{"id":1332,"date":"2019-03-27T11:05:18","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T15:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/?p=1332"},"modified":"2022-06-06T18:08:27","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:08:27","slug":"women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in Welding: Overcoming Barriers with Dorothy Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"m-entry__feedback\"><div class=\"m-feedback-prompt\">\n\t\t  <h4 class=\"m-feedback-prompt__header\">Was this article helpful?<\/h4>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__social m-feedback-prompt__social_thumbsup yes\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-up\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt_form no\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-down\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a><br>\n\t\t  <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__social yes\">\n\t\t    <p class=\"m-feedback-prompt__text\">Awesome, share it:<\/p>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon facebook fa fa-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon twitter fa fa-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/&text=Women in Welding: Overcoming Barriers with Dorothy Walker\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon googleplus fa fa-google-plus\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Google Plus<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon linkedin fa fa-linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/&title=Women in Welding: Overcoming Barriers with Dorothy Walker\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t  <\/div>\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__form no\">\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"thanks feedback-nodisplayall\"><h2>Thanks!<h2><div class=\"m-contact\"><p>Thanks for getting in touch with us.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t    <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"new_support_request\" action=\"\" accept-charset=\"UTF-8\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t    <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"6951482529\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332\" \/>\n\t\t      <input value=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-overcoming-barriers-with-dorothy-walker\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\" id=\"currenturl\">\n\t\t      <input value=\"Women in Welding: Overcoming Barriers with Dorothy Walker\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\" id=\"currenttitle\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Help us improve. Give us your feedback:<\/label>\n\t\t      <textarea class=\"p-input__textarea\" name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\"><\/textarea>\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your Full Name:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"feedbackfullname\" id=\"feedbackfullname\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your email address:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"mailinglistemail\" id=\"mailinglistemail\">\n\t\t      <div class=\"feedback-message\" id=\"feedback-message\"><\/div>\n\t\t      <div class=\"__submit\">\n\t\t        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" value=\"Submit\" class=\"p-button\" id=\"submit-contact-form\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n\t\t      <\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>Dorothy Walker didn\u2019t expect to find a career in welding.\nInstead, she saw it as a way to make a family-supporting income. Once she\nlearned the science behind the trade, though, she grew to love welding. Now,\nhowever, fewer people are looking to pursue careers in welding.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As more skilled welders are expected to retire,\na significant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.machinedesign.com\/community\/us-skills-gap-hurting-manufacturing\">gap<\/a>\n(2018) continues to emerge between the skills required for existing jobs and\nthe knowledge and skills that prospective employees are expected to have. According\nto <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/us\/en\/pages\/manufacturing\/articles\/boiling-point-the-skills-gap-in-us-manufacturing.html\">Deloitte\nand the Manufacturing Institute<\/a> (2015), only 1.4 million people will fill\nthe 3.4 million manufacturing jobs expected to be open between 2015 and 2025. This\nlarge labor shortage will hinder manufacturing in the U.S., while at the same\ntime representing a tremendous opportunity for people looking for rewarding\ncareer opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, nontraditional occupations for women, or careers\nwith workforces that are more than 75 percent male, may offer women higher\nwages than other careers that are traditionally female-dominated, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.matc.edu\/student\/resources\/occupations.cfm?cssearch=839702_1\">Milwaukee\nArea Technical College (MATC)<\/a> (2018).&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walker, the interim Dean of the Technical and Applied\nSciences Division at MATC, exemplifies what it takes to develop a rewarding\ncareer in welding despite initially facing adversity in the male-dominated\nfield. Now, Walker works to help boost young women\u2019s interest in welding\ncareers and support their technical education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Q&amp;A<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>Airgas Thinks<\/em>: How did your career in welding begin? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dorothy Walker: It was\nnot a planned career path. It was something I learned to do at a company that I\nhad already been working at for 10 years. When I found out that welding was one\nof the highest-paying jobs at the company, I asked a welder to teach me how to\nweld. I was a single parent, so I was thinking about the type of income I\nneeded to support my family. My career in welding started as a practical\neconomic choice, and then I grew to love it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>AT<\/em>: What was your educational path?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>DW: I first learned\nhow to weld through on-the-job training. Then, I went to school at MATC. During\nthis time, I learned the technical theory behind welding, and coming to school\ngave me the perspective I needed to understand that welding is a science. I\u2019m a\nfirm believer that you need to learn the science of welding. I have an associate\ndegree in welding technology and a bachelor\u2019s degree in career and technical education.\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>AT<\/em>: What challenges have you faced throughout your career? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>DW: Something as\nsimple as access to a restroom was a major challenge for me at my first welding\njob in Milwaukee. The facility I worked in did not have a women\u2019s restroom, so I\nhad to leave the building to go to the main office restrooms. In the beginning\nof my career, men did not accept that I knew what I was doing in the shop. Even\nthough I had a strong educational background, there were biases to overcome. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>AT<\/em>: What\u2019s your favorite thing about welding?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>DW: My favorite part\nof welding is the hands-on aspect. Once you really learn welding, you feel the\npride of being able to see something you have put together and the quality of\nwelds you have produced. That pride comes from knowing how to set the\nequipment, your machine, the travel speed and angle. I enjoy challenging myself\nto produce the best welds I can. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The most rewarding\npart of my career now is teaching and helping people realize that there is so\nmuch opportunity in welding. I have seen the impact when people I taught would\ncome back, after starting their careers, and say, \u201cThank you for pointing this\nout to me and letting me know that I could have a career in welding.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>AT<\/em>: What are you doing to encourage more women to enter the manufacturing field? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>DW: There is not\nenough information available for women to learn about careers in welding. We\ndon\u2019t do enough to tell women about the welding trades, the satisfaction of\nwelding and the variety of paths available within the field. We have to reach\ngirls earlier. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I go to talk to girls\nin high schools, middle schools and community-based organizations to let them\nknow that there is potential for them to have interesting and high-earning\ncareers in welding.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>MATC hosts a Girl\nScout activity every year so that young women can experience nontraditional\ncareers, including welding and manufacturing. This is consistently one of the\nmost popular Girl Scout activities. The participants get to see welding as not\nonly an industrial trade, but also as an art. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong><em>AT<\/em>: What would you say to younger women about a profession in welding?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>DW: I would tell them\nthat welding is a very exciting trade to pursue. There are so many paths that\nyou can take in welding. For example, you can start out as a production welder\nand become a Certified Welding Inspector, then go back to school and become an\ninstructor. I always recommend investing in education, but I think hands-on\ntraining is the foundation of a successful career. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>The Path Forward <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Walker\u2019s example and the examples of <a href=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-an-interview-with-industry-pioneer-sue-silverstein\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"many other trailblazing women in trades (opens in a new tab)\">many other trailblazing women in trades<\/a> show a promising path toward closing the skills gap in the coming years. Programs that expose women of all ages to the benefits of a career in welding are key to empowering women to seize available opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>More from our <em>Women in Welding<\/em> series:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-airgas-thinks\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ffhno6ISxk\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-an-interview-with-industry-pioneer-sue-silverstein\/\">Women in Welding: An Interview with Industry Pioneer Sue Silverstein<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Women in Welding: An Interview with Industry Pioneer Sue Silverstein&#8221; &#8212; Airgas Thinks\" src=\"https:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/women-in-welding-an-interview-with-industry-pioneer-sue-silverstein\/embed\/#?secret=MXQNzomft3#?secret=ffhno6ISxk\" data-secret=\"ffhno6ISxk\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Was this article helpful? &nbsp; &nbsp; Awesome, share it: Share Tweet Google Plus LinkedIn Thanks! 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