Career & Technical Education
College Isn't For Everyone
An academic degree isn’t the only pathway to success, but women don’t access alternative options as readily as men do. Here’s how to ensure that women have equal opportunity for any jobs they might want.
Men participate inÌýsignificantlyÌýgreater numbers than women do in the military, the police force, the fire department, manufacturing jobs and other , such as construction and plumbing.ÌýCreating more opportunities for women in these fields entails addressing biases around gender roles — and expanding access, support and encouragement for women to pursue these fields. That means supporting training opportunities as a viable alternative pathway for women. Consider these facts:
- Ìýof the jobs requiring only a high school diplomaÌýthatÌýpay at least $35,000Ìýa year, a higher wage than most entry-level service roles.ÌýÌý(12.9 million) workers ages 25 to 34 have jobs earningÌýat leastÌý$35,000 a year.
- Ìýof 16-to-65-year-olds have a professional job certification, 18%Ìýhave a professional license and 21%Ìýhave completed a work experience or other training program.
- ÌýofÌýjobs (around 16 million jobs) paying $55,000 a year or more requireÌýa high school diploma and a certificate, certification, license,Ìýassociate’sÌýdegree or some college coursework.
- °Õ³ó±ðÌýÌýand DeloitteÌýestimate that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled through 2028 due to a lack of workers with skills needed to fillÌý those positions.
According to the Defense Department, women make up just 20% of the Air Force, 19% of the Navy, 15% of the Army and about 9%Ìýof the Marine Corps.
What can be done to balance these gender inequities?
- ÌýprioritizeÌýconcerted,Ìýinclusive outreach efforts, train educators in Title IX gender equity responsibilities and work with employers to establish school-to-work pipelines.ÌýÌý
- State, municipal and federal policies and fundingÌýshould focus on ensuring institutions fully implement Title IX and gender equity requirementsÌýat CTE institutions.ÌýPolicies should also stress accountability and improvement plans for increasing women’s enrollment and completion of CTE, and institutions should be required to track and report data.Ìý
- CTE institutions shouldÌýhaveÌýdedicated support and training programs,Ìýand apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programsÌýin professions with gender imbalances and professions with skill shortages – such as construction and plumbing.Ìý
