Modern-Day Women Tackling More DIY Tasks than previous generations.
According to a recent international study, women today are much happier to tackle DIY tasks around the house and are adept at a range of DIY jobs that their mothers and grandmothers would have traditionally not undertaken.
Local South African hardware chain Brights Hardware Store concurs with the findings. Charlest Wagenaar, Customer Service Manager at Brights Hardware, agrees with the results of this poll and says that from her years of experience in the hardware trade, and hours spent liaising with customers at Brights Hardware, it is clear to see that women today are far more hands-on than previous generations ever were.
“There is an increasing percentage of our women customers who buy tools, power tools, general hardware supplies and paint with which to carry out their various DIY tasks. Brights also employs a large contingent of female staff who operate in all levels of the organizations – from senior management to sales teams on the shop floor.”
The results of a poll conducted by Yale University found that more than half (57%) of women aged between 18 and 30 are happy, and confident, to undertake DIY tasks of varying degrees.
DIY tasks noted in the survey included hanging pictures, painting cupboard doors, painting entire rooms, assembling furniture, hanging blinds and curtain rails, replacing doorknobs, changing plugs and fuses and more. Only six percent of the women who took part in the poll said that they avoid any type of DIY at all times, while the remaining participants said that although they don’t feel one hundred percent comfortable tackling DIY tasks, they would be willing to give it a go.
By contrast, the survey reported that mothers and grandmothers of millennials were far less likely to have tried the same tasks.
Why the change?
According to Wagenaar one of the reasons that women feel more empowered to take on DIY projects than generations before them is the abundance of advice, guidance, tutorials, and information on DIY to be found online. “YouTube tutorials, which didn’t exist years ago, are a firm favorite and DIY guru’s – such as celebrity DIY’er Suzelle DIY – make it accessible, desirable and fun to tackle DIY.”
“While previous generations may have believed that DIY was a man’s job, roles are changing and women are empowered and emboldened to tackle DIY themselves,” says Wagenaar. “Whether it is home repairs, maintenance, and renovations or novelty projects such as DIY crafts and creations, women are increasingly mastering the skills and knowledge to do it themselves.”
Brights is a family-owned chain of hardware stores and at the helm is Nita Luis, co-founder of the organization. Luis explains that in line with this shift in customer, so too has Brights Hardware undertaken a shift in the demographics of their staff and the majority of the team at Brights are women. “Gone are the days of hardware stores and DIY being a man’s world. In fact, Brights even introduced a customer loyalty programme dedicated to women which is called “Sparkle” and which offers unique experiences and benefits that cater more to the female DIY enthusiast.” Brights stores are located in Boston, Blackheath, Langebaan, Mitchells Plain, Montague Park, Plattekloof, Uitzicht, and Brackengate. Selected products are also available on the online store www.brights.co.za/online-shop.
