6+ Famous Female Welders [Updated]

Have you ever wondered which are the famous female welders out there? Well, welding is hotter than ever before, and it has the star power to prove it. For a long time, one of the big obstacles to getting welding into the mainstream was finding a way to show people how exciting it can be. It’s not as though welding is a primetime TV darling.

What’s more, welding has wrongly been thought of as a boys-only club.

Of course, this is changing with the Internet. Now all it takes is one popular post to transform someone into a star. The image is as powerful as ever on sites such as Instagram, and few things are more eye-catching than an incredible well-welded sculpture or bit of DIY.

What’s more, a slew of Internet and social media-savvy female welders are helping to “spark” interest in the field like never before.

So, let’s meet the best women welders burning up the online welding world!

1. Lena Dotson, aka Carmen Electrode

As stated on the website, Carmen Electrode was conceived as a female counterpart to the Joe Welder mascot for Arc Zone. Think a 21^st century Rosie the Riveter for welder women.

One of the best things Dotson does on her site is give advice for women looking to break into the industry. While welding is far from a men only hobby, as this list shows, it can still be hard for women to crack that misconception.

Dotson, thus, works to give aspiring women welders tips as to how they can best go about achieving their welding dreams in a professional capacity. If you are a woman looking for welding inspiration or tips on how to get hired, let Carmen Electrode be your guide.

2. The Russian Welding Women

Russia remains a society with highly rigid gender roles and expectations. Women are constantly faced with talk of what they can and cannot do. However, there are at least a couple prominent Russian welding women looking to weld some sexist mouths shut with their mastery of the craft.

Instagram’s “Elizaveta from Yekaterinburg,” aka “The Russian Welding Girl,” posts all manner of welding-related content with the hashtag #weldporn. She works at a custom welding shop in the city and posts all manner of welding content.

Then, there’s Diana Bagautdinova. Hailing from Moscow, she won the WorldSkills Welding Competition in Moscow in 2018 at just 19 years old, beating two dozen male welders in the process.

Related reading: How to Start & Grow A Welding Business In 11 Steps

3. Florence DiTullio aka “Woo Woo” Winnie the Welder

Before the Internet could pave the way for the online welding stars above, there was “Winnie the Welder,” a pre-Carmen Electrode equivalent to Rosie the Riveter. Hundreds of women worked as “Winnies,” including Florence DiTullio, welding for Uncle Sam during WWII.

Florence had to deal with more than just welding on the job. If you think sexism persists in the welding world today (and it does) try imagining what it was like for the women welders working in the industry during the male-dominated 1940s.

With men going overseas to fight the war, scores of women worked jobs such as welding, which had previously been mostly male-only fields.

The inclusion of women like Florence into the industry came with regular “Woo Woo!” catcalling from her male coworkers. Still, Florence took the catcalls and made it a nickname for herself, becoming one of the most famous and efficient Winnie the Welders in the process.

Related reading: Do Welders Make Good Money? | Highest Paying Welding Jobs

4. Eugenia Powell Deas and Gladys Theus

Both Eugenia and Glady make our list for pulling double duty amazingness, not just being incredible welders during WWII, but doing so with the added burden of the racism of their times.

Deas wasn’t just a great welder, but had the added burden of working at the height of Jim Crow laws in the South. She was one of the best welders at the Charleston Navy Shipyard during the war.

In case you don’t think that was superhuman enough, she did all this while raising nine children.

Gladys Theus, another black woman welding on the West Coast, was also one of the fastest welders in the area – and it didn’t go unnoticed.

She was praised as “one of the fastest and most efficient welders” at her plant in Oakland in a photo of herself sent by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Theus herself would go on to say with every day and new ship she helped weld, she felt the country was “moving one day closer to V-E and V-J Days.'”

Related reading: Who Invented Welding Machine? – The Complete History Of Welding

5. Ericka Heckman

Something of an American counterpart to the Russian Welding Women mentioned above, Heckman is another WorldSkills-caliber welder, having represented the American team at the event in 2015.

She is one of the rising stars of the Women in Welding world, and hopes to go professional with her dreams and achieve something that far too many women still lack in both welding and other fields – management status.

Heckman hopes to become a welding supervisor and nuclear pipe welder, both senior positions that require a ton of experience and come with a great deal of clout.

6.  Barbara Parsons, aka Barbie the Welder

Something of a Jane of All Welding Trades, Barbara Parsons has had a long and storied welding career among not just women welders, but all artistic welders.

She is a metal-based sculpture artist who uses her welding powers to create dazzling works of art. Parsons continues to accept commissions, so if you like what you see, by all means support a woman in the welding and art world.

