Center for American Progress

Donate

Center for American Progress

Expanding Women’s Access to Male-Dominated Jobs

Chapter 8 of: Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

Chapter

Expanding Women’s Access to Male-Dominated Jobs

Federal and state policymakers can create pathways for women to enter and thrive in male-dominated jobs by investing in education and training programs that will diversify the future workforce.

Building an Economy for All, Economy, Jobs, +4 More

Media Contact

[email protected]

Government Affairs

[email protected]

Photo shows a woman in overalls holding a bin, with produce sitting on tables nearby
A woman carries a bin over her head while moving freshly picked produce in Waverley, Pennsylvania, June 2022. (Getty/Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket)

Other chapters in the Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

Expanding Women’s Access to Male-Dominated Jobs

Rose Khattar

+ More chapters

Women should have access to good-quality jobs, but they often are widely shut out of entire sectors of the U.S. economy, particularly those that are well paid, such as construction and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.1 While the causes of women’s underrepresentation in high-paying occupations is multifaceted, ranging from intentional policy choices to social norms rooted in sexism and racism,2 policymakers have a critical role to play in creating pathways for women, particularly women of color, to enter and stay in male-dominated occupations.

Breaking down barriers to educational attainment and investing in proven workforce development programs, such as registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, can help increase women’s employment in male-dominated roles that tend to pay better than the jobs women typically occupy.3 In doing so, these tools provide economywide benefits that boost women’s economic security by diversifying industries, which have productivity-enhancing benefits;4 reducing costs associated with employee turnover; and increasing women’s wages.

Intentionally fostering a pipeline of women into occupations and industries that they have long been left out of is highly supported by women voters. The YWCA finds that in 2022, 67 percent of women voters saw “Workforce Training for Non-Traditional Jobs” as “one of the most important” or a “very important” action for Congress.5 Support was higher among Black women, at 83 percent, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women, at 80 percent.6 Employers also want apprenticeship training, with building a diverse workforce listed as one of their top three motivations for apprenticeship training.7

This chapter of the “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy” describes the problems women face in entering and then flourishing in male-dominated industries; details the benefits of diversifying these industries for women and their families and the U.S. economy overall; and then closes with specific policy recommendations for making those benefits happen.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The problem

Men, particularly white men, are overrepresented in high-paying occupations, and women are overrepresented in low-paying occupations—one reason why gender gaps in economic security exist.8 Occupational segregation facing women both with and without college degrees has long been a feature of the U.S. workforce, and it continues to persist as male-dominated jobs and industries struggle to attract and retain women workers.9

Occupations with a college degree

 Women are obtaining college degrees at higher rates than men.10 Yet they remain underrepresented in certain degree types that tend to lead to employment in well-paid jobs, such as those within the STEM workforce.11 Women constitute just 22 percent of engineering graduates, slightly higher than rates seen in the 1990s, suggesting that there has been slow progress over the past few decades to close gender gaps in STEM educational attainment.12

Moreover, Black women represent around 1 percent of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, while Latinas account for just under 3 percent.13 Gender differences in degree type, in turn, limits women’s participation in these high-paying sectors. White men account for at least half of all workers in each of the top 10 highest-paying occupations, including engineers, physicians, and dentists.14

In addition, women hold nearly two-thirds of all student debt.15 Partly as a result of the gender wage gap, women take longer than men to repay their student loans, which in turn contributes to gender gaps in wealth, limiting their financial security throughout their lifetime.16 This is particularly true for Black women, who, on average, borrow more money than all other racial and ethnic groups and are forced to manage the dual consequences of the gender wage gap and the racial wealth gap.17

Occupations without a college degree

Men are overrepresented in infrastructure-related jobs, such as those in the manufacturing and construction industries, where there are often well-paying jobs that do not require a college degree and where public funding has an outsize influence.18 In 2022, women accounted for 10.9 percent of all workers in the construction industry and for less than one-third of those working in the manufacturing industry.19 Black women are vastly underrepresented, accounting for less than 1 percent of those working in the construction industry and just under 3.6 percent of those in manufacturing. So, too, are Latinas, who account for 2.7 percent of workers in the construction industry and 5.7 percent of the manufacturing industry.20

Women’s stark underrepresentation is even more visible when looking at the jobs that require working with tools typically found in these industries.

