The Great Recession that began in December 2007 laid bare many of the shortcomings of the American workforce, especially the lack of workers with postsecondary education. A large majority of jobs lost in the recession and in the recovery had been held by workers with a high school diploma or less. The only real gains made during the still…

The rising cost of college education and high unemployment levels among recent college graduates are raising the question "Is college worth its cost?" in the minds of many Americans. A recent study published by the Associated Press found that one out of every two recent college graduates is jobless or underemployed, suggesting maybe college isn't…

The purpose of this article is to review the extant literature on women in skilled trades and construction to identify specific gaps in our knowledge of the career development processes and needs of this understudied and underserved population. Our aim is to stimulate the interest of scholars and their engagement in research and practice relevant…

The place of women in the manual trades is examined in this paper, which sets out strategies for encouraging them to study and work in areas such as building and construction. Such strategies include introductory and pre-apprenticeships courses, clustering female students, and support from teachers in opening up job opportunities. This paper is…

Despite the small numbers being hired, many women trying to increase their income or get off of welfare believe that the skilled trades are the answer. Construction Readiness Education for Women is a training program funded by the Missouri Women's Council that is designed to attract women into the trades. (JOW)

Focuses on female employment preferences and summarizes results of a questionnaire distributed to a sample of rural males and females. Although gender differences in employment preferences do exist, many rural women indicate an interest in traditionally male, blue-collar jobs. Women who held such jobs commented positively about their experiences.…

A phenomenological study examined the meaning 11 women attributed to life and work experiences that influenced their choice of nontraditional majors. Most returned to school because of triggering events, were interested in their chosen field and opportunities for career development, and desired independence. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Data from a three-year study of a large industrial firm illustrate the changes that occurred after equal employment policies were installed. The new practices did not address barriers impeding women's access to and advancement in nontraditional jobs. Although more women are hired, new patterns of sex and race segregation are developed. (Author/SK)

Respondents among a sample of 86 women in nontraditional occupations indicated that the challenge of succeeding in such occupations was a primary source of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the first year. Later, they became more concerned with traditional sources of satisfaction and the inherent dissatisfactions of blue-collar jobs. (Author/SK)

Women workers are establishing an identity for themselves in the traditionally male-dominated work world of mechanics, carpenters, construction workers, technicians, and engineers, drawn by incentives ranging from higher pay to training and advancement opportunities. Of the over 12.5 million women employed in industrial and service occupations,…

Describes a model integration process whereby personnel managers can deal effectively with the accelerated movement of women into nontraditional blue-collar jobs. (SK)

Data from in-depth interviews with more than one hundred women over a three-year period suggest that the experience of women in skilled and semiskilled jobs contradicts the conventional wisdom about the values and motives of these women and challenge many sociological findings regarding the alienating character of much blue collar work. The women…

This study addresses itself to two questions. The first is to ascertain what, if any, social background and attitudinal differences differentiate women making traditional from nontraditional occupational choices in the semi-skilled and blue-collar occupations. A second issue relates to the relative effectiveness of various kinds of training…

Describes how Oklahoma women are training for and successfully working at nontraditional jobs (such as machine shop, carpentry, and auto mechanics) as a result of training funded by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), and the changing attitudes of employers toward women in nontraditional jobs. (MF)

This annotated bibliography lists 56 resources on sexual harassment. The resources are divided into two categories. Section I contains resources on sexual harassment of women in nontraditional occupations (NTOs). The annotations are categorized as follows: books/journal articles, hearings, news articles, NTO training curricula, legal commentaries,…