Educational Media Reviews Online

This thirty-minute video begins with images of hard-hatted construction workers on high beams over a city, while a voice-over notes that the Los Angeles Ironworkers Union has 3000 men and only 8 women. Although Iron Ladies traces the apprenticeship of two women in their attempt to enter this elite trade, this video is not just one more documentary about women entering a traditionally male field. Louise and Jackie are not typically young apprentices—Louise is a 49-year-old hairdresser and Jackie is a 37-year-old cocktail waitress who believes this ironworker apprenticeship to be her “last second chance.” Iron Ladies’ focuses on the experiences these women face as they attempt the physically demanding challenges of welding, handling cables, and climbing the beams. The video interweaves footage of the women at their tasks with interviews of other women and men ironworkers who discus issues of sexual harassment and the camaraderie of the job. When it comes time for Louise and Jackie to take their tests, the filmmakers create a genuine excitement, as they show the women practicing the night before, then sweating in silence through the various examinations. Viewers come away from this brief video with an enhanced understanding of the ironworker trade, as well as an appreciation for the non-traditional workers who accept the challenge and triumph.

Iron Ladies is well edited, with a clear audio and visual presentation. There is an even balance between the interviews and the footage of the union workers at training and on the job.

This video would be well housed in a high school or college library where teachers could access it for in-class viewing.