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Chapter 8 of: Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy
Federal and state policymakers can create pathways for women to enter and thrive in male-dominated jobs by investing in education and training programs that will diversify the future workforce.
Building an Economy for All, Economy, Jobs, Raising Working Standards, Trade, Women’s Issues, Women’s Economic Security+4 More
Associate Director, Media Relations
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Senior Director, Government Affairs
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Sara Estep
Kierra B. Jones
Maureen Coffey
Sara Estep, Beth Almeida
Rose Khattar
Molly Weston Williamson
Isabela Salas-Betsch
Rose Khattar
Isabela Salas-Betsch
Silva Mathema
Beth Almeida
Akua Amaning
Mia Ives-Rublee, Anona Neal
Women should have access to good-quality jobs, but they often are widely shut out of entire sectors of the U.S. economy, particularly those that are well paid, such as construction and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.1 While the causes of women’s underrepresentation in high-paying occupations is multifaceted, ranging from intentional policy choices to social norms rooted in sexism and racism,2 policymakers have a critical role to play in creating pathways for women, particularly women of color, to enter and stay in male-dominated occupations.
Breaking down barriers to educational attainment and investing in proven workforce development programs, such as registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, can help increase women’s employment in male-dominated roles that tend to pay better than the jobs women typically occupy.3 In doing so, these tools provide economywide benefits that boost women’s economic security by diversifying industries, which have productivity-enhancing benefits;4 reducing costs associated with employee turnover; and increasing women’s wages.
Intentionally fostering a pipeline of women into occupations and industries that they have long been left out of is highly supported by women voters. The YWCA finds that in 2022, 67 percent of women voters saw “Workforce Training for Non-Traditional Jobs” as “one of the most important” or a “very important” action for Congress.5 Support was higher among Black women, at 83 percent, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women, at 80 percent.6 Employers also want apprenticeship training, with building a diverse workforce listed as one of their top three motivations for apprenticeship training.7
This chapter of the “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy” describes the problems women face in entering and then flourishing in male-dominated industries; details the benefits of diversifying these industries for women and their families and the U.S. economy overall; and then closes with specific policy recommendations for making those benefits happen.
Men, particularly white men, are overrepresented in high-paying occupations, and women are overrepresented in low-paying occupations—one reason why gender gaps in economic security exist.8 Occupational segregation facing women both with and without college degrees has long been a feature of the U.S. workforce, and it continues to persist as male-dominated jobs and industries struggle to attract and retain women workers.9
Women are obtaining college degrees at higher rates than men.10 Yet they remain underrepresented in certain degree types that tend to lead to employment in well-paid jobs, such as those within the STEM workforce.11 Women constitute just 22 percent of engineering graduates, slightly higher than rates seen in the 1990s, suggesting that there has been slow progress over the past few decades to close gender gaps in STEM educational attainment.12
Moreover, Black women represent around 1 percent of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, while Latinas account for just under 3 percent.13 Gender differences in degree type, in turn, limits women’s participation in these high-paying sectors. White men account for at least half of all workers in each of the top 10 highest-paying occupations, including engineers, physicians, and dentists.14
In addition, women hold nearly two-thirds of all student debt.15 Partly as a result of the gender wage gap, women take longer than men to repay their student loans, which in turn contributes to gender gaps in wealth, limiting their financial security throughout their lifetime.16 This is particularly true for Black women, who, on average, borrow more money than all other racial and ethnic groups and are forced to manage the dual consequences of the gender wage gap and the racial wealth gap.17
Men are overrepresented in infrastructure-related jobs, such as those in the manufacturing and construction industries, where there are often well-paying jobs that do not require a college degree and where public funding has an outsize influence.18 In 2022, women accounted for 10.9 percent of all workers in the construction industry and for less than one-third of those working in the manufacturing industry.19 Black women are vastly underrepresented, accounting for less than 1 percent of those working in the construction industry and just under 3.6 percent of those in manufacturing. So, too, are Latinas, who account for 2.7 percent of workers in the construction industry and 5.7 percent of the manufacturing industry.20
Women’s stark underrepresentation is even more visible when looking at the jobs that require working with tools typically found in these industries.21 In 2022, women accounted for just 4.2 percent of construction and extractive workers,22 where median wages were $50,570,23 which is higher than total median wages across all occupations.24 In contrast, female-dominated occupations that do not require a college degree, such as cashiers and customer service representatives, pay considerably less than those jobs within construction and manufacturing.25 Significantly, these jobs are some of the most common occupations that Black women and Latinas tend to work in, contributing to the gender wage gap that they experience.26
