In 25 years working in the building trades, I ve seen approximately three women carpenters, and no electricians or plumbers or tin benders that I can remember. Goetz does not say whether, as an employer, he would hire or encourage women who wanted to enter those fields. Assumptions that women do not want higher-paying jobs because they prefer to sell baubles, bangles and beads, or cannot do certain jobs because they require physical work, may be responsible in part for the wage gaps the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to find. Fortunately, those assumptions are already being challenged. Maybe it s that I am young, and these things are a sign that the old boys are dying off.
Careers is published weekly, on Sundays.
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