If you’re inspired by what you see and want to do it yourself, you’re in luck. In keeping with the Carmen Electrode trend of trying to help fellow women in welding, Parsons has created how-to welding videos on YouTube you can try.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to weld a dragon (and really, who hasn’t?) or any manner of complex artistic welding projects made easy, Barbara Parsons’ tutorials are a great place to start.

If you are an instructor and think she’d be the kind of person to inspire your class, she also does public speaking engagements and gives motivational speeches.

https://www.barbiethewelder.com/keynotespeaker

7. Pa’Trice Frazier

According to the American Welding Society, there will be a shortage of 400,000 welders by 2024. The main reason for this is that most welders on the market are getting too old or are currently retiring.

Pa’Trice Frazier is on our list of famous female welders, then she inspires a new generation of African American welders to enter the male-dominated field. (Only 8% of all American welders today are black)

Frazier is talented and known for her TIG welding skills.

Pa’Trice Frazier Story >> Check Out the Video below:

8. Alexandra Ivelva

Alexandra Ivelva is a young Russian girl welder who has succeeded in creating metal sculptures and combining welding art with creative brilliance.

After working in the welding trade for years, Ms. Ivelva decided to marry her passion and career. “In 2007, I tried welding,” says Ivelva in a recent interview. “It was then that I began looking for a material that suits me best and best reflects my ideas. When I had a piece of metal in my hands, I felt that it attracted me like a magnet.”

Advice For Girls or Female Welders: What Type of Face Cleanser?

Some female welders have sensitive skin. Others have oily skin. Then there’s a third type of people, those who have both sensitive and oily skin.

This skin type manages to marry the undesirable tendencies of both sensitive and oily skin types. Such a skin type is marked not only by frequent breakouts, but also by painful acne.

Most importantly, it’s characterized by an intense sensitivity that acts up aggressively when confronted with certain products. 

Now, using facial cleansers daily is widely recommended. However, it can be incredibly harmful to your skin. This is because facial cleansers contain something called surfactants.

Surfactants are chemicals that help in the process of dissolving all the dirt and grime in water and then washing it away. They’re responsible for cleaning your skin.

While surfactants can be helpful, they aren’t always beneficial for your face. For example, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is one drying surfactant that can cause severe damage to your skin in the long run.

Why Some Face Cleansers Can Be Bad for girl or female Welders Skin

Your skin’s outer layer works on locking the moisture in and keeping irritants out. When this layer is compromised, this is where the trouble starts.

Harsh cleansers containing SLS can disturb your skin when used irresponsibly. They can cause anything from flaking, itching, and acne.

Moreover, if your harsh cleanser has a high pH, this could worsen your skin condition. Not only will it trigger even more severe acne, but it’ll also keep your skin from repairing itself, which would decrease its flexibility.

Ingredients to Avoid

If you have sensitive oily skin, it would be helpful if you checked the ingredients of any product before using it on your face. This is especially applicable for face cleansers.

For starters, avoid sulfate-based foaming face cleansers at all costs. They’re notoriously harsh and extremely drying.

How do you know your skin is too dry? If it feels “tight” after using a cleanser, then there’s a good chance your cleanser is too harsh.

Of course, there are other foaming face cleansers that don’t rely on sulfates. Instead, they contain sarcosinates and betaines. One such cleanser is First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser.

Ignore products that contain alcohol, fragrances, and SLS. Instead, look for labels like hyaluronic acid and ceramide. These ingredients will reinforce your skin protective barrier and boost hydration.

You can also look for emollients and oils to promote hydration even more. Hada Labo Oil Cleanser could be an effective choice for acne-prone and oily skin.

Oils cleansers can be incredibly useful, especially when used as part of the double-cleansing method. The double-cleansing method is a two-step cleansing routine that involves using two facial cleansers: one oil-based, one water-based. It’s ideal for those who wear makeup and sunscreen on a daily basis.

One particularly important detail to consider in cosmetic products is pH. Your skin’s normal pH is somewhere between 4 and 6. Ideally, it should be 5.5.

To restore balance to your skin, you must opt for mildly acidic facial products with low pH. COSRX Good Morning Cleanser is a fragrance-free cleanser that strips your face of oils without drying it out.

Female welder trains others in male-dominated trade >> Check out the video below

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few common questions people often have about welders:

Who was the first woman welder?

One of the first female welders is Solveig Erikstad. Solveig Erikstad started her career in 1974 and retired in 2003.

Are welders happy?

Welders rate their careers with 3.1 out of 5 stars, which means that welders are on average in terms of happiness.

How long does it take to learn Welding?

You can learn welding in as little as six months by taking classes in a welding training program.