Women’s stark underrepresentation is even more visible when looking at the jobs that require working with tools typically found in these industries.21 In 2022, women accounted for just 4.2 percent of construction and extractive workers,22 where median wages were $50,570,23 which is higher than total median wages across all occupations.24 In contrast, female-dominated occupations that do not require a college degree, such as cashiers and customer service representatives, pay considerably less than those jobs within construction and manufacturing.25 Significantly, these jobs are some of the most common occupations that Black women and Latinas tend to work in, contributing to the gender wage gap that they experience.26

Retention challenges

For the women working in male-dominated occupations, many often leave their sectors of the U.S. economy.27 This happens for a range of reasons, including: a lack of networks essential to finding employment and female mentors to support career progression;28 workplace discrimination and harassment;29 and a lack of affordable child care.30 Women also face a gender pay gap within these industries.31 Importantly, these issues tend to disproportionately affect Black women and Latinas, both of whom face compounding challenges stemming from both sexism and racism.32

A study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that nearly half of women in male-dominated trades experience some form of discrimination.33 And a landmark National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report in 2018 found more than half of those working in academic workplaces, which are usually male-dominated, experienced sexual harassment.34

Significantly, occupational segregation is both a cause and a consequence of harassment (see Chapter 7), with many women forced out of male-dominated occupations due to harassment, while its prevalence acts as a disincentive to women entering these occupations in the first place.35 In addition, in male-dominated occupations, the likelihood that harassment is reported is reduced.36

A lack of accessible, affordable, and high-quality child care (see Chapter 3) can limit the participation of all parents, particularly mothers, in the U.S. labor market.37 Parents working in the trades face unique issues given the changing nature of work-site locations and differences in work hours, which line up poorly with the majority of existing formal child care options.38 These differing work and child care landscapes can keep mothers out of these male-dominated industries and can cause mothers working in these sectors to leave the workforce entirely.39

The economic benefits

Strategies to attract and retain women in male-dominated sectors have economywide benefits. Diversifying the type of degrees women obtain, particularly in the STEM disciplines, and ensuring the cost of college does not limit women’s economic security will help women gain access to good-quality jobs.40 Diverse teams have proven economic benefits, including productivity gains from an improved ability to solve complex problems.41 Women entering better-paying occupations also will improve their economic security as they benefit from working in jobs that pay typically more than they would have otherwise received.42 Moreover, addressing retention challenges in male-dominated sectors will lower employers’ costs associated with worker turnover.43

In addition, workforce development programs, such as registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships,44 are integral to attracting and retaining women in industries where they have historically been, and remain, underrepresented, such as construction and manufacturing.45 Apprenticeships are a form of on-the-job training that allows workers to be paid and trained simultaneously. They are commonly found in the construction industry and can help workers gain new skills and often land higher-paying new jobs.46

These benefits flow beyond the worker by helping employers retain skilled workers,47 thus saving on the costs associated with worker turnover.48 Pre-apprenticeship programs have been proved to diversify the apprenticeship pipelines, particularly for women and workers of color, as they help individuals prepare for apprenticeships.49 Notably, progress has been made, with important increases in Black women’s and Latinas’ participation in registered apprenticeships; however, there is still a long way to go to ensure equitable participation, given how low their shares remain in the trades relative to their overall shares in the labor force.50

In supporting women’s attachment to the U.S. workforce and dealing with the economic reality of occupational segregation suppressing women’s wages,51 workforce development tools can help raise wages and subsequently reduce the gender wage gap. (see Chapter 5)

The policy recommendations

Federal and state policymakers must prioritize diversifying the workforce pipeline by tackling barriers to equitable educational attainment and implementing proven strategies that help attract and retain women in male-dominated industries. Each set of policymakers have their own roles to play.

Federal policy recommendations

The nationwide policy recommendations presented below are a set of actions that would variously deliver benefits for women in the workforce, specifically:

