The Gender Gap in Today s Economy

1. The Gender Gap in Today’s Economy Sandra McGarraugh, Director The NET Project Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, University at Albany

2. Gender and Careers:History and Culture

3. Gender and Work in America Based on family gender roles Cultural expectations and norms Respectability and status “Family wages” Influenced by history and technology New tools first used by men, then women War time shifted women into men’s jobs Shortages attract nontraditional workers Traditional division of labor – woman as nurturer; grow food; in home manufacturing Man – business, negotiation, technical building Civil War – women became secretaries World War II – women in manufacturing factories Vietnam – men as medics move into nursing Turned into “family wages” when working outside the home Industrial revolution – early 1800’s – economy moved from home-based to factory mfg. Young women worked in factories because of shortages of workers – lived in supervised housing – boarding houses; OK to do so for a few years before marriage ; girls earned money for future married life and to help out families; relatively high salaries .by mid century, wages fell and conditions worsened; immigrant women replaced trousseau building workers. Respectable women did not work outside the home. Myth of the affluent wage earner father and homemaker mother rampant in 1850’s. This growing middle class distanced from the working class with symbols of economic success – stay-at-home wife. The nuclear family model – Ozzie and Harriet – actually started in the 1850’s. Men were first secretaries (actually administrative assistants- high prestige); women moved into offices during the Civil War. With invention of the typewriter (1867) and the development of corporation in the turn of the century – factory efficiency model applied to the large office. Modern office became production site with divison of labor into specific tasks. Women (girls) were cheaper and more efficient with the typewriter. World War I moved women into positions in heavy industry such as copper smelting and iron refining. Worls War II women worked in nearly every job. 1950’s women were pressured into leaving the jobs and returning to the home to make way for veterans . 1940 25% women worked ; 1945 36% women worked; 1949 29%; 1960 40%; 1990 70% today Like secretaries, Nurses were initially all male. First nursing school was started in 250 BC in India for all men. Not until the Crimean War in 1854 Florence Nightengale started modern movement of women as nursing. In War – Civil War nurses were men; 1901 Army Nurse Corps for women – only women could serve as nurses; WWII women were nurses; Korean War led to male nurses serving in military. 1966 – men =1% 1996 – 5% Currently = 6+% - shortages Traditional division of labor – woman as nurturer; grow food; in home manufacturing Man – business, negotiation, technical building Civil War – women became secretaries World War II – women in manufacturing factories Vietnam – men as medics move into nursing Turned into “family wages” when working outside the home Industrial revolution – early 1800’s – economy moved from home-based to factory mfg. Young women worked in factories because of shortages of workers – lived in supervised housing – boarding houses; OK to do so for a few years before marriage ; girls earned money for future married life and to help out families; relatively high salaries .by mid century, wages fell and conditions worsened; immigrant women replaced trousseau building workers. Respectable women did not work outside the home. Myth of the affluent wage earner father and homemaker mother rampant in 1850’s. This growing middle class distanced from the working class with symbols of economic success – stay-at-home wife. The nuclear family model – Ozzie and Harriet – actually started in the 1850’s. Men were first secretaries (actually administrative assistants- high prestige); women moved into offices during the Civil War. With invention of the typewriter (1867) and the development of corporation in the turn of the century – factory efficiency model applied to the large office. Modern office became production site with divison of labor into specific tasks. Women (girls) were cheaper and more efficient with the typewriter. World War I moved women into positions in heavy industry such as copper smelting and iron refining. Worls War II women worked in nearly every job. 1950’s women were pressured into leaving the jobs and returning to the home to make way for veterans . 1940 25% women worked ; 1945 36% women worked; 1949 29%; 1960 40%; 1990 70% today Like secretaries, Nurses were initially all male. First nursing school was started in 250 BC in India for all men. Not until the Crimean War in 1854 Florence Nightengale started modern movement of women as nursing. In War – Civil War nurses were men; 1901 Army Nurse Corps for women – only women could serve as nurses; WWII women were nurses; Korean War led to male nurses serving in military. 1966 – men =1% 1996 – 5% Currently = 6+% - shortages

