((PKG))  FEMALE PAINTER   
((TRT:  04:56)) 
((Banner:  Women in Business))   
((Reporter/Camera:  Genia Dulot)) 
((Adapted by:  Philip Alexiou)) 
((Map:  San Diego, California))   
((Main character: 1 female))   
((Sub character:  1 female))  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
I was painting at a high rise, not so great apartment 
building, actually right in this neighborhood.  And I 
was working alongside this cleaner and she was 
crying.  She was like, “How are you able to do this?” 
Because we make a lot more money than cleaners.  
“You know, it's a man's job.  I wish I could do this and 
all these things.”  And I was really moved by that.  
And I was like one day like I'm going to get my 
contractor's license so I can hire women and they can 
make more money, you know.  And so, that's what I 
did.  
((NATS)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
I was in contractor license school and I was like nine 
months pregnant.  I was the only woman and I was 
like wobbling in there.  I was really uncomfortable.   
((NATS:  Kelly Forbes and her daughter)) 
Can you wave at the camera?  Hi.   
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
It's very masculine.  It's very sexist.  It's very ageist as 
well.  So, I was just young, and I was a woman, and I 
just generally got paid much less than other people.  
Like I was going in people's houses, doing the whole 
entire job, was making 14 dollars an hour and the 
foremen were making 25, 30 dollars an hour.  
((NATS)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
Well, I created my own company when I was 16 years 
old as soon as I learned to paint a room.  I just came 
up with the name Love Painting Company because I 
love love and I love the word love.  But I started a 
physical, real like live company that has a contractor's 
license and all of those things in 2017.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((NATS:  Kelly Forbes and Jennifer, Employee, 
LOVE Painting Company))  
I'm also impressed that you know that painters wear 
white.  
Well, a lot of it's to hide like plaster and product 
instead 
Yep. 
of landing on the clothes. 
Yep. 
and white matches everything and so any paint 
splattered  
Yep. 
on your clothes it matches.   
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
You’re carrying like five gallon [19 liter] buckets of 
paint.  They're extremely heavy.  You're carrying 
heavy ladders, going up and down and up and down 
all day.  So, it's pretty physically demanding.  
((NATS))  
((Jennifer, Employee, LOVE Painting Company)) 
So, I think that's a common misconception in society 
that like women can't do these like hands-on jobs that 
might take physical labor.  And I think that, you know, 
women can do anything a man can do.   
((NATS)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company))  
Like, we hire men as well.  It’s not a sexist thing or 
people who identify as somewhere in between both 
genders, like we're very encompassing.  But also, a 
lot of women, people really trust them.  And they 
come in their home and they feel people with families 
or say like an older woman who lives alone, like they 
feel very comfortable with that.  And women are really 
great painters as well.  
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company)) 
It's just, it's a feminine process in general. You're like 
coating unique things.  It's not like carpentry where 
like carpentry you're cutting wood and it's like a 
measurement and it's like a straightness and it's very 
exact, whereas like, so it’s like a very feminine, like 
finesse process to paint things.  And then there's like 
the intuitive color consultation side. 
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company)) 
This yellow and this purple will not be in the home on 
the walls.  It's a palette for them to work off of, to add 
art and accents, throw pillows, blankets, stuff like that.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Courtesy:  LOVE Painting Company))       
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company)) 
And I was just there one day by myself like working 
and I was like I'm just going to raise the pay for 
everyone to 20 dollars an hour.  When you walk onto 
the company, you're going to make 20 dollars an hour  
((Courtesy:  LOVE Painting Company)) 
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company)) 
because anything less than that is a joke in San 
Diego.  If people don't want to pay that, then that's 
fine.  They can work with other people that take 
advantage of people and pay less but that's not what 
we're going to do.    
((NATS:  Kelly Forbes and her daughter)) 
Going to make you a little fort right over here.  Get in 
your secret fort.  We're not going to tell anyone you're 
in there.  She loves painting.  Maya, do you like 
painting?  She loves painting.  
((Kelly Forbes, Founder, LOVE Painting 
Company)) 
There are weeks when I have projects where I feel 
like I don't see her.  And then I'm on my phone a lot or 
those things.  But I hope that what she sees is like 
anything that she wants to do like she can do it, you 
know.  And I think kids mirror what they see more 
than anything.  So, I hope that that's what she sees, 
you know.  
((NATS/MUSIC))