On Tuesday, Nov. 14th the AAUW Greensboro Branch hosted a panel discussion on Women in Nontraditional Careers. The US Department of Labor defines a non-traditional career as one in which 25% or less of those employed across the field are women.

The panel discussion was moderated by Tiffany Jacobs, AAUW NC DEI Chair. The panel of women consisted of:

• Katy Carnes (Toyota Battery Manufacturing NC) TBMNC (toyota.com)

• Elisabeth Hornfeck – Toyota FAME (Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education) Apprentice First In Flight FAME (gtcc.edu)
• Kris Britton, CEO of Lucky Dog Volleyball – Kris Britton, CEO – Lucky Dog Volleyball
• Erica Vilsaint, Executive Director of BioNetwork – Erica Monique Vilsaint – Executive Director of BioNetwork & Life Sciences – North Carolina Community Colleges System | LinkedIn
• LaToya Faustin, Executive Director of She Built This City – She Built This City

Today, women make up just a third of the manufacturing workforce and only 8% of the construction workforce overall, a percentage that has remained stubbornly constant.

Each woman spoke about:

• Their personal background/journey towards their current position and how being a female impacted them in their leadership role.
• Things women may struggle with such as inclusion and belonging, imposter syndrome, etc. and how to overcome and support women in dealing with those issues.
• The benefits of mentorship in education and training programs and the need for more diversity in high demand industry sectors and career roles where women are vastly underrepresented.
• How early exposure to STEM-related careers, career exploration and/or apprenticeship can be a pathway to a career for students who otherwise might not know exactly what they want to do after HS.
• Words of encouragement to inspire women and girls to pursue nontraditional career pathways and opportunities.