Around 170 middle school students flooded the Jacobetti Complex at NMU to learn about skilled trades, a career field traditionally perceived as male-dominated.
Seven different schools from Marquette and Alger counties were represented. The students had a chance to try woodworking, masonry, engineering and leadership. Adaleigh Larson is a Marquette seventh grader who has been to Women in Construction day before, but says she’s always been drawn to the industry.
“I loved making new friends, building stuff and I always love to come back here because it’s super fun to do stuff at NMU. I loved building when I was little, I would always build stuff out of cardboard and my parents would tell me not to, but I still will do it and a lot of my family members are in the construction area,” Larson said.
Blanck says the skilled trades careers offer good wages and a more level playing field for women.
“Construction is actually the most equitable field when it comes to pay gap, there’s only a 1.3% pay gap for construction, where in all other industries, I believe women make about 84% of what men make,” Blanck said.
