While Governor Kristi Noem is still waiting for the next big thing to materialize (but fighting the next big thing for farmers, industrial hemp), the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Twin Cities economic development agency Greater MSP is recruiting tech workers—lady tech workers:
The Twin Cities has about 136,000 tech workers, Greater MSP said, and openings for about 50,000 jobs. The region chiefly attracts tech talent from colleges and universities around Minnesota, as well as from North Dakota, Madison, Wis., Milwaukee, Des Moines and Chicago.
…Data show the Twin Cities also stands out among other cities for having a proportionally higher number of women in technology jobs (nearly 1 in 4 are taken by women) and for having an older tech workforce (4 in 10 are age 45 and up).
Attracting more women to the field is a high priority for tech employers throughout the country and Greater MSP’s campaign puts women front and center. “There is no community in the country that is successfully marketing itself to women,” [Greater MSP’s Matt] Lewis said. “We’re going to try hard” [Evan Ramstad, “With a New Campaign, Greater MSP Makes a Push for Tech Talent and Firms,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2019.02.17].
Hey, Kristi! Tell Lawrence and Schiller and your son-in-law-to-be Kyle to take a memo on how to recruit today’s workforce from these Greater MSP recruitment videos from three women making tech gold in the Twin Cities:
You just are focused on bringing your true self to work and being in Minneapolis-St/ Paul in particular I’ve met so many like-minded people that we thrive on helping others, and I just feel a sense of community and acceptance that I’ve never seen before. So as a designer or woman in tech, I think it is just inspiring and it makes you be a better worker to know that people who live here are open and are very excited about inclusivity [Julieta Felix, workforce recruitment video, Greater MSP, 2019.02.11].
The unique thing about Minnesota is that we are the leading funding state for the arts per capita. We’re leading the charge with creative innovation, creative funding, how things are distributed… [Jasmine Russell, workforce recruitment video, Greater MSP, 2019.02.11].
The scene in Minneapolis-St. Paul seems very fun, very cooperative. I’ve noticed that when there are other startups that are thriving, there’s a lot of support, a lot of pride for everyone to see that there’s a lot of success coming out of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The quality of life here is a lot more balanced and happier, unlike my experience in Silicon Valley. I was commuting two hours to work, but when I moved here, I left my car behind, and just made sure to bring my coats with me, and I’m able to walk everywhere. I walk to work, walk to the store, take light rail, it’s very easy [Francene Nguyen, workforce recruitment program, Greater MSP, 2019.02.11].
Convenience, collaboration, creativity, and inclusivity—those big things are working for the Twin Cities. And women—smart women! You’ve got see potential there, Governor Noem.
“American women are more educated than ever, Axios data and trends reporter Stef Kight writes.
“But in a surprising twist, the workforce participation rate for women has plateaued and even fallen over the past few years, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
There are a few theories about this:
“It could be a result of generational shifts:
Women are beginning their careers later. And older people are retiring earlier in the U.S. than in places like Canada, economist Diane Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, told Axios.
“Some economists and researchers point to a lack of generous family leave or child care assistance policies as a reason the rate of working women has fallen behind other nations, said Lisa Barrow, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve in Chicago. Ivanka Trump has made this her signature issue.
“Why it matters: If more women joined the workforce, that would help promote economic growth and help pay for the Social Security and Medicare needs of the large, retiring Boomer generation.”
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The Wrong doesn’t want women in the workforce because they don’t like independent, smart, self-reliant women. They’re much more difficult to control.
Blue states like women and trust us to not only make our own decisions, but respect us and know we make our state better.
Apparently SD would rather remain at the bottom of the heap than enable women to fully participate in all facets of the state’s life.
Nationally, 47% of employees are women.
About 32% of the employees in solar and wind (reported by DOE below) were women, although I have seen another source that quotes solar at 26% in the past year.
38.1% of employees in nuclear power generation were women, but in nuclear fuels that drops to 28%.
Corn ethanol was about 30%, coal was about 37%, and oil was about 32% in terms of the percentage of the workforce that were women.
Only 25% of hydro employees were women.
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/01/f34/2017%20US%20Energy%20and%20Jobs%20Report_0.pdf
More or less it says that more work is needed for women in STEM.
More employers need to make their businesses women friendly and they’ll get women employees.
Pay them the exact same as men.
Paid family leave of at least 6 weeks.
Sexual harassment policies with real teeth.
Mentorship programs for women.
Equal opportunities for advancement.
Work sites that are fitted for women.
On site child care.
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Right now tech is one of the unfriendliest environments for women and the biggest problem is high levels of harassment.
South Dakota could make the job market more women-friendly by offering universal pre-K, as Minnesota does. But we can’t do that, because Steven Haugaard wants all the women to stay home and take care of the children, the way his God intended.
That, and wear long skirts.
Oh yeah, I can hear all those women listening to Haugaard dismiss early childhood education as a socialist plot and packing their bags to move to South Dakota.