In Chengdu, Women Learn to Rewire a Trade Built for Men

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Designed exclusively for women, a new course offers classes ranging from home appliance cleaning to electrician training that covers both theory and hands-on techniques. The response has been overwhelming, with classes filling up fast. In a small room in the southwestern city of Chengdu this past July, a group of women huddled over circuit boards, appliances, and power tools, carefully assembling and wiring electrical systems. Over 10 days in this all-women class, they progressed from basic tasks like wiring lamps to understanding the complex setups found in industrial machinery, including how robots are powered. By the end, they earn a junior electrician certificate — a credential that could open doors in a trade long dominated by men. The course was founded by Li Xiaoxiao, a former advertising executive who was struck by how few women she encountered in technical trades. Determined to change that, she created Qiangji Women Workers (known in English as 38 Fix), an all-women electric ………………………………