Non-Traditional_Employment_for_Eomen

Non-traditional Employment for Women: Past and Present issues Purpose: To explore some of the problems and solutions of women seeking and / or working in traditionally male dominated fields. 1. A historical perspective from 100 years ago In 1918 the U.S. was involved in World War 1 and was in an economically “geared up” phase of producing materials for war. During this same time countries on the front lines were doing the same, if able. In January 1918, Richard Barry spoke with labor leader James Lynch for an article in the New York Times (Barry, 1918). Lynch was very adamant about the adverse effects of using women as “replacement workers” for men who were at war. During this time most counties involved in the frontline fighting or were occupied used vast numbers of women as well as children to supplement the work force, as the percentage of males at war was much higher than the U.S. and was deemed necessary for survival. He cited the number of unemployed men and the detriment to the male workers morale. He goes on to state that because of the number of men out of work that females do not need to work, in doing so it will ”sap the structure of society by rendering women unfit to be mothers”(Barry,1918). The other basis for his argument is more sound but still questionable, it states that it is wrong for women to work for 20 cents an hour, while men doing the same job earn 30 cents. His thoughts were that the companies would fire males to hire females at a lower rate of pay, thus be harmful to society by displacing the male worker. Some of his views could be considered as progressive, but his basis clearly comes from 19th century sexism. 2. The world today A. The United States a. New York During the building boom in New York, in 2005-2008, many new ideas were emerging including a program by N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg to enlist more minorities into trade unions. Most trade unions accepted 10% while the carpenters union set its goal at 15%(Correal,2007). Many practices were changed such as separate toilets and locker rooms for females, a distinct lack of pornography hanging in tool cribs, and a changed attitude on the part of most of the men. If an apprentice can pull her weight, she is accepted. (Correal,2007) The program is still going strong, a case in point is Shannon Darling. She has a degree in construction technology, but before entering the program she couldn’t find work. Even after graduating she had to wait for a spot to open in the union. This wait lasted a year.(Finn,2010) b. 60 Minutes In 1999, Lesley Stahl produced a segment for the television show 60 Minutes. This segment was about women in construction. Included was a story of a carpenter who testified before a congressional sub-committee. When asked if the work was too hard and dirty she replied that as a certified nurses aid she made minimum wage and routinely lifted heavy loads and did lots of dirty tasks. No one asked if it as too hard or too dirty. Now as a carpenter she makes $14 an hour is asked if its too hard and dirty.(LaCivita,1999) c. The Federal Government “the role of women in the workplace should be defined by their training and abilities, not by their gender” Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. The Federal Government has and is instituting programs to help integrate women into jobs traditionally male dominated. In particular the Women’s Bureau with its Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Apprenticeship which oversees programs to recruit women into areas of employment traditionally exclusive to men. The Department of Labor announced $1.8 million in grants for six apprenticeship programs for women entering into non-traditional fields.(J. of E.,2010) Other notable grants include $300,000 to Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles {WINTER} for the program Partnership for Success: Electrical Mentoring Programs Offering Women Extra Resources {EMPOWER}. The EMPOWER program will educate employers on the benefits of hiring women as well as give technical education to women applying for those jobs.(Sanchez, 2010)This is just the latest grant to your profile pic to a cartoon character from your childhood. The goal is to not see a human face till December 6th. Join the fight against child abuse. Repost this as your status and encourage your friends to do the same! help bring women into the non-traditional labor market. Its aim is to educate, train and prepare women to enter the often male dominated trades and workplaces as equals to male apprentices. B. United Kingdom a. Britain According to The Equality and Human Rights commission, women earn ½ the amount that men make in financial companies. This is including bonuses, on average women earn 39% less than men and bonuses that average 2,875 pounds, Whereas men earn around 14,554 pounds in bonus monies.(Dailymail,2009) According to the Women and Work Commission, females are outperforming male counterparts in school and university but still earn less. This commission wants the Department of Children, Schools, and Families to develop a strategy to challenge gender stereotypes for children under 14. They also want monitoring and enforcement for this program. This seems to be less of a choice and more of force into non-traditional jobs. The reasoning is that if women become more technical (such as plumbing, construction and IT) then the pay and opportunities will close. This seems to assume that all women want to become interchangeable with men. As if men and women always have the same priorities.(Kirby,2009) b. Northern Ireland The Women in Non-traditional Sectors {WINS} program in Belfast is designed to assist women going into potentially hostile work environments. The idea is to change the women not the environment. The goal is workplace gender diversity to compensate for wage disparities between male and female workers. The WINS project, established in 2005 was developed to assist women into non-traditional roles of employment through recruitment, training and work placement with a gender sensitive approach. Conclusion The programs surveyed in this paper seem to be working at integrating females into male dominated fields, but they are only a small drop in the bucket. It has taken a lot of time to get to where we are today, and it will take a lot of time to fully integrate the workforce. Small scale local programs are a good start and hopefully these will lead to large scale programs and someday be worldwide. But other walls not discussed must also be breached, including tradition and religion. With open-mindedness and perseverance, someday this will be a non-issue. But until then we all, male and female, must strive to not narrow but close the gender gap.