Building Confidence, Breaking Barriers

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Ellie Patillo on Vermont Works for Women’s website. It has been edited for length and republished here with permission by the organization.

Courtesy: Vermont Work for Women

Gender stereotypes affect children’s career choices extremely early on in their lives, as early as age 4, according to a study by Ashton Trice and Kimberly Rush. Gender stereotypes from parents about the type of professions boys or girls might be successful in can lead to girls lacking self-confidence in areas like science and math, which influences their career choices, states a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

A lack of gender representation in STEM and the trades can also create barriers for girls looking to join these fields. These industries have a high gender gap, with women making up only 27% of STEM workers in the U.S. despite making up almost half of the entire workforce population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The gap is even worse for skilled trades occupations, such as the construction industry where only four percent of construction workers are women, states the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

In the early 2000s, Vermont Works for Women (VWW) expanded its program offerings beyond trades training for women to career exploration programs for girls and gender-expansive youth. According to Skillwork, 25% of manufacturing workers are 55 or older, but there are not enough workers to fill their places as these older workers age out and leave their fields. This labor shortage is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, says an analysis by PeopleReady Skilled Trades.

To build a strong trades workforce in Vermont, VWW seeks to introduce youth to these fields early in their lives, especially girls.

ROSIE’S GIRLS CAMP

Rosie’s Girls is VWW’s program for middle-school youth that empowers girls to learn entry-level trades skills. Surrounded by other girls and gender-expansive youth and taught by women instructors, campers can feel comfortable being themselves and making mistakes, building their confidence in their abilities in a judgment-free zone. Offered in afterschool and week-long camp formats, campers engage in career path exploration that expands their understanding of the variety of career choices available to them.

Partnering with career and technical education centers and women industry professionals around Vermont, Rosie’s Girls campers get hands-on experience with welding, woodworking, and more. The program also includes a social-emotional learning component that allows girls to forge connections with their peers and learn “Power Skills” to help them navigate school, friendships, and societal issues.

“We really just want to get tools into their hands and [for them] to feel that sense of empowerment and confidence that comes with doing something that you did not know that you could do and did not know was even available to you,” says Marla Goldstein, VWW’s youth program coordinator who helps run Rosie’s Girls.

Of students who attended camp last year, 69% reported increased confidence in themselves and an increased sense of expanded possibilities.

LIFT (LAUNCHING INCLUSIVE FUTURES IN THE TRADES)

This year, VWW introduced LIFT – Launching Inclusive Futures in the Trades – a program for high-school students who are between Rosie’s Girls and a career in the trades. LIFT is offered in a program format similar to Rosie’s Girls that includes lessons on skills including woodworking, welding, and electrician work, all taught by women instructors. Additionally, participants will engage with a breadth of professional development opportunities, including a career panel where they will hear from women who work in the trades or who have other careers that are nontraditional for their gender.

All campers will also complete the Explorer Fellowship through the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative and receive a $250 stipend upon completion. LIFT can help train any girl who wants to go into a career in the trades or learn a few new skills, even if they don’t attend a career and technical education center. These programs rethink Vermont’s approach to filling the skilled trades worker shortage and closing the gender disparity in these industries. Rosie’s Girls and LIFT are also partner models, meaning that VWW works with partners around the state to implement these programs.

Of working with others to run camps, Marla Goldstein says, “We are definitely ‘yes’ people! We want our programs to be able to reach as many youth in Vermont throughout the state as they possibly can.”