Insurmountable college tuition is driving Gen Z to the trades, where an uptick in vocational programs and plenty of job openings is translating to more diversity in blue-collar spaces. And while 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows women steadily forging ahead in plumbing and carpentry, there remains little data about LGBTQ+ tradespeople.
“When I came up in the trades, I was kind of this lonely voice in a desert of, by and large, straight, white, middle-aged people — or mostly men,” said Michael “Kel” Monroe, a longtime queer advocate and founder of the Queer Contractors Collective. Monroe founded InQUEERior Painting in 2019 in hopes of meeting similar people in the trades, but found his hopes dashed after a “very quiet” pandemic period.
“My desire to scale, or maybe build, a queer or affirming-to-marginalized-community painting company sort of felt dashed to the rocks,” Monroe said.
Years later, the Queer Contractors Collective now has nine member businesses, including carpenters, landscapers, fix-it people, painters and “an eco-friendly bedbug remediation service.” Monroe labeled this growth as “happening of its own accord,” and credited younger members, like carpenter Ginny Leary, for helping turn the tide.
“Going into carpentry is part of my queer journey as well, because I only came out about four years ago after being married to a heterosexual man,” said Leary, a recent graduate of the vocational North Bennet Street School. “So I think finding carpentry and finding myself in that way is intrinsically linked.”
Leary started her own handywoman carpentry business in August after discovering that single women were one of the fastest-growing homeowner populations. Her business serves as an alternative to the industry stereotype of the “big burly man,” which she said can also be a “safety issue” when letting unfamiliar workers into the home.
“Most of my clients are queer — I absolutely love it when they are,” Leary said. “And then some people, once they meet me, they’re like, ‘I feel safe with you. Come over at 10 p.m.’ I won’t, but… I appreciate that.”
Su Mittra, a landscape contractor specializing in creating ecologically friendly habitats, describes a similar clientele reaction since she came out as transgender. When she first opened her landscaping company 21 years ago, she was “very male-presenting,” but struggled to book jobs more than “two or three weeks” in advance.
Nowadays, that number has skyrocketed to “three [or] four months,” which Mittra links with an increased sense of confidence.
“I’m going on to people’s properties, and I’m making changes to their properties, or I’m working inside and doing something to their home, to their structure,” said Mittra. “As a homeowner, I know when I hire a contractor, I want to be able to trust them. I don’t want a person who’s kind of fumbling and not too sure of themselves. In that way, coming out means that I’m way more comfortable with myself.”
Nevertheless, Mittra, Leary and Monroe acknowledged continuing feelings of unsafety or apprehension among queer tradespeople under the current federal administration. While a 2023 Out Leadership survey revealed 70% of LGBTQ+ employees felt “being out” helped their career advancement, a 2025 Stonewall study found that 39% “still feel the need to hide” their identities at work.
“With the statistical increase in hate crimes, I sort of have this gulp in my stomach, like I’m going to pop out of a job site or wake up one morning and there’s something terrible painted on [my work] truck,” Monroe said. “Is that covered by insurance? Do I have to build the cost of washing that off into my considerations?”
The path forward for the Queer Contractors Collective is, therefore, a largely unknown one, since very few — if any — similar groups exist worldwide. Though the collective is still “emerging [and] nascent,” Monroe hopes to keep growing their community, in hopes that “all of their dedication and heart and hard work” will lead to more queer contractors coming forward.
“It is a real feeling of privilege and honor to carry things forward in collaboration with this cohort and contingent of queer people, to hopefully help and bring things to the next level,” Monroe said.
Guests
- Michael “Kel” Monroe, a long-time queer advocate and the founder of the Queer Contractors Collective
- Ginny Leary, carpenter and program manager at the Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction, recent graduate of the North Bennett Street School
- Su Mittra, a landscape contractor specializing in creating ecologically friendly habitats and carpenter who has been working in the trades for more than 25 years
