Gender Disparities In Career Technical Education

Career Technical Education Discrimination
In 2014 there are still striking gender disparities in fields such as, guidance and counseling practices, career technical education programs, in the level and quality of classes available in traditionally male and female career technical education programs, and in the wages earned by female and male career technical education graduates. An interesting comparison of two surveys, one in Montana in 1980 and another in Virginia in 1995, illustrates a large, enduring gender gap in a critical career technical education program area. In Montana in 1980, females accounted for half of enrollment in only one high school technical education course. Female enrollment was less than 10 percent in all other high
school technical education courses. While in Virginia in 1995, only one high school technical education course, Communications Technology, had about 50 percent female enrollment. In the 32 remaining high school technical education courses, female enrollment was less than 15 percent in 27 course and less than 10 percent in 17 courses (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2010).
In 1995, Virginia students explained gender differences in terms that could be considered classic for career technical education.
Females and males both perceived technology education classes as "guy" classes and females perceived technology education classrooms as dirty, hence “unfeminine”. Remote locations away from the core of the school building, sexist and dehumanizing comments from male students were all reasons stated by female students as reasons to not enroll. Other accounts portray similar situations in other areas of career technical education and in other places. For example, the number of female technology education students, teachers and teacher educators remain low in British Columbia. This disproportion is explained by continued recruiting inequities, a history of gendering in the field, and resistance to gender-specific interventions (Braundy, O 'Riley, Petrina, Dalley, & Paxton, 2000). In computer-related courses, males continue to dominate in such areas as graphic arts and computer-aided design, whereas females enroll in clerical and data-entry courses, females also lag behind males in taking the advanced placement computer science exam and in recreational and elective use of computers in school (Weinman & Haag, 1999), while undergraduate family and consumer sciences programs, as a whole, remain predominantly female. (Firebaugh & Miller, 2000) A number of states report continuing gender imbalances, reflecting traditional occupational gendering, in
secondary or adult career technical education programs (Wonacott, 1996, Hargroder 1998, & Silverman 1999).
Numerous technology education programs remain heavily male dominated. Engineering technology, precision production trades, automotive technology, mechanics and repairers, and computer information sciences, for example. Construction trades typically still have the lowest female enrollments. Discrepancies between the genders are not confined to just career technical education in the United States. In the U.S., females continue to outperform males in reading and writing and males continue to outperform females in math and science in elementary and secondary grades. Enrollment in postsecondary undergraduate and graduate degree programs remains fairly gender traditional and females are still underrepresented in professional degree programs (Bae, 2000). In other cultures and nations, females and males tend to prepare for and enter occupations in very gender-traditional patterns.
In Australia, females are still clustered in a relatively narrow range of vocational education and training programs and a small set of lower-paid occupations in health and community services (Murray, 1996). A study comparing American and Finnish students found that in both nations, females typically chose jobs that involved service and caring and the realm of human life, whereas males most likely chose branches of industry that involved the production of goods (Burge & Stenström, 1995). A study of 10 countries included Argentina, India, Mexico, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Zambia found that enduring social and cultural attitudes toward women 's role create a gap between policy and practice in providing equal opportunity and access for females through career technical education (Miller & Vetter, 1996).
Fortunately, there is a glimmer of change even in the comparison of technology education in Montana in 1980 and in Virginia in 1995 (Gloeckner & Knowlton, 1995-1996).
Females accounted for less than 10 percent of 1980 Montana enrollments in every course except one, 15 years later in Virginia, females enrollments were less than 10 percent in only 17 of 32 courses. Likewise, some individual state reports show a certain amount of movement toward gender balance in career technical education enrollments. Between 1992 and 1995, enrollment in New Jersey secondary occupational programs became more gender balanced in business management and administrative services, computer information sciences, marketing operations and distribution, and vocational home economics. Enrollments in adult programs became more gender-balanced in business management and administrative services, computer information sciences, health professions related sciences, and marketing operations and distribution (Wonacott,
1996). In Louisiana, gender-nontraditional enrollment had risen from 24.4 percent of all enrollments in 1990-1991 to 26.5 percent in 1995-1996. In 1996-1997, females accounted for 14.7 percent of all enrollments in technology education, the highest rate among the 6 program years reported but still below the desired 25 percent rate to achieve gender balance (Hargroder, 1998).
One question remains, has there been an increase in access to career technical education programs and the benefits they can provide to women? On the one hand, there is persuasive evidence that gender bias, gender segregation, and gender discrimination still exist and still have an effect on access. However, to say that bias, segregation, and discrimination exist is one thing, to say whether those are on the increase or on the decrease is different. Some data indicates that there is movement toward greater gender balance in some career technical education program enrollments.
However, that data is partial, reflecting program enrollments in only certain states and may not reflect the situation in other states. Unfortunately, nationwide data typically does not specifically address career technical education programs and effects (Bae, 2000). In 1970, the median annual earnings of female high school graduates were only 50 percent of male earnings, and females with bachelor 's degrees earned only 57 percent of male earnings but by 1997, those differences had been reduced to 64 percent and 78 percent. So although disparities still exist, earnings appear to be less unequal than before.

References
Wonacott, M. E. (2002). Equity in Career and Technical Education. Retrieved February 16,
2014, from http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docgen.asp?tbl=mr&ID=110

Howell, R. T. (2000, Spring). Missing XX Chromosomes in Design and Technology Education.
Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/v37n3/braundy.html

Kerka, S. (2001). Nontraditional Employment and Training. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docgen.asp?tbl=tia&ID=153 Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010, June). Projections of Jobs and Education
Requirments Through 2018 (Rep.). Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docgen.asp?tbl=tia&ID=153

McNulty, M. (2013, April 8). Report: Women still missing from high-skill, high-wage CTE programs. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://careertechpartners.org/2013/04/report-women-still-missing-from-high-skill-cte-programs/

Clark, J. (2013, March 20). Women and Girls Still Missing from Career and Technical Education in High Paying Fields, Some States Showing Progress. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.iwpr.org/press-room/press-releases/women-and-girls-still-missing-from-career-and-technical-education-in-high-paying-fields-some-states-showing-progress