Why More Women Are Turning To Skilled Trades

[0:00] Corporate America has seen historic rounds of layoffs recently in what some experts warn could [0:05] be the beginning of an AI-driven, white-collar recession. But jobs in the skilled trades are [0:10] seen as AI-proof. A robot's never going to be able to do what we do. Trade jobs are never going to be [0:16] technology-based. They're going to be human-based. At the same time, blue-collar industries are [0:20] facing a shortage of skilled tradespeople as workers age out of the field. You have major [0:25] industry in this country which cannot find people. For women especially, that creates opportunities [0:33] for employment growth and rising salaries, potentially even narrowing the gender wage gap. [0:40] The number of women working as electricians in the U.S. has increased over the past two decades, [0:57] and the number of women working as carpenters has increased by 17% over the same period. But [1:02] it's still a small percentage of workers. In 2025, women represented just 3.5% [1:09] of electricians, and 3.1% of both carpenters and plumbers in the U.S. [1:14] Experts say that women who pursue this path are positioning themselves for job stability and [1:19] economic security. Average starting wages for skilled trade workers grew over 25% between [1:26] 2019 and 2024, in some cases outpacing inflation. Pay-wise you move up pretty fast. I've only been [1:33] doing this for two years. I've gone from tech one to tech two to tech three and I'm about to become [1:39] my crew lead. Here at Chicago Women in Trades, we do a lot of hands-on training to get women prepared [1:44] for these careers in construction. And what we've noticed is a lot of second career participants and [1:50] what they have found is, quite frankly, they can't afford to care for their families on the wages [1:54] that they earn in those other jobs. It is the economic stability that's offered in the union [2:00] construction trades with very high wages, a great pension, which is rare these days, health benefits, [2:06] all of those great things. And without the debt that comes from getting a four-year or two-year [2:11] degree at a college. I've had students that did two or three years of college and thought, [2:16] I don't like it. So they came to trades. I've had students that completed degrees, [2:21] didn't get jobs in their fields, came to trades. There's plenty of trade work out there. [2:28] While the skilled trades offer increasingly higher salaries and job security in the face of AI, [2:34] women remain hugely underrepresented in some blue-collar fields. [2:38] I was the only [2:39] grad student in the college. I was the only grad student in the college. I was the only grad student [2:39] girl when I started. Currently, I am the only female technician. I interviewed with almost 13 [2:44] companies, and nobody wanted to give me a field position. Everybody kept offering me an office [2:51] position, and I was like, that's not what I went to trade school for. I went to trade school because [2:55] I want to use my hands. I don't want to sit behind a desk all day. So I definitely do think that it [3:00] had to do with the fact that I was a girl, and they just thought that it would be a better spot [3:05] for me. Getting access to hours and work opportunities is a huge barrier. Often women [3:09] are the first to be let go of a work site as soon as work starts to slow down, and the last ones to [3:14] be picked up when work starts up again. The other barrier is just the situation on the work sites [3:18] alone. We have a disproportionate experience of harassment and discrimination against women on [3:24] construction sites. Women often will end up on these sites as apprentices and not be given the [3:29] opportunities to learn the kind of broad base of skills that their male counterparts are able to [3:34] learn. [3:34] We had another female technician working there, but she left after a very short period of time. [3:40] Having another female technician there was very nice because it gave me someone else to like have [3:47] camaraderie with every single day. But at the same time, I get along with everybody I work with. They [3:52] will train me and they watch out for me at work. I kind of like being the only girl at my company [3:57] because I've earned a great amount of respect and I've made some really good friends because I come [4:04] to work and I'm like, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to [4:04] do this. I'm going to do this. I'm like, I'm going to work and I do my work and that's why I'm there. [4:06] Many blue collar industries in the U.S. are facing a retirement cliff as more tradespeople retire than new ones [4:19] enter the field. For example, the construction industry needs to attract an estimated 350,000 new workers in [4:26] 2026 to meet demand for labor. [4:29] In 2027, the industry will need to bring in 456,000 new workers to meet demand. [4:36] The economic impact of the skilled labor shortage in the home building sector is potentially a would be a long time. [4:40] M.D. [4:40] is estimated at $10.8 billion. [4:44] Baby boomers are either passing away or they're retiring. [4:47] So that whole onslaught of tradespeople, they're moving on. [4:53] So there's plenty of opportunity. [4:55] It's very clear that if you dismiss 50% of the population, [4:58] you're not going to fill the gap. [4:59] We are not short on interest from women in entering the trades. [5:03] I think women can be a key piece to filling those workforce shortages [5:06] and kind of bringing life to the economy. [5:08] There have been federal initiatives to increase women's participation [5:12] in the skilled trades in the past. [5:14] During the Biden administration, the Department of Commerce [5:16] launched the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge. [5:20] Construction companies, unions, and training organizations that signed the pledge [5:25] committed to increasing women's access to training, jobs, and leadership opportunities. [5:30] Certainly the messaging that we have gotten since the new Trump administration [5:34] has come into the office has really counteracted a lot of that progress. [5:38] Women disproportionately experience poverty. [5:42] Women often are leading households. [5:45] And so I think when they're thinking about how do we support stronger families, [5:50] more economically secure families, I think addressing sort of women's wage inequities [5:54] and occupational segregation is a key component. [5:58] It really can be a great career path that can really lead to buying your first home, [6:02] making six figures within just a handful of years of training and work. [6:06] So a really great economic opportunity for these. [6:09] Women's economic empowerment can spur economic growth at large. [6:14] In recent years, women's discretionary spending has frequently outpaced men, [6:18] driving U.S. spending growth overall, a key component of GDP. [6:22] Trying to figure out a way to not just kind of plug and churn women in and out of the industry [6:28] to fill kind of workforce gaps, but to really have them stay in that industry, [6:32] to build in those careers and become sort of leaders and journey-level workers down the road, [6:37] I think is a piece. [6:39] We're really interested in making sure we're lifting up into these conversations [6:42] about workforce shortage.