Women in Nontraditional Career and Technical Education

The purpose of this research is to outline several of the issues that serve as barriers to women participating in nontraditional career and technical education in an effort to prompt solution based strategies on the part of career and technical instructors, adult education practitioners, and administrators. Career and technical education (CTE) programs can provide means for students to achieve starting salaries commensurate with those students who attend 2-year or baccalaureate programs. Not all CTE programs will result in positions with high salaries; however, many of the programs dominated by men have considerably higher salaries than those programs customarily held by women. Along with higher salaries, these positions often have more options for growth. Occupational segregation has secured male dominance in many of the higher-paying vocational fields, while women largely participate in unpaid domestic services within the family (Bagilhole, 2002) or careers composed of low-mobility, low wage, and low-skilled jobs (Mastracci, 2004). Numerous career and technical education areas have remained gender segregated with significantly different earning potential. Low-wage and part-time positions filled by women do not provide viable income for females to support families. Numerous males in the workforce are shifting to other industries or aging out of their traditional vocations. The lessening availability of qualified labor workers can be supplemented by female workers. Women offer a critical difference to the employment atmosphere beyond just a partial remedy to the shortfall of numbers. For the most part, females are socialized to build and maintain relationships through cooperation. Characteristics that were once termed as “feminine” and negative in the workplace have found their place in business and industry leadership. These beneficial talents of women are concentrated in a handful of traditional occupations. Increasing the occupational skills and employment possibilities of women is a pragmatic, economical approach to fairness that can be accomplished through CTE (Gordon, 2008). In the current environment of global competitiveness and an increasingly diverse population, vocational career paths cannot afford to have individuals in any segment of the population consider themselves ineligible for any career field because of their race/ethnicity, gender, disability or other characteristics (Lufkin, 2009). Institutional barriers exist in schools and present limitations to career development. Some difficulties are beyond the control of the institution. However, many of the barriers can be mediated by awareness. Women are at a disadvantage in selecting and completing nontraditional training that would prepare them for higher paying jobs (Gordon, 2008) because they are not presented the option. Economic and societal factors have caused stark inequities in some CTE programs, some of which can be overcome with the willingness of educators and administrators. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the following: (a) career and technical education, (b) traditional and non-traditional careers, (c) barriers women encounter to those careers, and (d) recommendations to reduce these barriers. The barriers presented here are in no manner exhaustive. This list represents those barriers that can most be influenced by instructors and administrators through training and awareness.