What It’s Like To Be A Woman In A Male-Dominated Industry
Advice from rock star women who wouldn’t let the gender (or pay) gap stop them from pursuing their dreams
“In order to be successful, you couldn’t be ‘one of the guys’. You had to be yourself, stand by your principles, do your job, and keep your nose clean.” — My mom, retired Atlanta Police Officer
In honor of International Women’s Day, which will have passed by the time this posts, lest we forget, I wanted to take this opportunity to expand on an article I recently wrote on gendered ageism, and focus on women in general, particularly those who hold nontraditional female roles in the workplace.
The idea of this article came to me as I sat next to a woman in a nail salon who told me she was a welder. She still has an innate sense of feminity, after all. In my mind, she became an instant badass, and I immediately wanted to be her BFF. I was somewhat starstruck by this woman who was lighting a torch for women in this male-dominated field.
Women have traditionally been associated with — er pigeonholed into — female-dominated roles such as teacher, nurse, administrative, etc. More…
