Men have dominated many industries for centuries, making it challenging for women to break through and establish themselves. Some challenges women have had to face are:
Higher stress and anxiety
Lack of mentoring and career development
Lack of belief in women's ability to lead
Photo by Hannah Busing on UnsplashDespite the challenges, the gap has decreased over the decades, and as of February 2022 in the USA, 65.7% of men and 54.4% of women are in the workforce.
Although the fight for equality still takes place today, there have been many advancements for women, primarily in construction, computer programming, and entrepreneurship.
1. Construction
It may come as a surprise, but many women work in the labor field, especially in construction. With the increase of women in construction, Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) was created to foster a community for women that offered support and a goal to diversify the industry.
Other advancements were also made within the construction industry, such as:
Opportunities for equal pay. The construction industry was reported to have a much smaller pay gap than other industries.
Leadership opportunities. 44% of women hold managerial and professional positions, while 28% hold sales and office positions.
2. Computer Programming
Since the 19th century, women have contributed to technology in many ways. Some include:
creating algorithms and code
developing programming languages
contributing to the idea of wifi
building email and web-based systems
As of 2022, only 28% of women are in the technology industry, and 15% are in engineering. Recently, many programs have been created to encourage women to have a career in technology, such as Girls Who Code, Girl Develop IT (GDI), and Black Girls Code.
Today, women continue working on advancements and ways to make the technology space more appealing.
3. Entrepreneurship
Women have been contributing to the entrepreneurship industry since the 19th century. A recent study indicates that 48.6% of businesses are owned by women in the U.S.A.
Although women are often linked to "female-dominated" businesses like cosmetics and fashion, they now head "male-dominated" businesses, such as:
Real-estate
Small businesses
Biotechnology
Media
Having women as entrepreneurs has led to increased diversity in leadership and role models and mentors for other women who aspire to own a business. They are also "inspiring social change with entrepreneurship."
Take Action
More women are venturing into male-dominated spaces, and you can too!
Check out the Association for Women in Science to read more about women in male-dominated spaces.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on UnsplashTake a look at these related Bytes as well:
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