The painting trade is dominated by men, both concerning numbers and with regards to how the job as a painter is supposed to be performed. There doesn't have to be a problem with the actual performance of the job. But on the other hand problems arise when gender coded traditions hinder the necessary improvement of the trade and affect the working conditions for painters of all kinds. In daily work situations, men as well as women need to relate to the masculine norms of the trade. They all do it in different ways, consciously and subconsciously. But things are changing. The profession and the trade are in the middle of a transformation where traditional conceptions of gender are challenged. The number of educated female painters is increasing, and they have difficulties finding their place in the trade. There is no fast and simple solution of this gender equality problem, but there are methods available for how serious gender equality interventions can be carried out. Above all the problem demands interruptions of old patterns of thought and behaviour in order to make a change. This text presents results from an ethnographic study of the painting trade and shows how established patterns are defended as well as questioned in the daily work. The aim of the study is to understand how working conditions, competence and know-how, work organisation and division of labour, and management attitudes are related to conceptions of masculinity and femininity.