Wall-to-wall automation controls from Fluidra, Hayward, and Pentair lined the Folsom Eagles Lodge walls in preparation. After a while, a woman’s voice announced that training would begin. The snap-to-attention allowed one to hear a DPD tab drop. This was the beginning of the hands-on training session on wiring automation that quickly gained the attention of the manufacturing giants. What made this event a focus for the “Big 3”? This long overdue initiative in continuing education tackled a grossly underserved niche head-on.

In a predominately male industry, only 9% of pool technicians in the United States are women (Zippia.com, September 2022). In sectors such as education and manufacturing women are the majority, but in this field, female pool contractors and service techs are still the minority. Despite full-time careers and entrepreneurship; we’re not given a pass on the culturally expected duties of being a woman, such as juggling children, spouses, and household management…