In the trades, the crew you work with can make or break your experience. A good crew feels like family. A toxic crew feels like a hazard—physically, mentally, and professionally. And too many tradeswomen learn the hard way that some jobs should’ve been passed on from the start. These are the red flags you should watch for before you ever set foot on the jobsite.

The quote above sits with me, maybe because I’ve lived it so many times. We often think of courage as something loud and dramatic....

As a woman in the trades for over 30 years and a mentor to other women in male-dominated industries, I understand that most of these groups