  • Cancel student debt and address its root causes:52 Alongside pursuing relief for student loan borrowers, it is paramount that Congress work to increase aid, including Pell Grants, and control the cost of higher education from spiraling further upward.
  • Invest in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions: Doing so will help break down barriers to educational attainment and workforce participation, as these institutions have been shown to help diversify the types of educational choices attendees make.53
  • Target women’s colleges as potential sources of federal investment, particularly in STEM-related programs: Like investing in HBCUs, some of which are women’s colleges, creative partnerships such as the NASA Minority University Research and Education Project’s Women’s Colleges and Universities funding opportunity, would help address barriers to entry and create more direct pipelines for women from school to the STEM workforce.54
  • Implement the CHIPS and Science Act to address gender gaps in STEM: The $10 billion Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs Program55 should ensure grantees “make a concerted effort to hire and retain women” in STEM jobs, including by offering on-the-job training tools and commitments to pay equity.56 In addition, successfully implementing sex-based and sexual harassment-related measures within the CHIPS and Science Act is important to help with attracting and retaining women within STEM academia.
  • Increase women’s access to high-quality jobs funded through the Biden administration’s investment agenda: Similarly, the federal government must ensure that the investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS Act all expand access to women by building out or creating new high-quality training programs in collaboration with the workforce development system, labor-management partnerships, higher education institutions, and others; supporting the hiring of local workers and providing these workers needed wraparound services; monitoring and reporting on outcomes; and adopting policies to create welcoming work environments.57
  • Reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): WIOA programs are crucial tools for ensuring that all workers and job seekers have access to high-quality jobs. Better alignment between workforce, education, and support services can help bring women into well-paying industries and occupations. Reauthorizing the WIOA will be particularly valuable for those who are new to a career or to the workforce, among them youth, job switchers, and trainees, who are at inflection points for diversifying a field. WIOA-funded programs can include apprenticeships, which are well-established diversification tools and are a major driver of youth-oriented workforce programming.58
  • Create safe workplaces that are free from harassment and discrimination: This includes improving funding for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to better enforce existing laws, as well as passing the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) Act59 to strengthen existing anti-discrimination laws.

State policy recommendations

State policymakers can enact two key recommendations that generally fall in their policy areas: 

  • Implement skill-based hiring: State governments have long had a critical role to play in hiring a diverse workforce, particularly for women and those without a bachelor’s degree. Degree requirements for jobs, as opposed to hiring on the basis of skill requirements, can keep women out of jobs that they are qualified for.60 Other states should consider following the example of states such as Virginia,61 and most recently Minnesota,62 both of which are adopting skills-based hiring practices.
  • Address the challenges of child care: In the absence of federal investments in child care for all workers, it is important that states address the unique care challenges of those working in infrastructure jobs.63 This includes ensuring nontraditional hours of child care and flexible hours and scheduling are available, particularly during the implementation of the Biden administration’s investment agenda.64 States can support these goals by ensuring their child care subsidy programs provide reimbursement rates that are aligned with the true cost of care, taking into account additional costs of nontraditional hour child care within their payment structures.65 States also can prioritize investments in the child care workforce, which will support more supply of child care options.66

Conclusion

Increasing women’s representation in male-dominated jobs and improving gender and racial diversity in high-paid industries will help improve women’s economic circumstances and reduce the negative economic consequences of occupational segregation. In working to lower the cost of attending college and creating a pipeline of women to study, enter, and stay in male-dominated fields, policymakers will ensure women can work in all industries and earn equitable wages.

The author would like to thank Karla Walter, Sara Estep, Lily Roberts, Anona Neal, Mariam Rasheed, Maureen Coffey, and Stephanie Hall for their helpful feedback and assistance.

Endnotes

  1. Marina Zhavoronkova, Rose Khattar, and Mathew Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2022), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/occupational-segregation-in-america/; Marina Zhavoronkova and Rose Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades,” Center for American Progress, September 20, 2021, available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/infrastructure-bill-must-create-pathways-women-enter-construction-trades/; Ashleigh Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-chips-and-science-act-will-bring-technology-and-manufacturing-investment-to-rural-areas-and-communities-of-color/.
  2. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  3. Ibid.
  4. Crystal Weise, “The Business Case for Good Jobs” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-business-case-for-good-jobs/.
  5. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America”; YWCA and FINN Partners, “YWomenVote 2022 – Midterm Election Study” (Washington: 2022), available at https://ywomenvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/20220826-YWomenVote-Memo-MidtermElectionStudy.pdf.
  6. Ibid.
  7. New America, “Trends in Apprenticeship Programs” (Washington: 2021), available at https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/employer-training-survey-2021/trends-in-apprenticeship-programs/. 
  8. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.” 
  9. Ibid.
  10. National Center for Education Statistics, “Educational Attainment of Young Adults” (Washington: U.S. Department of Education, 2023), available at https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/caa/young-adult-attainment#5.
  11. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color.”
  12. Danyelle Tauryce Ireland, “Only about 1 in 5 engineering degrees go to women,” The Conversation, June 23, 2022, available at https://theconversation.com/only-about-1-in-5-engineering-degrees-go-to-women-185256. 
  13. Society of Women Engineers, “Degree Attainment,” available at https://swe.org/research/2023/degree-attainment/ (last accessed November 2023). 
  14. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.” 
  15. American Association of University Women, “Women and Student Debt,” available at  https://www.aauw.org/issues/education/student-debt/ (last accessed November 2023). 
  16. Ibid.
  17. Ibid.; Fenaba R. Addo, Jason N. Houle, and Daniel Simon, “Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt,” Race and Social Problems 8 (2016): 64–76, available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12552-016-9162-0.
  18. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18.htm (last accessed November 2023); Zhavoronkova and Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades.”
  19. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.”
  20. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Employed persons in nonagricultural industries by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat14.htm (last accessed November 2023). 
  21. Zhavoronkova and Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades.”
  22. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm (last accessed November 2023). 
  23. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment Projections: Occupational projections, 2022–32, and worker characteristics, 2022,” available at https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm (last accessed November 2023).
  24. Ibid.
  25. Ibid.; Zhavoronkova and Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades.”
  26. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  27. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color.”
  28. David Gyarmati and others, “Enhancing the Retention and Advancement of Women in Trades

