About Women and Minorities in the Workplace
- According to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, women filled 47 percent of all U.S. jobs in 2015 but held only 24 percent of science, technology, engineering, and math jobs.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that as of 2014, women made up approximately 50 percent of all public-sector employees, yet they held only 20 percent of leadership positions.
- According to Catalyst, in 2017 women were nearly half (46.9%) of the labor force, but only 39.8 percent of women held a management position. The percentage of US businesses with at least one woman in senior management jumped from 69 percent in 2017 to 81 percent in 2018, but the percentage of senior roles held by women decreased from 23 percent to 21 percent.
- According to the 2018 Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, "At the first critical step up to manager…women are less likely to be hired into manager-level jobs, and they are far less likely to be promoted into them—for every one hundred men promoted to manager, seventy-nine women are. Largely because of these gender gaps, men end up holding 62 percent of manager positions, while women hold only 38 percent."
- According to the Pew Research Center, eight-in-10 Americans say it is at least somewhat important to have racial and ethnic diversity in today's workplaces. However, the report found Blacks and Hispanics made up 27 percent of the overall U.S. workforce as of 2016, but together they accounted for only 16 percent of those employed in a STEM occupation, which in part was due to lack of access to high quality education to prepare them for these fields.
- According to a report by NPR, in 2018, 121 women will serve in the 116th Congress, which is an increase from the 107 women in 2017. In addition, according to the Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics, a record number of women of color have been elected to the House of Representatives, 38. This year will also see the first Muslim women, first Native American women and the youngest woman (29) to serve in congress.
STEM
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is an integrated, interdisciplinary, and student-centered approach to learning that encourages curiosity, creativity, artistic expression, collaboration, communication, problem solving, critical thinking and design thinking.
STEM education in Pennsylvania is built on the following foundational beliefs:
- All students are capable of STEM literacy;
- Iteration and reflection are an important part of the STEM learning process;
- STEM education transcends the classroom walls, integrating into the community;
- STEM education success depends upon the partnership between educators, students, families, postsecondary providers, legislators, business and industry.
What Women at PennDOT Say:
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
We all need to get from place to place and to move goods and services. Transportation is a field where you will get a chance to work with and meet all types of people. It's not all about engineering; the industry needs all types of people and professions to make our transportation network efficient and effective.
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
Transportation is dynamic and innovative. The department is always evolving and striving to improve our services and products. There are a wide variety of skill sets needed to make the entire organization successful. If one dedicates themselves to learning, then the opportunities for advancement and the variety of career options here are seemingly endless.
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
A career in transportation doesn't mean you need to be an engineer. Transportation embodies multiple facets that need a variety of skill sets and backgrounds.
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
It is essential to have talented women involved in transportation careers because roads, bridges, rail, waterways, bike/pedestrian access, and public transportation help shape the quality of life and economic development of our communities for generations.
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
PennDOT is a great place to work. The organization is large and there is a wide variety of career paths to choose from — from construction and maintenance and technical engineering positions, to positions in budget, procurement, human resources, legal, information technology, etc. I am glad I chose PennDOT. In my 10-year career, I worked on a wide range of projects and assignments and have met a lot of dedicated and knowledgeable people. Through my project work, I got to learn about a number of various activities PennDOT is involved in, but I know there's a large number of business areas I have not worked with yet. There is an impressive variety of impactful work that gets accomplished by PennDOT employees.
What would you tell young women considering careers in transportation?
Believe in yourself and your abilities. Don't be afraid to take chances, and be open to the various career paths and opportunities that exist within the transportation industry. You never know where they may lead.