Female welders in demand, in Wyoming

According to the Casper Star Tribune, about a quarter of welding jobs in the state are held by women. In vocational education terminology (I used to work at the Oklahoma Department of Vocational education so I'm familiar with the language they use), this is a nontraditional job for women.

I'm actually suprised the percentage is as high as that. Nationwide, a quick search tells me that only 3.5% of welders were women (although this is 1996 data). For Wyoming, according to the Tribune, it's important that women get into the welding field since it pays more than average and Wyoming women suffer from one of the worst gender wage gaps in the country.

The paper said that "Our Families Our Future's CLIMB Wyoming nonprofit program has teamed up with Casper College this summer to help train women in the field of welding, hoping to provide skilled workers for an under-staffed industry and give single mothers a leg up toward self-sufficiency."

Good for them. There is nothing particularly male about welding, and in fact some jobs with high degrees of precision required might be better done by women.