"This is Ray Hou. She's a at Repair Sisters. Repair Sisters is an all-female home repair company in the city of Chengdu, the first of its kind in China. In China, if you needed something fixed, most likely a man would show up at your door. Ray and her colleagues are changing that. And they're not just doing repairs. They're building a brand. Going viral. And discovering that China's growing population of single women need their service."
"She was craving something real, work where she could actually see what she'd accomplished at the end of the day. So, at 40, Ray made a bold pivot. And studied for two months to become an electrician. Without any experience, Ray needed to find a skilled worker willing to take her on as an apprentice. So she packed her bags, got a one way ticket OK, let's go to Chengdu. And moved hundreds of miles to apprentice with Repair Sisters."
"Ray's clients, most of whom are women, tell her that they prefer female technicians because they're easier to talk to. And, for single women in particular, a handywoman feels like a safer option. By 2030, around 35 million Chinese women in their 20s and 30s are expected to be living alone. This population is growing as more women are delaying marriage to pursue education and careers."
Ray Hou left a stalled retail management career in Xi'an at age 40 to train as an electrician and join Repair Sisters, an all-female home repair company in Chengdu. She studied for two months, found an apprenticeship, and moved hundreds of miles to learn hands-on skills. Repair Sisters builds a brand by offering female technicians who many clients—especially single women—find easier to talk to and safer to invite into their homes. One early job involved mounting cat furniture. Demographic shifts mean tens of millions of Chinese women in their 20s and 30s are expected to live alone by 2030, increasing demand for such services.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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