Wickes: The Changing Role Of Women In DIY

• Presenter, turned DIY influencer, Kimberley Walsh recreates shots from ‘Do It Yourself’ magazine from 1972  
  
  
• To celebrate the changing role of women in DIY over the past 50 years, the star is featured laying flooring, fixing wall tiles and building garden shed in role-reversal 70s poses 
  
  
• The shoot follows a study of 1,500 women that found females featured in the 1970s magazine were depicted as ‘just a stay-at-home spouse’ and ‘useless without men’ 
  
  
• Whereas modern images from social media and magazines featuring women were praised for appearing to have ‘independent knowledge,’ a ‘didn’t need a man’ mindset and portrayed women as ‘confident with DIY’ 
  
  
• Two thirds of women say they would have taken up DIY if there had been a female version of TV’s Bob the Builder  

Presenter turned DIY enthusiast Kimberley Walsh has nailed it - by recreating a series of male-dominated DIY scenes from 50-year-old magazine Do It Yourself. 

Kimberley carried out the 1970s-style role-reversal photo shoot for leading home improvement retailer Wickes to mark its 50^th anniversary and celebrate the changing role of women in DIY over the past 50 years.  

And the TV presenter shows sisters how to ‘Do It Themselves’ by laying carpet and kitchen Lino, fixing bathroom tiles, and putting up a garden shed, in complete contrast to the original 1972 images. 

The twist, on the male-dominated 70s photos, comes as new Wickes research among 1,500 women reveals almost half (45%) agree the females featured in the 1970s magazine were depicted as ‘just a housewife’ - and one in four believe women appeared ‘useless without a man’.  

Despite some of the original 50-year-old images picturing women carrying out DIY tasks, one in six saw them as depicting women like they have ‘never picked up a tool in their life.’   

Unlike stills from the 70s, when those surveyed were shown the modern images taken from magazine and social media, the selected images were met with praise for portraying women as strong and self-reliant.  

In fact, two thirds believe each woman featured had an independent knowledge of DIY and over three in five (62%) even said the overhaul gave off ‘doesn’t need a man to help them’ connotations.   

In real terms, when asked about how they compared to males in their life at undertaking DIY, more than a third (37%) said they are better at DIY than male siblings, family members, partners, and friends. 

While a high proportion of women still have self-doubt or little confidence when it comes to DIY, over two thirds (67%) suggested having a female-led children’s TV show, like Bob the Builder, would have encouraged young girls to undertake or take-up DIY or home improvement. 

Through the selection of parallel photography, Kimberley has offered up her zest for interior revamping to bring this notion to life. The TV presenter, dressed in a modern-day outfit with nods to the seventies, has taken over tasks from her 50-year-old magazine counterparts including installing a floor, spray painting furniture and assembling a shed. 

Kimberley Walsh says: “Women’s role in DIY has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, with stereotypes around being solely a housewife or useless at DIY replaced with positive connotations, such as confident and independent. And this is super important for the next generation of women looking to embrace DIY or even a trade. 

As a woman and DIY fanatic, I am so pleased to give a modern twist to a historic image. Hopefully, this and my on-going work with Wickes will continue to encourage more women to embrace renovation projects or home improvement. It is just a matter of giving women the confidence to get the job done.”   

The Women in DIY campaign coincides with Wickes’ 50th anniversary and a full set of images of Kimberley reimagining Do It Yourself magazine from 1972 are available on the Wickes’ website: https://www.wickes.co.uk/kimberley-walsh  

Source : Wickes

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