A corrosion engineer
Patrina Murphy, 48
Corrosion engineer, Petro-Canada, Chapel Arm, Nfld.
How did you get here?
My father had an autobody and mechanical repair shop in Chapel Arm, and I was registered with him as an apprentice. I also had experience as a commercial painter. So when the Hibernia oil platform came on stream in the early 1990s, the government was looking to enlist women in trades. I was the first woman in the crew at Bull Arm on its offshore oil platform — 500 men and me. Oh, you had your comments, your looks, your snarls, but I found that as long as I did my job well all the time, I was accepted fine enough as part of the team. What I quickly learned, though, is that women have to work every day really hard. Men don't, not after they've proven themselves.
So you worked hard and what happened?
I was promoted to foreman in 1992. It was a shock for some, not all, of the guys — a woman in charge of them? But I've always maintained that "man" is simply the lopped off version of "woman." And when anybody gave me any guff, I wouldn't go crying to management. Instead, I'd simply deal with it one on one, going up to the person and telling him in no uncertain terms that he was ignorant. I could be really colourful. Still am, as a matter of fact.
What makes you most angry?
It's conceited males who see nothing but gender. You know, the little asides like, "She's just a girl," not just from the workers but from management. Well, my dad, who had a garage and trained me, always said he'd never raise a dog that wouldn't bark for itself, so he sure as hell wasn't going to raise a daughter who couldn't. I can bark for myself just fine, thank you very much.
What do you wish you had known from the start?
I wish someone had told me from an early age I could do anything. I've started encouraging schools to take young girls and put tools in their hands in the classroom. They're doing that right now. We bring girls from high school onto the site, 15 or 20 of them at a time, from Grades 10 through 12. We're making a difference!
