Courtesy Photo A student at the Cheboygan Area Schools Career and Tech Expo is taught how to use a machine.

ALPENA — In a press release on Thursday, the Michigan Works! Association reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women in the workforce across the state during women’s history month, which lasts throughout March.

Despite representing nearly half of Michigan’s labor force, women continue to face challenges that hinder their full economic participation, the release stated.

The association is committed to addressing these disparities by providing resources, training, and support to ensure women have equitable opportunities in the workforce.

The women’s labor force participation rate stands at 57.3%, while men’s stands at 67.2%. The earnings disparity in Michigan reflects that women working full time and year round make around 81 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Women in Michigan are also underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. They hold nearly 60% of degrees and certificates awarded in Michigan but only make up 38.8% of those in STEM fields.

At Alpena Community College, women are underrepresented in programs like welding and manufacturing, concrete technology, and utility technology, ACC President Don MacMaster said.

However, he has noticed an increase in the number of women enrolling in these programs.

When asked whether ACC actively advocates for more women to join male-dominated fields or just lets women know that the door is open to them, MacMaster said they run somewhere down the middle.

It helps a lot, he said, when prospective students can look at a man or woman who has been successful in a field dominated primarily by the opposite gender. He said that Tiffany Younk, a graduate of ACC’s welding program, is an example of this. Younk is an ironworker living in Detroit that has successfully climbed the ladder in a male-dominated field.

Alicia Wallace, marketing manager at Michigan Works Association Northeast Consortium, said that they don’t really track how many women are choosing to go into STEM fields in Northeast Michigan, but they do see women applying for STEM positions and going to events like manufacturing job fairs. She also said that some of their ads include pictures of women truck drivers, for instance.

Wallace said she has seen women becoming Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics and earning their CDL licenses to drive commercial vehicles.

Other than prioritizing veterans which all state agencies are required to do, Wallace said that Michigan Works! helps anybody and everybody who approaches them looking for resources, training, or employment opportunities. They treat each request equally and do not prioritize hiring one gender, race, or any other category over another.

Wallace said they support women working in male-dominated fields and encourage the promotion of women in STEM fields.