5. Gender Roles in The 50’s The Myth Ideal nuclear family Men earned a “family wage” Housewife career option Reality 30% to 40% women in paid workforce 50% of working women were married

6. What Shall I Be? The Bay Shore, NY company Selchow & Righter senht to toy stores in 1966 as a progressive step. “Let’s get out little American girls ready for the wide-open world”What Shall I Be? The Bay Shore, NY company Selchow & Righter senht to toy stores in 1966 as a progressive step. “Let’s get out little American girls ready for the wide-open world”

7. School/Career Cards

8. School/Career Cards

9. School/Career Cards

10. Still Pink and Blue in 2005:Enrollments in CTE Courses In courses leading to traditional occupations for females: 87% females 13% males In courses leading to traditional occupations for males: 15% females 85% males Source: National Women’s Law Center, 2005 Data collected from schools in 12 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington) Data collected from schools in 12 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington)

11. CTE Secondary Enrollments 2008 Program School F/M Welding Cap Reg 0/34 WSWHE 1/59 HVAC/R Cap Reg 0/23 Questar III 1/34 Mfg Tech Questar III 0/5 WSWHE 0/21

12. CTE Secondary Enrollments 2008 Program School M/F Nursing Cap Reg BOCES 12/57 HFM BOCES 0/23 Questar III 1/26

13. Gender and career choice Gender role stereotypes Traditional family role expectations Father and worker Mother and family and worker Occupational segregation Nurses, secretaries, teachers Engineers, dentists, technicians vs. New workplace and technology IT environment can be gender neutral Advanced manufacturing Health care need for technicians, nurses

14. Does it matter? Why should we care?

16. Advanced Manufacturing: Local Example Global Foundries Projected Employees: 1,460 450 Operators 445 Technicians 390 Engineers 120 Management 60 Administrative Construction: 2,800 Source: NYSUT Technology Institute, 2/24/2009 Operators – used to be assembly line “no-skill”; now require specialized education – BOCES. CC Technicians – maintenance and troubleshooting – 2 year Engineers – (Electrical) BA/MA Management – BA MBA Administrative – Finance, legal, marketing, HR Construction – specialized – clean rooms; HVAC, plumbing; electrical, etc.Operators – used to be assembly line “no-skill”; now require specialized education – BOCES. CC Technicians – maintenance and troubleshooting – 2 year Engineers – (Electrical) BA/MA Management – BA MBA Administrative – Finance, legal, marketing, HR Construction – specialized – clean rooms; HVAC, plumbing; electrical, etc.

17. SCCC: Selected enrollments 2008 Program F/M Computer science 9/34 Computer networking 13/55 Aviation science 3/28 Electrical technology 2/14 Nanoscale Materials Tech 1/14

18. HVCC: Selected enrollments 2008 Program F/M Photovoltaic installation 0/13 HVAC/R 1/100 Civil engineering tech 12/89 Electrical engineering tech 1/35 Semiconductor mfg tech 1/22 Manufacturing engineering tech 2/39 Construction tech 12/89

19. HVCC Selected Enrollments 2008 Program M/F Early Childhood 16/235 Nursing 33/158 Dental Hygiene 7/77 Radiologic Technology 24/42

20. Gender gap in STEM Representation in workforce Enrollments in education and training programs Expressed interest in STEM careers Self assessment of performance Girls underestimate their skill and knowledge in STEM areas, particularly math WEEA Girls underestimate their skill and knowledge in STEM areas, particularly math WEEA

21. Women tend to concentrate in social and psychological sciences. Women tend to concentrate in social and psychological sciences.

