Beth Allen fixed her first faucet at the age of 17. Her family never had enough money to hire a professional, her parents were arguing over how to do the job, and Allen decided she could do it herself.
Years later, Allen would channel her DIY-know how into a growing business, DIY Hip Chicks, and to empower other women to do home improvement projects themselves.
More and more women are doing just that, research shows.
More women are getting involved with all aspects of construction and home improvement — women make up roughly 10 percent of all construction workers, a figure likely to increase by 6 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lowes and Home Depot report that more than half their customers are women, and they initiate 80% of home improvement projects.
Among them are Northampton resident Jessica Nyce and her mother, Mary, who recently took a home improvement course conducted by Allen.
![Beth Allen, founder of DIY HIPChicks, lectures about paint to a continuing education class she teaches for women who want to learn the basics of home improvement at Bucks County Community College in Newtown Township. [William Thomas Cain/Photojournalist]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/2018/04/13/NINT/ghows-PA-69aa1e25-d7d0-6e5b-e053-0100007ff84b-c226b4af.jpeg?width=660&height=431&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Nyce said she took the class because she wanted to make repairs and renovations to her home. Learning side-by-side with her mother was a bonus and helped strengthen their relationship, Nyce said.
“Both my mom and I decided to take Beth’s first introductory class to DIY. I had heard about it, thought it was interesting and told my mom about it and she was on board as well,” Nyce said. “So we took that first class which lasted for a few weeks.
“Beth taught us how to pick out, hold and use certain tools that would be best for us, and about which projects we could…
