Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 15

WOMEN'S
WOMEN IN MARINE TEXTILES DISCUSS THE HIGHS
AND LOWS OF THIS MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY.
OMEN IN MARINE TEXTILES DISCUSS THE HIGHS
WS OF THIS MALE-DOMINATED INDUS
by Michelle Miron
B
usiness hasn't always been smooth sailing
for Katie Bradford of Custom Marine
Canvas in Noank, Conn. Back in 1990,
fi ve years after starting her business, she
lost out on a substantial sail-building order because
the customer believed she'd be giving up her
business to focus on her new marriage.
In another instance, a male customer accused
her of using the wrong measurements for his
fi nished product-until it was revealed he had
mistakenly cut 2 inches off the headstay and just
didn't want to pay for the reorder.
" A friend overheard the conversation, " says
Bradford, MFC, IFM. " He kept saying, 'That girl
measured wrong.' " Bradford says he fi nally ended
up admitting his gaffe and footing the bill for his
own mistake.
Similar anecdotes from women in the trade suggest
Bradford has not been alone in overcoming
such challenges. Like women in other traditionally
male-dominated industries, those in marine textiles
have sometimes struggled to overcome gender-related
stereotypes as they work to establish
their careers.
To learn more, we asked Bradford and three other
women leaders in the marine industry to discuss
some of the gender-related challenges and advantages
they've encountered during their careers.
The road to success: Uneven
All four of the women interviewed for this article reported
facing some form of discrimination, sexism,
harassment, dearth of respect or other challenges as
they've moved forward in the industry.
" If you look at the 40-year scope of my career,
there are blatant things that stand out, " says Faith
Roberts, IFM, owner of Banner Canvas in Ham
Lake, Minn. " But some are very subtle, and some
things I didn't know were discriminatory until I
was older. I kept wondering why I was fi ghting
and not getting anywhere. "
To illustrate, she says multiple banks declined
her loan applications two decades ago as she tried
to buy property to house her then-15-year-old
company. Her bank of record told her it " didn't
do that kind of funding, " then loaned $2.3 million
to a male entrepreneur running a similar business
next door.
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Marine Fabricator March/April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator March/April 2022

Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - Cover1
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - Cover2
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 1
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 2
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 3
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 4
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 5
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 6
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 7
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 8
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 9
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 10
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 11
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 12
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 13
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 14
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 15
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 16
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 17
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 18
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 19
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 20
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 21
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 22
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Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 24
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 25
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 26
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 27
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 28
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 29
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 30
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 31
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 32
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 33
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 34
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 35
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Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 38
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 39
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 40
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 41
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 42
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 43
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 44
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 45
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 46
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 47
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - 48
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - Cover3
Marine Fabricator March/April 2022 - Cover4
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