Careers for Veterans: Women in the Skilled Trades Then and Now

These days, the skilled trades offer excellent job opportunities for women. This informative infographic TWS created highlights how women could find fulfilling positions in HVAC, welding, and electrical maintenance. However, the skilled trades—in fact most industries—did not always welcome women into their ranks. Let’s take a look at their first entry into fields that have traditionally been dominated by men, as well as their major contribution to a pivotal point in American history: World War II.

Before 1939, a woman working at all, especially in an industry or occupation traditionally reserved for men, was almost unheard of. The opinion of many in society was that a woman’s role was to be a wife and mother. In fact, some states even prohibited married women from taking jobs.

Then came Pearl Harbor and World War II, and men joining the military and going off to war rapidly depleted America’s industrial workforce. The nation’s leaders and planners faced a grim dilemma: they obviously needed the boots on the ground to fight, but who would replace them to continue producing the guns, ships, planes, tanks, and other materiel that were so vital to the war effort? They chose the logical, and really the only, option they had.

A huge public relations campaign was mounted to encourage women to step up and fill the need. Patriotic posters showing the smiling, confident visage of Rosie the Riveter were suddenly everywhere. And the women of America responded. That wartime experience helped change attitudes towards women in the workforce.

Compared to World War II, women probably account for a smaller percentage of the workers in typically male dominated industries today. For example, they represent only 8.9 percent of the construction workforce in the U.S. However, the skilled trades provide great opportunities for women. These occupations can offer more affordable and faster professional training options and excellent pay. There’s also little chance of these jobs being outsourced or shipped overseas. Skilled trades industries have been experiencing shortages of workers in recent years, and veteran women and men could be just the right people to fill these positions. Check out the infographic and learn more.