"Opportunity Gap and Women in the Energy Infrastructure Workforce"

Second-year doctoral student Jonathan Montoya (right) is first author of an article published by the 8th International Research Symposium on PBL assessing whether a Project-based Learning (PBL) approach in Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) is a feasible method for woman-focused Career and Technical Education (CTE).

The title of the article is "Opportunity Gap and Women in the Energy Infrastructure Workforce." Co-authors are Forest Peterson (Stanford University) and Sade Bonilla (University of Massachusetts, Amherst).

Montoya is specializing in Teaching, Learning, and Educational Improvement. He studies how traditionally marginalized students and educators use language in both STEM and CTE pathways, and how these pathways can foster equitable routes to both college and career.

Montoya holds secondary teaching credentials in Biological Sciences, Geosciences, and Career Technical Education, and has also taught Virtual Design and Construction at the community college level. In 2020, the ECMC Foundation named Montoya a Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellow. He is advised by Professor Mark Warschauer and Associate Professor Hosun Kang.

Abstract

​The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts above-average employment growth for jobs in the construction industry. And despite the majority of entry-level jobs in construction requiring a high school diploma or less, median annual wages in the industry are over 8,000 dollars higher than other industries (Torpey 2018). Despite this growth and relatively high wages, women are severely underrepresented: just 3.5 percent of workers in the construction occupations are women while women make up 47 percent of the labor force. Career and Technical Education (CTE) in high school can provide an avenue for increasing the participation of young women. Through a Researcher Practitioner Partnership (RPP), a team of teachers, trades educators, and administrators from high schools, community colleges, and apprenticeship centers sought to increase access through a virtual design and construction STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) career pathway program. The team explored whether a Project-based Learning (PBL) approach in Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) is a feasible method for woman-focused CTE. We found evidence that targeted recruiting through a feminist positive pathway to create a critical mass of female participants in conjunction with PBL can offer an opportunity for women to enter a traditionally male-dominated field. Furthermore, our study calls for continued theory development into and provides evidence that higher concentrations of women have the potential to increase the industry's focus on safety, environmental protection, and labor standards. We argue that the lack of female representation is due to an opportunity gap for young women to learn about and join high-skill high-wage occupations.