To be or not to be - gray

[shootingstar]

I did NOT let anyone know my age at the utility company I work for until I had been there for over a year. Management knew of course as soon as I filled out the papers to sign on for the job but the men I work with didn't know at first. I was already a small sized woman starting in a "non traditional" position as a gasfitter where there had never been one before...they didn't need to know I was middle aged too!

I worked at for an engineering firm at a construction site for a few years. I noticed that in fact at least among the men I worked with and saw often, if a woman was small, but "mature" in age, or not too young/teenage looking, she would get more respect.

This assumes that the woman carries herself well, speaks firmly, etc.
Of course, a number of these women wore hardhats for safety reasons, so the whole coloured hair thing just was not as big of a deal. It becomes meaningless when wind blows around, sand flying around and then it rains. Everyone else is tired, ....who really notices?? Everyone tends to notice a tough worker slogging outdoors in terrible weather, not the hair colour.