RMIT fashion students have designed a series of toolbelts for women and gender-diverse people in a bid to tackle the male-dominated trades industry.
RMIT fashion student Charlotte Hunter said the trades industry must adapt for women and gender-diverse people.
“Coming from a female perspective, toolbelts currently available in the market are not designed for my figure,” Hunter said. “Their anchor points are predominantly around the hips and slide down with any excess weight.”
For non-male bodies, Hunter said this uneven weight distribution could cause injury if worn for long periods of time.
While there are no plans to take these designs to market yet, RMIT said it hopes this will push its students to think about the utility of fashion.
“This has shown me we don’t have to just accept what already exists, we can adapt and change products to make people’s lives easier and more productive,” Hunter said.
“By paying attention to the needs of the wearer, a new and necessary product can be created. With this fresh lens on design, I can bring initiative to my final year of study and hopefully solve problems and fill gaps in any market.”
To mitigate the potential for injury and design for various bodies, Hunter decided to work with two major anchor points on the shoulders and waist.
“The symmetric design allows for even weight distribution and by anchoring around the waist of a feminine figure, the belt will not slide down and potentially cause injury.”
The project onboarded Vocational Education Trades students, who shared insights with plumbing trades pupils. Program manager for plumbing and carpentry Sebastian La Rocca said he would like to see the ideas become reality.
“The students really captured the essence of a toolbelt and reimagined it in so many different ways,” La Rocca said.
Women reportedly make up around 3% of the trade industry, and face barriers including flexibility for those with caring responsibilities and access to women’s facilities.
In a 2013 report commissioned by the New South Wales Skills Board's predecessor, the Board of Vocational Education and Training, it was found that while issues such as fittable uniforms may seem small, they can be a daily irritant to women in trades.
The number of women in-training for a trade position was at 128,125, up 36.1% in June 2022 from June 2021, according to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). In comparison, men made up 287,065 in-training in June 2022, up 16% from June 2021.
Current numbers indicate that women make up 44% of in-training for trade positions.
RMIT director of built environment and sustainability Melissa Tinetti said she has personal experience around uniforms for women in trades.
“From my experience as a woman in the construction industry it has always been a challenge to find suitable toolbelts and, at times, even clothing,” Tinetti said.