    in British Columbia: Final Report” (Ottawa, Canada: The Social Research and Demonstration Corp., 2017), available at https://www.workbc.ca/sites/default/files/Construction_Retention_and_Advancement_of_Women_in_Trades_Feb-2017.pdf; Ariane Hegewisch and Eve Mefferd, “A Future Worth Building: What Tradeswomen Say about the Change They Need in the Construction Industry” (Washington: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2022), available at https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/A-Future-Worth-Building_What-Tradeswomen-Say_FINAL.pdf.

  29. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  30. Marina Zhavoronkova and Maureen Coffey, “3 Ways States Can Expand and Sustain the Infreastructure Workforce by Meeting Child Care Needs” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/3-ways-states-can-expand-and-sustain-the-infrastructure-workforce-by-meeting-child-care-needs/. 
  31. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color”;  National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, “Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities” (Alexandria, VA: National Science Foundation, 2023), available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/report/stem-median-wage-and-salary-earnings#educational-attainment-and-earnings-in-stem-workforce. 
  32. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color.”
  33. Hegewisch and Mefferd, “A Future Worth Building.”
  34. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Washington: The National Academies Press, 2018), available at https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24994/sexual-harassment-of-women-climate-culture-and-consequences-in-academic.
  35. Olle Folke and Johanna Rickne, “Sexual Harassment and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 137 (4) (2022): 2163–2212, available at https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/137/4/2163/6581192. 
  36. Gordon B. Dahl and Matthew M. Knepper, “Why is Workplace Sexual Harassment Underreported? The Value of Outside Options Amid the Threat of Retaliation” (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2021), available at https://www.nber.org/papers/w29248. 
  37. Zhavoronkova and Coffey, “3 Ways States Can Expand and Sustain the Infrastructure Workforce by Meeting Child Care Need.”
  38. Ibid.; Ariane Hegewisch, “Advancing Women in Manufacturing: Perspectives from Women on the Shop Floor” (Washington: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2023), available at https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IWPR-Advancing-Women-in-Manufacturing-report-2023-FINAL.pdf.
  39. Zhavoronkova and Coffey, “3 Ways States Can Expand and Sustain the Infrastructure Workforce by Meeting Child Care Needs.”
  40. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color”; Ireland, “Only about 1 in 5 engineering degrees go to women”; American Association of University Women, “Women and Student Debt.” 
  41. University of Michigan-Dearborn News, “Why diversity is the secret to solving complex problems,” October 31, 2022, available at https://umdearborn.edu/news/why-diversity-secret-solving-complex-problems; Sian Beilock, “How Diverse Teams Produce Better Outcomes,” Forbes, April 14, 2019, available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/sianbeilock/2019/04/04/how-diversity-leads-to-better-outcomes/?sh=5383f09565ce. 
  42. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  43. Weise, “The Business Case for Good Jobs.”
  44. ApprenticeshipUSA, “Explore Registered Apprenticeship” (Washington: U.S. Department of Labor, 2022), available at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/sites/default/files/dol-industry-factsheet-apprenticeship101-v10.pdf; U.S. Department of Labor, “Pre-Apprenticeship: Pathways for Women Into High Wage Careers” (Washington: 2023), available at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/apprenticeship/pdfs/pre_apprenticeship_guideforwomen.pdf.
  45. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  46. U.S. Department of Labor, “Pre-Apprenticeship: Pathways for Women Into High Wage Careers”; Zhavoronkova and Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades.”
  47. U.S. Department of Labor, “ApprenticeshipUSA,” available at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/ (last accessed November 2023). 
  48. U.S. Department of Labor, “Pre-Apprenticeship: Pathways for Women Into High Wage Careers”; Weise, “The Business Case for Good Jobs.”
  49. U.S. Department of Labor, “Pre-Apprenticeship: Pathways for Women Into High Wage Careers.”
