if that is what it wants. But starting at the bottom: at the ladder that is!"