I just ran across this article online about a woman learning to weld. Why is it that welding is still primarily a male dominated field? Particularly with TIG / GTAW welding brute strength is not what you need most of… rather dexterity, attention to detail and of course practice that will get you further.
There still is a lack of pay equity for women in the workforce, partly perhaps, because of the lower paying jobs women often take. Pay for welders is good. Particularly skilled welders. And, with the shortage of skilled welders, you’d think that welding would make a good career choice, for a man or a woman.
Anyway, here’s an excerpt from the article:
LTC program turns woman into a welder
Female student shines in mostly male courseBy Helen Clarke, Herald Times Reporter
CLEVELAND — Give 24-year-old Lois Vasquez some tungsten inert gas and a welding torch, and she’ll call it Zen.
“It’s a very slow, very delicate process,” Vasquez, a Manitowoc resident and Lakeshore Technical College student, said of TIG welding. “You’ve gotta respect it.”
And as a woman in the welding field, she knows a lot about respect.
Vasquez will graduate from the LTC welding program Saturday, May 12 — the third woman to complete the program in at least the past seven years, welding instructor Dave Saunders said.
Good for Lois Vasquez, but what a shame, that she’s only the third woman to complete the program in the past seven years!
Though not directly related to Women in WELDING … these organizations offer various levels of support, guidance and training to women in the trades:
- National Institute for Women in Trades Technology and Science
- Oregon Tradeswomen Inc
- California Women in Trades
- Washington (the state) Women in Trades
- Chicago Women in Trades
- and more links to women in the trades here.
And for links to trade schools that teach welding, check out the American Welding Society’s Trade School Locator.