Women hold 25.4% of all statewide elected executive offices in the country including 4.1% women of color
30% of CA state legislators are women
In the early grades, girls consistently match or surpass boy's achievement in science and mathematics as measured by scholastic aptitude tests, achievement tests and classroom grades.
By eighth grade twice as many boys as girls show interest in science engineering and mathematics careers.
The top five fastest growing occupations through 2010 are information technology occupations, which require advanced computer skills. However, girls enroll more in clerical and data entry computer courses, the contemporary equivalent of typing classes, than in advanced computer classes.
In 1998, girls made up only 17% of the high school students who took the advanced placement exam in computer science.
Fewer than 33% participants in computer and related activities are girls yet 75% of tomorrow's jobs require use of computers.
34% of high school aged girls report being advised by a faculty member not to take senior math.
16% fewer girls than boys report ever talking to their parents about science and technology issues.
Girls and Women Today
A Nontraditional Occupation or field = any occupation/field in which one gender comprises 25% or less of the total employees.
CTE leads to economic self-sufficiency, flexibility, and job satisfaction. Many of the best opportunities are for NonTraditional occupations or fields.
In a Nontraditional occupation, women earn 20%-30% annually more than women in traditional employment. Over a lifetime women in Nontraditional occupations/fields will earn up to 150% more than women in traditional fields.
High-demand and/or High-wage occupations for men include careers in Education, Health, and Family & Consumer Sciences. However, many men find greater job satisfaction and/or better advancement opportunities in careers that are Nontraditional for men.
40% of all jobs require a 4-year degree. That means 60% of all jobs DO not require a 4-year degree. When we focus most of our attention on A-G requirements and UC/CSU college attendance, we marginalize
According to the CA Postsecondary Education Commission (www.cpec.ca.gov) only 7.1% and 11.1% of all CA high-school graduates will attend UC and CSU colleges respectively, another 46.5% will attend a Community College.
The Public Policy Institute of CA, states in their report, Closing the Gap: Meeting California's Need for College Graduates, that by 2025 our economy will require that 41% of workers to have a college degree. That means that 59% of all workers will need less than a four-year college degree. And yet our focus is on college, the mantra is A-G courses. Parent and counselors demand college prep, A-G requirements, and AP classes. What about the students who don't want a four-year degree?
We have all had these students in our classes; students who come to school because of the CTE courses. CTE courses make their education real. We know that for some of these kids, academics are the price they willingly to pay for wood shop, or auto, or nursing. Now there is solid evidence that these CTE courses – as an academic and CTE mix, will keep them in school!
An October 2005 report by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, Dropping Out of High School and the Place of Career and Technical Education: A Survival Analysis of Surviving High School (p. 20), found that students who entered high school at a normal or younger age had a decreased risk of dropping out of high school as they added CTE courses to their curriculum, up to a point at which they were taking one CTE course for every two academic courses. The report suggests that this mix of CTE and academic courses lowers the dropout rate for students because the course balance offers them a broader array of experiences that can identify and encourage pathways to success.