For the women working in male-dominated occupations, many often leave their sectors of the U.S. economy.27 This happens for a range of reasons, including: a lack of networks essential to finding employment and female mentors to support career progression;28 workplace discrimination and harassment;29 and a lack of affordable child care.30 Women also face a gender pay gap within these industries.31 Importantly, these issues tend to disproportionately affect Black women and Latinas, both of whom face compounding challenges stemming from both sexism and racism.32
A study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that nearly half of women in male-dominated trades experience some form of discrimination.33 And a landmark National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report in 2018 found more than half of those working in academic workplaces, which are usually male-dominated, experienced sexual harassment.34
Significantly, occupational segregation is both a cause and a consequence of harassment (see Chapter 7), with many women forced out of male-dominated occupations due to harassment, while its prevalence acts as a disincentive to women entering these occupations in the first place.35 In addition, in male-dominated occupations, the likelihood that harassment is reported is reduced.36
A lack of accessible, affordable, and high-quality child care (see Chapter 3) can limit the participation of all parents, particularly mothers, in the U.S. labor market.37 Parents working in the trades face unique issues given the changing nature of work-site locations and differences in work hours, which line up poorly with the majority of existing formal child care options.38 These differing work and child care landscapes can keep mothers out of these male-dominated industries and can cause mothers working in these sectors to leave the workforce entirely.39
Strategies to attract and retain women in male-dominated sectors have economywide benefits. Diversifying the type of degrees women obtain, particularly in the STEM disciplines, and ensuring the cost of college does not limit women’s economic security will help women gain access to good-quality jobs.40 Diverse teams have proven economic benefits, including productivity gains from an improved ability to solve complex problems.41 Women entering better-paying occupations also will improve their economic security as they benefit from working in jobs that pay typically more than they would have otherwise received.42 Moreover, addressing retention challenges in male-dominated sectors will lower employers’ costs associated with worker turnover.43
In addition, workforce development programs, such as registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships,44 are integral to attracting and retaining women in industries where they have historically been, and remain, underrepresented, such as construction and manufacturing.45 Apprenticeships are a form of on-the-job training that allows workers to be paid and trained simultaneously. They are commonly found in the construction industry and can help workers gain new skills and often land higher-paying new jobs.46
These benefits flow beyond the worker by helping employers retain skilled workers,47 thus saving on the costs associated with worker turnover.48 Pre-apprenticeship programs have been proved to diversify the apprenticeship pipelines, particularly for women and workers of color, as they help individuals prepare for apprenticeships.49 Notably, progress has been made, with important increases in Black women’s and Latinas’ participation in registered apprenticeships; however, there is still a long way to go to ensure equitable participation, given how low their shares remain in the trades relative to their overall shares in the labor force.50
In supporting women’s attachment to the U.S. workforce and dealing with the economic reality of occupational segregation suppressing women’s wages,51 workforce development tools can help raise wages and subsequently reduce the gender wage gap. (see Chapter 5)
Federal and state policymakers must prioritize diversifying the workforce pipeline by tackling barriers to equitable educational attainment and implementing proven strategies that help attract and retain women in male-dominated industries. Each set of policymakers have their own roles to play.
The nationwide policy recommendations presented below are a set of actions that would variously deliver benefits for women in the workforce, specifically:
State policymakers can enact two key recommendations that generally fall in their policy areas:
Increasing women’s representation in male-dominated jobs and improving gender and racial diversity in high-paid industries will help improve women’s economic circumstances and reduce the negative economic consequences of occupational segregation. In working to lower the cost of attending college and creating a pipeline of women to study, enter, and stay in male-dominated fields, policymakers will ensure women can work in all industries and earn equitable wages.
The author would like to thank Karla Walter, Sara Estep, Lily Roberts, Anona Neal, Mariam Rasheed, Maureen Coffey, and Stephanie Hall for their helpful feedback and assistance.
in British Columbia: Final Report” (Ottawa, Canada: The Social Research and Demonstration Corp., 2017), available at https://www.workbc.ca/sites/default/files/Construction_Retention_and_Advancement_of_Women_in_Trades_Feb-2017.pdf; Ariane Hegewisch and Eve Mefferd, “A Future Worth Building: What Tradeswomen Say about the Change They Need in the Construction Industry” (Washington: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2022), available at https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/A-Future-Worth-Building_What-Tradeswomen-Say_FINAL.pdf.
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Chapter 8 of: Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy
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Rose Khattar, Sara Estep
Sara Estep
Kierra B. Jones
Maureen Coffey
Sara Estep, Beth Almeida
Rose Khattar
Molly Weston Williamson
Isabela Salas-Betsch
Rose Khattar
Isabela Salas-Betsch
Silva Mathema
Beth Almeida
Akua Amaning
Mia Ives-Rublee, Anona Neal
Former Director of Economic Analysis, Inclusive Economy
The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.
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Expanding Women’s Access to Male-Dominated Jobs – Center for American Progress
