ON THE JOB — Cheryl Chisolm stands at a local construction site. Chisolm was the first female to be hired as an electrical inspector for the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Building and Safety.

 Women’s History Month

  March 5, 2009

BY CHICO NORWOOD

STAFF WRITER

In 1986, Cheryl Chisolm gave up her high-heel shoes, business suits and a high-paying accounting job for work boots, blue jeans, a hard hat and a tool box. It’s a decision she says has brought her a lot of satisfaction and numerous accolades, and one she has never regretted. 

In the white-male dominated world of construction, Chisolm has excelled to blaze a trail in the city of Los Angeles like no other, and in doing so, she has become a “lady of firsts.” She was the first female ever hired as an electrical inspector by the City of Los Angeles in the Department of Building and Safety, and currently she is the first and only woman to rise to the position of senior electrical inspector in the department.

Chisolm is also the first woman elected to the executive board of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 11; the first woman to sit on that union’s Contract Negotiating Committee; and the first African American woman to teach the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers/NECA Apprenticeship Program and Journeymen Electrician continued education learning program.

“Cheryl’s special,” says Jane Templin, outreach director for IBEW/National Electrical Contractors Association’s Electrical Training Institute Apprenticeship and Journeyman School, who has known Chisolm since she first worked in the construction industry. “She has always been a huge role model for us. She is a trailblazer. She has definitely led the way.”

As the city’s only female senior electrical inspector, Chisolm supervises a staff of district inspectors who are responsible for inspecting new and existing electrical installations and electrical equipment at various commercial, residential and industrial facilities.

She also trains and evaluates their performance and inspects high-rise commercial, low-rise industrial and commercial residential properties in the Hollywood District to ensure they conform to several regulatory codes, including the Los Angeles Electrical Code.

“She broke that glass ceiling. There were no women inspectors in the electrical department before Cheryl,” Templin said.

Chisolm worked as a journeyman electrician for 14 years on construction sites throughout Los Angeles as an inside wireman (woman) prior to joining the city staff.

“In construction you literally build your career with your own hands. It’s how you work, it’s how productive you are, how good a team worker you are. Those are the kinds of things Cheryl excels at,” Templin said. 

Chisolm was initially hired by the department in 2001 as a district electrical inspector, and within a span of less than five years she was able to test and interview for the senior inspector position.

“Most of the time it takes people almost 10 years to get that transition. You had men who stayed in that position from 10 to almost 20 years,” Chisolm said. “There are senior inspectors presently working for the city who have been with the city for 15 years, so if they don’t retire you don’t have those openings.”

Since Chisolm “broke that glass ceiling,” the department has hired two more female electrical inspectors.

A self-avowed tom-boy born and reared in Harlem, N.Y., Chisolm’s road to success in the nontraditional blue-collar trades was unconventional.

Despite being on welfare, her mother was able to provide her with a college education. She attended Albany State College for two years before moving to Atlanta to attend MorrisBrown College, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. A wiz with numbers, Chisolm was recruited from Morris Brown by the Texaco Oil Co. to move to Houston to work as an accountant.

She worked for them for two years and wanted to go there to pursue career opportunities.

“After living in Houston for two years, I realized Houston was not for this city girl,” Chisolm added.

She moved back to Atlanta to “find her way” before making the decision to move to Los Angeles. Once in Los Angeles, Chisolm continued to work in the white-collar world, landing a job in the controller’s office of the defunct California Federal Bank.

She was introduced to the construction trade by a boyfriend who in the early 1980s was bringing home a paycheck of more than $500 a week — an appealing sum for the time.

“I didn’t like wearing a suit and going to the office and getting my panty hose torn on a daily basis,” she said. “I liked what he did and I definitely liked his paycheck.”

At the urging of her boyfriend’s friend who was an electrician and knew of her mathematical background, Chisolm telephoned the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to inquire about making an application.

Although the organization was not taking applications at the time, she was encouraged to try back at the end of the year. When the application process finally opened, Chisolm had only two weeks to gather the necessary paperwork. 

After passing the test and an oral interview, Chisolm was accepted into the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Apprenticeship Program and was told she could start training immediately. However, Cal Federal would only give her a 30-day leave of absence.

“I had to decide if I wanted to change careers within a 30-day period,” she recalled.

Knowing that she did not want to spend the rest of her working life in an office, Chisolm gave up her secure $25,000-plus a year bank job for an $8 an hour apprenticeship.

“I had to pray on it really hard,” she said. “My very first journeyman (mentor in the electrical trade) was an African American brother and he gave me a lot of knowledge.  He told me, ‘If you can complete this, it will be ever so rewarding to you.’ When he said that I decided ‘I’m going to take this risk.’ ”

It’s a decision she says she has never regretted, and it’s one that she says has been emotionally and financially rewarding, allowing her to become independent and travel the world.

Not only does she love her job, but she is passionate about getting other women involved in the nontraditional jobs.

She is active in WINTER (Women In Non-Traditional Employment Roles), a Long Beach-based organization that trains, mentors and supports women seeking jobs in blue-collar trades traditionally held by men.

She is also active in Electric Women, a support group for women electricians and a mentor for EMPOWER (ETI Mentoring Program Offering Women Extra Resources) at the Electrical Training Institute.

Chisolm also holds a state of California Electrical Vocational Teaching Credential and certifications for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-10 and 30hrs Construction Outreach Trainer, and a Medic First Aid/CPR instructor. She teaches OSHA, First AID/CPR AED (Automatic External Defibrillator), journeyman electrician and apprenticeship electrician classes at the Electrical Training Institute.

Chisolm was honored for her achievements last month during the Los Angeles Association of Black Personnel’s 2009 African American Heritage Month Celebration Trailblazer reception held at City Hall and attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“I’ve never looked back,” Chisolm said about choosing to become an electrician. “I love being an electrician. I love my trade… I love being an inspector. A lot of people can’t say that about their jobs.”