Annastacia Plaskos runs Fix It Females — a renovation company in Toronto that was founded in 2004 and predominantly employs women. She was tired of dealing with sexism in the construction industry and started the company when she realized there were clients out there who were also sick of it. In this exclusive interview, Annastacia tells us more about her business, mansplaining, and how we can encourage more women to enter the male-dominated industry.

Jenny Morris: When did you know you wanted to work in construction?

Annastacia Plaskos: My parents were contractors and in the field themselves so I was naturally born into it. I went through other jobs throughout my years in high school and did other stuff after. But I always circled back to renovations.

JM: What were your early experiences like working on job sites?

AP: I went through the typical stuff you can imagine. It was very hard to get hired as a female labourer or even in trades. I didn't have the greatest experience. I know other women who have had similar experiences and I’ve heard some really nasty stories. Guys would bark at me. When I would walk on-site they wouldn’t talk to me. If I had a male working with me, people would always direct their questions to them.

JM: How have you set yourself apart with Fix It Females?

AP: We really do offer a unique service in the fact that we have an entire team behind our clients to ensure their happiness. It was created to give a platform for women within the industry. But it also caters to the single female client that doesn’t want to deal with the generic situations that can come up when you have male contractors on-site.

JM: I recently had an experience with two repairmen who treated me like a total idiot. I can imagine some of your clients have experienced this.

AP: We call it mansplaining. I’ve been doing this for 17 years and I still get mansplained on stuff. Clients give me feedback all the time that they’re sick of some guy coming in and saying, ‘You don’t even know what a joist is?’ Nobody wants to hear that. My approach is to inform clients. It’s not about me telling them they don’t know anything and this is how to do it. I like to tell people how things work so that when I’m costing it out, they know why it’s priced that way and they know what work goes into it. It’s not like, ‘You know you’ve got studs in your home, right?’ Yeah, of course I know that. Now tell me what those studs do.

JM: Do you only employ women?

AP: I never want gender to be a deciding factor for anything. I know Fix It Females is so female driven and I get people saying, ‘Oh, you only hire females’ and that’s not true either. We hire people all across the spectrum. The name welcomes people from all walks of life. It opens the door for people who don’t want to work for traditional contractors. But the more female teams you have right now, the easier it will be for the future generation to get in there.