FAIRMONT — Iris Essex has a philosophy: “You can do anything you want to do if you want to do it. Don’t let kids or anything hold you back.”

With the help of West Virginia Women Work’s Step-Up for Women program, she has obtained a job that she loves and enjoys.

Before joining Step-Up, Essex worked as a certified nursing assistant and did various jobs prior to that. She has Regents bachelor of arts degrees in applied science and art from West Virginia University, but she couldn’t find many jobs related to those fields in the area, she said.

She got tired of the work she was doing and considered going to heavy equipment school. When she learned about Step-Up for Women, she was intrigued.

“I thought that was an interesting concept: Women helping women and giving a step up,” the Morgantown resident said. “There are so many women out there who do need that step up in their life.”

Essex graduated from the program in December and started working at CNC Industries in Pleasant Valley on Jan. 31. She uses machinery to produce custom-made parts for different companies in the area and out of state.

Initially, Essex planned to work at CNC temporarily until she could test into the Carpenters Union. She soon found that she liked her new job — a lot.

“I have piece of mind,” she said. “I do not have stress, and I work with the most wonderful people in the world.”

She said her job is a challenging craft that takes time and continual training to learn, and her knowledge of the industry grows each day. She still makes mistakes at times, but she always strives to improve her work.

“I’m a person who absolutely despises a routine, and it doesn’t feel like it’s a routine,” she said. “Every day you walk in, you have a different set of problems, a different set of measurements. It’s just something different all the time that challenges my mind.”

Janis Gunel, executive director of West Virginia Women Work, said the organization helps women learn how to support themselves and their families, and gain economic self-sufficiency.

“We look a lot at nontraditional jobs for women because they pay 20 to 30 percent more than traditional jobs,” she said. “Women tend to go into a narrow range of jobs, and they are the lowest-paying jobs. We try to help women broaden their horizons.”

Gunel said the U.S. Department of Labor defines a nontraditional job for women as an occupation where fewer than 25 percent of workers are female. Nontraditional jobs for women range from carpentry to computer repair to forestry.

West Virginia Women Work, headquartered in Morgantown, advises women to consider a range of careers rather than just traditional fields. The organization offers career advising, services and resources for women.

“The women in our state are just as bright and capable as everywhere,” Gunel said. “We just need to help them figure out what kind of training (and) what kind of jobs they should be going after.”

Step-Up for Women is one of West Virginia Women Work’s main programs.

Valerie Lentz, project coordinator for Step-Up in Morgantown, said the program readies women for entry-level jobs in the construction industry, where wages are generally $3 more an hour than a traditional occupation for an entry-level worker. Across the country, women are underrepresented in the construction industry and skilled trades, she said.

During the 10- to 11-week program, students gain skills in electrical work, welding and carpentry. Ten to 15 women participate in Step-Up each semester. In addition to the Morgantown site, West Virginia Women Work also has Step-Up locations in Princeton and Martinsburg.

“(For) the majority of women who come into the program, this is the type of work they want to go into,” Lentz said. “It gives them the opportunity to make some connections and maybe improve their skills in the industry and (gain) the self-confidence to maintain a job.”

Step-Up gives women an advantage and really trains them for jobs in skilled trades, Essex said. She hopes to see the program grow in the area — and even go nationwide. She said many women need this program.

“They just don’t have any hope,” she said. “This is a way to help them get on their feet. It really prepares you for the work force.”

For more information on West Virginia Women Work, visit www.wvwomenwork.org.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.



State receives ‘F’ in ‘Economies for Women’ study

By Jessica Legge

Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT — In a recent economic study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, West Virginia came out at the bottom of the list.

IWPR’s December 2006 briefing paper, titled “The Best and Worst State Economies for Women,” analyzed the economic status of women in America’s 50 states. IWPR, a scientific research organization, has been conducting studies on the economic progress of women since 1996.

The report used several categories to rank the best and worst states, including the District of Columbia. The areas studied were median annual earnings for women, earnings ratio between employed women and men, labor force participation, and employment in managerial and professional occupations. Additional indicators were women with higher education, business ownership, poverty status and health insurance coverage.

Overall, West Virginia received an “F” and came in 49th, meaning its economy was the third worst for women in the country in 2006. Following behind were Louisiana at 50th and Arkansas at 51st. On the other hand, the economies of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Massachusetts were measured as the best for women.

West Virginia was ranked in the bottom third of the states in nearly all of the categories studied. The state came in 51st for women’s labor force participation, 44th for poverty status, and 45th for health insurance coverage.

For women-owned businesses, West Virginia came in at 20th, among the middle third of states. The report found that 27.7 percent of businesses in the state are owned by women. This was one of the few indicators where West Virginia came out favorably.

Dr. Donna Long, co-coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program at Fairmont State University and associate professor of English, said many of her female students have expressed interest in starting their own business someday. Many education grants are available specifically for women to help with small business development, she said.

“They seem to have a desire to have independence in their professions,” she said. “I think there are a lot of women out there who are interested in pursuing that level of independence.”

In November 2002, IWPR did a complete report on “The Status of Women in West Virginia.” Dr. Barbara Howe, director of the West Virginia University Center for Women’s Studies, served as co-chair of the West Virginia Advisory Committee for the study.

Howe said the statistics on West Virginia from the latest IWPR report didn’t surprise her. Compared to previous findings, the new study made similar conclusions, and not much has changed in the state, she said.

“We’ve been at the bottom for a very long time,” she said.

Howe said IWPR uses data collected by the census. The census may record the employment of factory workers, domestic servants, teachers or business women, for example. But some types of employment, such as baby-sitting or cutting hair, are often not counted in those statistics, she said.

“West Virginia has long had a tradition of that kind of employment,” she said. “Undercounting women’s work has long been a problem.”

Jobs are often found in cities, and the fact that West Virginia is a rural state plays a role in the labor force participation for women, Howe said. City jobs are easier to keep track of and record.

Howe attributed the gender wage gap in the state to the types of jobs. Traditional male jobs, such as mining, factory and industrial work, often pay more than traditional female jobs, such as nursing, teaching and social work.

“I think there are structural issues that we simply haven’t valued women’s work as much,” Howe said, “and women haven’t had the training or access to child support.”

According to Dr. Elizabeth Savage, FSU Women’s Studies co-coordinator and associate professor of English, social attitudes and stereotypes have caused women to feel uncomfortable asking for more job pay. They fear that they’re compromising their credibility.

She said there is also a “political dismissiveness about the needs of children,” but West Virginia offers many programs to help mothers and women.

“Women are seen as the primary caretakers,” Savage said. “To have a job and to educate yourself while taking care of the children, you can’t do that without child care.”

Women tend to stay at home with their children and drop out of the work force more than men, Howe said. Once a person, such as a doctor or lawyer, leaves a career field that is constantly changing, it’s difficult to return to work later.

In West Virginia, 15.2 percent of women have four or more years of college, the latest IWPR report said. Howe said this number is low, and health statistics often relate to education.

“If you don’t have a college degree or some other form of training, you’re not likely to find a job that’s going to earn you a fair chunk of money,” she said. “If you’re not in one of those types of jobs, you’re not likely to have health-care benefits.”

Howe advised women to check out training programs and classes available in the area, and to talk to people who have a job that interests them.

For more information on the study, visit the Institute for Women’s Policy Research at www.iwpr.org.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.