Segregation in Federally-Funded Job Training Programs Contributes to the Gender Wage Gap

Segregation in Federally-Funded Job Training Programs Contributes to the Gender Wage Gap

Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research

“Women and men enter job training programs with similar goals in mind—they want to expand their skill set, increase their earnings, and support their families. However, there is a gender divide in the occupational areas for which women and men receive training, which contributes to to inequalities in men and women’s earnings. Women are more likely to receive training in managerial, technical, and professional occupations, as well as in service and sales and clerical occupations (Figure 1). Men, however, are much more likely than women to receive training in male-dominated occupations like construction and transportation, which tend to have higher earnings than female-dominated jobs. This gender segregation in training programs closely resembles patterns in the labor market as a whole, where women are 72.2percent of office and administrative support workers, while men are 96.5 percent of installation, maintenance, and repair workers, and more than 97 percent of all construction and extraction workers.”

“Gender segregation in job training programs has important implications for women’s long-term economic security. Data for adults who finished training programs funded by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) between April 2013 and March 2014 show that while women were the majority of those who received intensive and training services (51 percent, Table II-10) and were, on average, in programs of longer duration than men (Table II-18), their average earnings after receiving WIA services were lower than men’s. In the fourth quarter after finishing adult programs, women who exited programs between July 2012 and June 2013 earned $5,296 compared with $7,188 for men (Table II-31). (Published data do not provide information on earnings prior to receiving WIA services and include all exiters, not just those with full-time earnings.)”

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Education Matters: The Impacts of Systemic Inequity in Vermont

Education Matters: The Impacts of Systemic Inequity in Vermont

Education Matters: The Impacts of Systemic Inequity in Vermont examines the impacts of rising social inequality on Vermont students and student achievement by looking at indicators like standardized test scores, school size, disciplinary practices, out-of-school time, and graduation rates.

“Educating our children is one of our state’s most important responsibilities, and public schools are integral to our communities. But the income gap in Vermont between those at the top and everyone else has never been wider.  And that creates challenges for our schools and communities that we cannot ignore.  Fortunately, Vermont’s equitable school funding system provides a solid foundation for the broader discussion that’s needed to ensure all Vermont kids have access to the educational opportunity they need and deserve.  Education Matters starts that discussion,” says Paul Cillo, President of the Public Assets Institute.

The report acknowledges the importance of recent reforms aimed at closing gaps in access to pre- kindergarten, school meals, and out-of-school programs so that kids have the foundations they need to start school on strong footing.  Nonetheless, 1 in 3 Vermont kids live in low-income families, and post-recession rebounds to the economy have benefitted the top income brackets, while middle income families have less to spare.  “More and more kids are coming to school without the basic resources they need to be ready to learn,” the report says.

Growing inequality outside of schools is mirrored in educational outcomes for kids across the state.  Children from low-income families, students with disabilities, and students of color score worse on standardized tests, are more likely to be suspended or expelled, are less likely to graduate on time, and are less likely to reach college or career-readiness, go to college, and graduate from college.

“We ask our schools, more than any other institution, to be an equalizer of opportunity.  But the benefits of an education do not accrue equally to all members of our society, and the ‘myth of the meritocracy’ hinders our ability to work toward true equity in our schools,” says report author Molly Goldberg.

The report advocates for good data and evaluation methods to help us to understand how our schools are serving as interventions in or exacerbations of larger social inequities.  Holly Morehouse, Executive Director of Vermont Afterschool says, “The Education Matters report calls for a sharpened and renewed focus on equity in our educational system, especially as Vermont moves towards a system that is flexible, personalized, student-centered, and proficiency-based. Now more than ever we need to make connections between learning that happens in the classroom and learning that happens beyond the school day in the out-of-school time. At the same time, it is critical that barriers to participation resulting from inequities outside of school are not allowed to perpetuate persistent and damaging gaps within our educational system.” The report also suggests a range of interventions that promote equity in schools, including the community schools model, in which schools are a hub of a community acting as a site for multiple services and serving all generations. Evidence shows that the integration of schools with their communities is important to the vitality of the school, but also of the community.

Co-author Dawn Moskowitz emphasizes, “We know the wellbeing of schools and communities are intimately connected.  We must build on the strong foundation we already have in Vermont to ensure equitable outcomes for all our kids.”

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Middlebury College Perpetuates Vermont’s Gender-based Labor Divide

Middlebury College Perpetuates Vermont’s Gender-based Labor Divide

By and  | May 11, 2016

“Vermont’s reputation for progressive and liberal politics may be undeserved, at least when it comes to labor-gender equality.

A recent report by “Change the Story,” a statewide initiative devoted to female economic empowerment, revealed that little has changed in Vermont for women workers since the passage of Title IX in 1972. Occupational segregation, or the uneven gender distribution across and within labor sectors, stubbornly persists.

“Women are clustered in the same occupations today as they were back in 1970,” Cary Brown, Executive Director of the Vermont Commission on Women informed VTDigger.  “We still have ideas about what are appropriate jobs for women and what are appropriate jobs for men.”

These ‘female professions’ include office administration, food-service, teaching and nursing, according to the “Change the Story” report. Typical “male professions” include computers and math, engineering and law enforcement. 

The College is no exception. As the largest employer in Addsion County, the College employs over 1,500 Vermonters in faculty and staff positions. The report illuminates the occupational segregation present among these employees and possible gender biases in hiring decisions.

The most recent report on the status of women faculty and staff dates back to 2008. It states that the “College on the Hill” perpetuates occupational segregation, corroborating findings from the 2016 “Change the Story” report.” 

[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”https://middleburycampus.com/article/gender-disparities-persist-in-vermont-stem-jobs/” title=”Vermont Woman: Changing the Economic Story for Vermont Women” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article[/x_button]

 

Girls In Tech

Girls In Tech

 

Girls in Tech (GIT) is a global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. Our aim is to accelerate the growth of innovative women who are entering into the high-tech industry and building successful startups.

Created in February 2007 by Adriana Gascoigne, Girls in Tech was born out of the need to provide a platform for women to cultivate ideas, learn new skills and advance their careers in STEM fields.

Girls in Tech is headquartered in San Francisco, California and has multiple chapters around the world, from Paris, France and Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Hyderabad, India and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Girls in Tech offers a variety of resources and curriculum for members to further their educational and professional aspirations. These programs include Lady Pitch Night, Catalyst Conference, Coding and Design Bootcamps, Hackathons, XChange, Global Classroom, GIT WORK, and others.

[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”https://girlsintech.org/” title=”Girls In Tech ” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Check it out![/x_button]

How female science, math teachers influence whether young women major in STEM fields

How female science, math teachers influence whether young women major in STEM fields

“Jobs in STEM fields often are high paying and in high demand, which is why government leaders have been pressing colleges and universities to produce more STEM graduates. President Barack Obama has said that science and innovation are key to the country’s  economy and that offering more opportunities for Americans to gain related skills can help create jobs. School districts nationwide have launched programs designed to improve the “STEM pipeline,” with the aim of helping pique and support children’s interest in science and technology during elementary, middle and high school. Organizations such as Black Girls CODE offer workshops and after-school programs to teach computer coding to girls from underrepresented communities.

A January 2016 study published in Social Problems considers how teacher demographics could influence that effort.”

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Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing

Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing

Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing asks why there are still so few women in the critical fields of engineering and computing — and explains what we can do to make these fields open to and desirable for all employees.”

Click here for the webinar.

[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.aauw.org/research/solving-the-equation/” title=”Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Check out the full report.[/x_button]