22. Why Diversity? Servicing an increasingly diverse, global marketplace Recruiting and retaining the best talent Expanding creativity and better decision making from diverse groups due to: Varied perspectives A wider array of ideas and solutions Challenge to long-accepted views Divergent thinking Differing communication skills

23. The Quiet Dilemma “One way to win” paradigm International shortage of technicians Underemployment of college graduates Reverse transfers Source: Kenneth Gray, 2006 Specifically, the credentials in demand are for associate degrees or certifications in technical fields. U.S. trade groups estimate, for example, that there are currently 200,000 vacant jobs in informational technology (IT) alone. An individual with an associate degree in this field can expect to make 55,000 USD annually. (Vocational training news, 2000). In an U.S. study, 43% of recent four-year college graduates self-reported that they held jobs that did not require advanced degrees (McCormick, A. & Knepper, 1996). Underemployment of those with degrees in technical areas such as engineering and computer science was 20% or less while the rate for those with degrees in the social sciences was 50% or more. The term reverse transfer refers to individuals who enroll in associate degree or certificate programs after they have completed or dropped out of four-year or graduate school degree programs. Corresponding to the growth of underemployment in the U.S., reverse transfers are the fastest growing group of students enrolled in pre-baccalaureate technical education. Nationally, it is estimated that 30% of pre-baccalaureate technical education students in the U.S. are reverse transfers. But in some technical programs, reverse transfers are the majority: A second factor creating the quiet dilemma is the one way to win paradigm (Gray and Herr, 2000). It is commonly believed that the only way to win economically and socially is to (1) get a university degree, (2) in order to earn high wages, (3) in the professional ranks. In the U.S., for example, a national poll of students in their final year of high school found that 85% hope to get a four year college degree. Surveys of entering college freshman in turn reveal that the number one reason given for enrolling is to get a high paying job. When asked what kind of job they aspire to have by age thirty, 68% of young women and 49% of young men all said they hope to get a job in the professions (Gray, 2000). Specifically, the credentials in demand are for associate degrees or certifications in technical fields. U.S. trade groups estimate, for example, that there are currently 200,000 vacant jobs in informational technology (IT) alone. An individual with an associate degree in this field can expect to make 55,000 USD annually. (Vocational training news, 2000). In an U.S. study, 43% of recent four-year college graduates self-reported that they held jobs that did not require advanced degrees (McCormick, A. & Knepper, 1996). Underemployment of those with degrees in technical areas such as engineering and computer science was 20% or less while the rate for those with degrees in the social sciences was 50% or more. The term reverse transfer refers to individuals who enroll in associate degree or certificate programs after they have completed or dropped out of four-year or graduate school degree programs. Corresponding to the growth of underemployment in the U.S., reverse transfers are the fastest growing group of students enrolled in pre-baccalaureate technical education. Nationally, it is estimated that 30% of pre-baccalaureate technical education students in the U.S. are reverse transfers. But in some technical programs, reverse transfers are the majority: A second factor creating the quiet dilemma is the one way to win paradigm (Gray and Herr, 2000). It is commonly believed that the only way to win economically and socially is to (1) get a university degree, (2) in order to earn high wages, (3) in the professional ranks. In the U.S., for example, a national poll of students in their final year of high school found that 85% hope to get a four year college degree. Surveys of entering college freshman in turn reveal that the number one reason given for enrolling is to get a high paying job. When asked what kind of job they aspire to have by age thirty, 68% of young women and 49% of young men all said they hope to get a job in the professions (Gray, 2000).

24. Job Skill Level Changes Year Skilled Unskilled Professional 1950 20% 60% 20% 1991 45% 35% 20% 2005 65% 15% 20% Unskilled: High school or less with no technical training. Skilled: Post-secondary training, but less than a baccalaureate degree. Includes associate degrees, vocational-technical schools, apprenticeship training, and military. Professional: Baccalaureate degree or more. Source: International Center for Leadership in Education, 2007

25. How can we achieve the skill capacity needed for the region if we are recruiting talent from only 50% of the population?

35. The NET Project, University at Albany Resources 1. Vanguard Award (December 18, 2009) 2. Nontraditional Career Posters 3. 21st Century Careers www.TheNetProject.org