  50. Ariane Hegewisch and Chandra Childers, “Here to Stay: Black, Latina, and Afro-Latina Women in Construction Trades Apprenticeships and Employment” (Chicago: Chicago Women in Trades National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment, 2020), available at  https://www.apprenticeship.gov/sites/default/files/here-to-stay.pdf. 
  51. Zhavoronkova, Khattar, and Brady, “Occupational Segregation in America.”
  52. Sara Partridge and Madison Weiss, “The Future of Student Debt Relief: What To Expect Next,” Center for American Progress, October 6, 2023, available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-future-of-student-debt-relief-what-to-expect-next/; Jared C. Bass, “After President Biden Cancels Student Debt” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2022), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/after-president-biden-cancels-student-debt/.
  53. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color.”
  54. NASA, “MUREP-WCU,” available at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/minority-university-research-education-project/murep-womens-colleges-and-universities/ (last accessed December 2023); The White House, “Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” June 25, 2021, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/.
  55. The White House, “FACT SHEET: CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains and Counter China,” August 9, 2022, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/09/fact-sheet-chips-and-science-act-will-lower-costs-create-jobs-strengthen-supply-chains-and-counter-china.
  56. Maciolek and others, “The CHIPS and Science Act Will Bring Technology and Manufacturing Investment to Rural Areas and Communities of Color.”
  57. Karla Walter, “4 Job Quality Questions All Applicants for New Federal Funds Should Answer” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/4-job-quality-questions-all-applicants-for-new-federal-funds-should-answer/; Marina Zhavoronkova and Karla Walter, “How To Support Good Jobs and Workforce Equity on Federal Infrastructure Projects” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-to-support-good-jobs-and-workforce-equity-on-federal-infrastructure-projects/.
  58. Kyle Ross, “Congress Must Bolster Youth Employment Programs To Secure America’s Economic Future” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/congress-must-bolster-youth-employment-programs-to-secure-americas-economic-future/.
  59. National Partnership for Women and Families, “BE HEARD: An Act to End Harassment in the Workplace,” February, 26, 2023, available at https://nationalpartnership.org/resource/be-heard-an-act-to-end-harassment-in-the-workplace/.
  60. Marina Zhavoronkova and Kate Naranjo, “The Benefits of Skills-Based Hiring for the State and Local Government Workforce” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2022), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-benefits-of-skills-based-hiring-for-the-state-and-local-government-workforce/.
  61. Amanda Winters, “Governors Leading On Skills-Based Hiring To Open Opportunity Pathways,” National Governors Association, June 1, 2023, available at https://www.nga.org/news/commentary/governors-leading-on-skills-based-hiring-to-open-opportunity-pathways/.
  62. Briana Bierschbach, “Minnesota eliminates four-year degree requirements for most state government jobs,” Star Tribune, October 30, 2023, available at https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-eliminates-four-year-degree-requirements-for-most-state-government-jobs/600315942/. 
  63. Zhavoronkova and Coffey, “3 Ways States Can Expand and Sustain the Infrastructure Workforce by Meeting Child Care Needs.”
  64. Ibid.; Zhavoronkova and Khattar, “Infrastructure Bill Must Create Pathways for Women To Enter Construction Trades.”
  65. Maureen Coffey, “States Can Improve Child Care Assistance Programs Through Cost Modeling” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2023), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/states-can-improve-child-care-assistance-programs-through-cost-modeling/.
  66. Rose Khattar and Maureen Coffey, “The Child Care Sector Is Still Struggling to Hire Workers,” Center for American Progress, October 19, 2023, available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-child-care-sector-is-still-struggling-to-hire-workers/.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Chapter 8 of: Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

Previous

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Next

More chapters

Chapters

Author

Rose Khattar

Former Director of Economic Analysis, Inclusive Economy

Team

Women’s Initiative

The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.