The air is thick with the smell of sawdust. The saws are whirring, the safety glasses are on it’s another Tuesday in shop class.
Whether one calls this class shop, trades, or skilled and technical sciences, it is all the same thing: “physical labor jobs that require thorough training, apprenticeships, or education,” according to USNews.com. These jobs – plumber, mechanic, electrician, carpenter keep our society running smoothly. But for all the importance of the trades, the industry lacks diversity.
“When I was in Omaha Public Schools for ten years, there really wasn’t a lot of females in the trades. So they would take the first year but nothing after that,” instructor Robert Cote said.
Instructor Sarah Birnbaum began teaching skilled and technical sciences this year. She noted a similar lack of female representation, especially in her intermediate and advanced classes.
“In the intro classes, it’s probably about a third girls, but after that, it’s like one or two per class. So there’s really not many,” Birnbaum said.
This trend reflects the makeup of the workforce today. Only about 3% of tradespeople are women, according to National Public Radio.
“This is like stereotypically men’s work,” Birnbaum said. “There’s also the challenge of being one of the only girls in the room or one of the few girls in the room. It’s just sort of tough, psychologically, to be the only one that looks like you in a space.”
Many factors contribute to the lack of diversity in the trades. Gender stereotypes often discourage women from pursuing so-called “masculine” interests. Sometimes females even experience harassment working in a male-dominated field such as the trades. At the very least, girls may struggle to find a community in the industry.
“In my classes, I was often the only girl in class, but at my age, that doesn’t bother me so much. I think if I was younger, I would have had a hard time sticking with it,” Birnbaum said.
Sophomore Kylie Hansen is interested in the trades, but she has not encountered many women in the field either. She attributes this lack of representation to gender stereotypes.
“It’s seen as like a manly job. I’m the only girl in my metals class, and the only girl in my construction class.” Hansen said.
Lately, however, there has been a push to get more women involved in the trades. NPR has reported that the national Infrastructure and Investment in Jobs Act will create more jobs in the trades, some specifically for women. Camps and programs such as Girls Garage, Girls Build, and Tools and Tiaras have encouraged girls to pursue skilled and technical sciences, according to FamilyHandyman.com.
“There is a push to have more females into the trades,” Cote said. “At Metro Community College, there’s a lot of women. I teach a DIY class on Saturdays and there’s a lot of women that come in there to learn how to work on their houses, whether it’s electrical, plumbing, things like that.”
Whether women and girls are interested in learning basic skills or pursuing a career in the trades, they are beginning to carve out a space in a male-dominated field. And it is because they love what they do.
“I’m planning to go into the military and work on airplanes,” Hansen said. “I was in Spanish class, and they had people come in from the Air Force and talk about what they did. I was like, I want to do that. That seems really cool.”
Birnbaum said she appreciates the hands-on aspect of skilled and technical sciences. She added that the trades are rewarding because one can keep learning from them.
“It’s more of a skills-based class, there’s always more to learn. There’s new techniques, it’s practice-based, you can get better and better and better,” she said.