How Women Are Empowering the HVAC Industry

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women make up only 1.4% of the HVAC mechanics and installers in the U.S. In a traditionally male-driven industry, we’re so proud to have Dani McFarland on our team. We believe she’s helping to pave the way for more women to explore not only HVAC field work as a career path but also plumbing and electrical. 

Dani started her career in HVAC four years ago. She enjoys seeing the different aspects of the industry and being able to watch both the industry and technology change. In the future, Dani would like to expand her HVAC skills by learning how to estimate projects and learn about HVAC sales. Someday, she hopes to grow into a management position. She really enjoys interacting with people and finding ways to better their quality of life. 

Although she is in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Dani said she doesn’t feel that she has had to overcome any real challenges, although sometimes she does feel pressure to outperform her male colleagues to be taken seriously. However, she said she is competitive so she’s always been up for the challenge. 

HVAC technician employment is expected to increase by 15% through 2026, according to the BLS. With this projected growth, there are plenty of opportunities for both male and female candidates to excel in the industry, especially with the growth of energy-efficient equipment and products. HVAC is expected to be one of the faster-growing construction industries.

Women have a great opportunity for success in the HVAC field and may actually have advantages over men because of basic interpersonal skills, including attention to detail as well as good listening, problem-solving, and multi-tasking skills. MGI President Mike Missimer said, “I feel that women tend to naturally be more empathetic, better listeners and tend to be less threatening then some men. Many times, our customers just want us to listen to the challenges they are having and hope we can lay out a road map for them to follow along with choices.” 

Mike is proud to have Dani on the MGI team. He said, “Dani is a very hard worker. She is driven and motivated to succeed, and I get more positive customer reviews about her than anyone else on the team. I have had the pleasure of working with her and training with her directly and am really impressed with her overall ability to communicate with the customer and bring a level of calm with her."