Encouraging women to move into manufacturing, trade and technical jobs will speed up recovery efforts, raise earnings and cut poverty, according to a new study carried out by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR).
Since the pandemic, more than two million women have dropped out of the workforce in the US alone; and many have been unemployed for 26 weeks or more, threatening the economic and workforce gains made by women over the past decade. This workforce, however, is key to recovery efforts.
According to IWPR’s latest study, women in states like New Orleans are missing from high-wage Covid-19 recovery trade/technical jobs. However, moving them – especially women of colour – into those jobs will have a dramatic impact on their ability to reenter the workforce; and regain their economic footing.
UNDER-REPRESENTION IN TRADE SECTORS
The report shows that women constitute less than 20% of workers in high-paying trade sectors. However, they are over-represented in sectors that have been decimated by the pandemic. These include personal services, leisure and hospitality, and education and health. These sectors also offer comparatively lower earnings, and not expected to recover quickly post Covid-19.
The concentration of women in service sectors jobs has exacerbated the already large racial and gender wage gap. Pre-Covid-19, Black women were paid just 51 cents; Hispanic women 50 cents; Asian and Pacific Islander women 52 cents; and White women 75 cents of every dollar earned by White men.
The report shows women’s earnings are essential to the economic security of their families. For example, almost eight in 10 of all mothers in the US – and almost nine in 10 Black mothers in New Orleans – are breadwinners for their families. Improving women’s access to – and retention in – skilled trade and technical jobs will not only lift women’s earnings, but also improve the economic well-being of their families. In addition, it will also help businesses in the region to address workforce needs.
QUALITY JOBS KEY TO RECOVERY
“Many women are simply unaware of the earnings opportunities in the trades. In New Orleans, the average hourly earnings of a plumber are just as high as those of a middle school teacher. One career can be accessed through earn-as-you learn apprenticeships; the other requires at least four years of college (and potentially college debt),” pointed out Chandra Childers, one of the authors of the study. “High quality jobs with clear pathways for higher wages and advancement will be key to recovery for women.”
In addition to job creation efforts touted by the new US Administration, “there will be a need for reskilling and training for women to enter skilled and technical jobs; particularly among women of colour and those hardest hit by the pandemic”, added C. Nicole Mason, President and CEO of IWPR. “Our recovery efforts must be comprehensive and create opportunities for long-term economic security and mobility for women, and their families.”
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