If you think women don’t like manufacturing/labor jobs, you are sorely mistaken. According to a fantastic study by the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), women are drastically underrepresented in manufacturing jobs, despite finding their pay and challenges very desirable. While women make up 47% of the labor force, they only occupy 30% of the manufacturing labor workforce, and represent an even smaller total of 24% in manufacturing for transportation equipment. 87% of the American transit manufacturing workforce is male.

 

We all know about the wage gap, but the gap in manufacturing is even more pervasive. Women who do break into this field not only get paid less, but end up in administrative or clerical roles—missing out on the benefits of a high manufacturing wage (the median annual wage for the railroad rolling stock industry is $45,000). Women want difficult, hands-on work, too. In this study's surveys, 75% of women said manufacturing jobs were desirable, especially considering the high compensation and challenging atmosphere.

 

How do we illustrate this? Well, Jobs to Move America did it for us. Starting on May 22nd, Los Angeles’ Union Station will display an exhibition full of photographs of modern industry Rosie the Riveters. The exhibit will be called Women Can Build and tells the stories of women in manufacturing, making a case for more inclusive recruiting and hiring in these industries.  

 

There’s nothing we love more than looking at photos of strong, successful women. Click through to see!