Women explore traditionally male fields at Northern event

Female students from several area high schools learned Thursday about the opportunities and challenges in traditionally male-dominated career fields through several hands-on activities and a panel discussion at Montana State University-Northern.

Students from high schools in Fort Benton, Havre, Harlem and Chinook and the 477 Employment and Training program at Fort Belknap were among the guests at the "Women in Traditionally Male Dominated Fields" recruiting event, said Christina Estrada-Underwood, director of the Office of Diversity Awareness and Multicultural Programs, which hosted the event.

The event was funded through part of a $5,000 grant the office received last fall from the Women's Foundation of Montana, a group that promotes and funds initiatives to help women gain economic independence.

Estrada-Underwood's office is overseeing the grant, which she said last fall would also be used to create marketing materials  promoting Northern's programs in those fields.

Estrada-Underwood also hosted the panel discussion.

Work stations at the event featured activities in the areas of diesel technology, plumbing and automotive technology.

The panel discussion later took place in room 209 of Brockmann Center.

Brenna Brewer, who is about to graduate in May from Northern's electrical technology program, was among the speakers. She said women can sometimes feel intimidated when they enter a male-dominated field.

She said, however, that her male classmates are very supportive.

"The best advice I can give women is attitude is everything," she said.

Katie Kuhr, an officer with Adult Probation and Parole in Havre, came wearing some of the equipment she uses for her job. The word "Parole" was emblazoned across her black bulletproof vest, a gun was holstered on her hip, and her badge and handcuffs were attached to her belt.

Kuhr, who grew up in Havre, said she initially studied pharmacy, something she describes now as a "big mistake."

She later graduated from Montana State University-Billings with a degree in psychology before moving back to Havre and taking her position with Montana Department of Corrections Probation and Parole regional office.

Kuhr said of the four parole officers in Havre, she is one of two females.

"Women are becoming more and more popular in the field," she said. "It's not just a male-dominated field any more. It is getting more and more women."

Her job involves working with parolees and managing their cases, Kuhr said, but also doing bar walks, checking on offenders at homes and spending time in court.

"So, in my field, I get a variety of a bit of different stuff," she said. "It is not the same thing every single day."

Jack Bieger, a professor of criminal justice at Northern who was sitting in the audience, said he had worked in law enforcement for 30 years and worked with female patrol officers officers. He said those female officers were some of the best  people he has ever worked with.

"It was also really fun to have them around because some people just don't know how to react to a woman in uniform," Bieger said. "It's amazing to watch the human psyche as they go through the process."

Some at the discussion said that when it came to being treated differently, it wasn't men in general as much as it was older men who sometimes had a problem.

"It's challenging sometimes because the majority of our clients are older men who do not want a 20-something-year-old woman telling them what to do," said Ashlee Gordon, who works in agronomy sales for CHS.

She sells chemicals and fertilizers to farmers and feed to ranchers.

Gordon said she tries to overcome the skepticism older men might have through persistence and demonstrating knowledge in her area of expertise.

"The main way we overcome it is we continue to work with them, talk with them and show them that we care and that we are bringing the best options to the table," Gordon said. "Unfortunately, it takes time with a lot of people."

Other panelists said they feel there is little if any difference in how they are treated and the professional opportunities they are afforded.

"Honestly, with our generation, I don't have issues with guys or anything," said Emma Faus, a junior in Northern's Diesel Technology Program who interned with John Deere this past summer.

She said women will be fine as long as they are dedicated, have a good grasp in what they do and are willing to ask questions.

Faith Martin, a junior at Northern studying civil engineering technology, said she has had no trouble gaining the acceptance of her male colleagues.

Martin said she spent this past summer working as an agricultural engineer, and her supervisor was an area engineer who oversaw operations for a significant part of Montana.

Martin said that at a job fair on campus Wednesday, she talked with representatives from Heberly and Associates, an engineering firm in Havre. She said they told her two of their engineers are women who actually passed the professional engineering test before some of the men.

Alyssa Elgort, a recruiter for Pensky Trucking, said her company has ample opportunities for women. Pensky has branches in every state in the U.S. with the exception of Montana, and in other countries, she said.

She said women hold a range of positions.

Elgort, who recruits for Pensky's northwestern region which comprises operations in Washington, Oregon, northern California and Reno, Nevada, said women occupy a range of positions including  parts clerks to service advisers, diesel mechanics and supervisors who run shops and district service managers.

"Seeing the women in the fleet supervisor positions, where they have been a mechanic, they have had their hands in  the wrenches and now they are running the shop, is very impressive and definitely a powerful statement that we have at Pensky," Elgort said.

Panel participants were asked to give advice to women who may want to get into traditionally male-dominated career fields.

"I encourage you to just stay strong and confident in what you are doing. As long as you know what you are doing, you know what's right don't worry what other people think about you," Kuhr said. "Don't worry about the perceptions of other people and be confident in what you are doing."

She said women who are confident and strong are often viewed as being aggressive or pushy, but women should remain strong and confident.

Kuhr added that as long as they have a good understanding of their job and know what they are doing, they should not care what other people think.

"Don't worry about the perceptions of other people and be confident in what you are doing," Kuhr said.

"You might meet a lot of people who think that you are gonna fail because you are a woman in the ag industry or whatever industry you choose, but if you get into it and you try and are confident in yourself, you will find more people that are supportive of you and want you to succeed," Gordon said. "You just have to find the right people to surround yourself with."