Routledge Breaking Out of the Pink-Collar Ghetto: Policy Solutions for Non-College Women

Widely interdisciplinary in appeal, this book reports on the successes of innovative training opportunities for non-college women who end up in low-paying, low-mobility, pink-collar jobs. The author examines the relative effectiveness of various programs in helping these women gain access to high-wage, high-mobility employment opportunities. The analysis includes case studies of grant-funded projects, as well as in-depth statistical analysis using ten years of data on women throughout the United States. These types of education and training options are in tremendous demand, and the author finds that they are having a powerful impact on the job prospects of non-college women. As an integral part of her study, she spells out what kinds of programs have proven most and least effective. Breaking Out of the Pink-Collar Ghetto addresses vital issues concerning the effects of gender segregation in career counseling and employment and training policy. It provides much-needed guidance on employment and training services delivery. The book has wide application for students as well as professionals in the fields of public policy and public administration, educational counseling and vocational education, labor economics, and women's studies. Review "How can we assure that non-college-educated women get a fair crack at good jobs? Sharon Mastracci makes the case for effective training to break patterns of discrimination and to provide women with the skills they actually need. This is a very smart book on an important topic." - James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin; "This book will be of interest to policy makers, as well as to the job training community and working women. It will be a useful text for courses in labor economics, the sociology of work, women and work, women's studies, and the interdisciplinary courses in public policy. There has not been a new publication on women and job training in several years. Sharon Mastracci will make a timely contribution to the policy debates and her book will be a welcome addition to the research literature." - Brigid O'Farrell, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Stanford University"