Skilled trade careers provide workers with higher earnings and many benefits such as healthcare and retirement savings options. Yet even with these benefits men still outnumber women in these positions 20 to 1. Here are a few ways of getting more women into skilled trades positions and increasing retention rates.
Outreach/Recruitment Plan to Get More Women Into Skilled Trades Positions
First, we need to have a better outreach plan. Young women are often unaware these types of jobs are even an option for them. Schools and job centers don’t offer skilled trade jobs to women. They push them into retail and service positions that offer low wages and no benefits. Girls need to start learning about these types of career paths in school. Schools can do a better job at this by having unions and apprenticeship programs come in and speak during career fairs. The presentations need to be geared towards both boys and girls. Having women that are currently working in the trades come to speak will show the girls they have other options besides becoming a nursing assistant.
Plan to Increase Retention Rates
Additionally, once we get girls on a skilled trade career path with apprenticeships and training, we have to make sure they are able to get jobs and keep them. Companies need to work on their hiring practices. They need to set diversity goals and create a positive work environment free of discrimination and harassment. There needs to be a clear path for women to move up in the company with promotions to leadership positions and raises. They need to be treated as an equal to their male coworkers. Supervisors and foremen need to have better training so they quickly recognize and rectify when toxic behaviors occur with their male employees. This will ensure a welcoming workplace.
Family-Friendly Policies
Finally, one of the biggest factors in women leaving a skilled trades career is family. Most companies are not family-friendly. They don’t offer an adequate parental leave. There isn’t time off for when kids are sick or have appointments. Skilled trades careers usually come with early morning hours and long days. This makes it even harder for women who have to find child care. They also miss out on a large portion of their children’s life. They fear if they take a day off they will miss out on promotions or even be terminated. Having family-friendly work policies can lead to keeping women on the job and a more diverse company.
West Virginia Women Work is working on overcoming these barriers by speaking to girls in high school about the trades, training women for skilled trade careers with our pre-apprenticeship programs, helping companies find women for skilled trades positions, and educating the company on what changes need to be made to keep women in these positions.
