Carolyn Arcand

Examines whether women’s representation among senior-level construction jobs increased over time during a long-term, large-scale construction project in Boston, Massachusetts, and whether enactment of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) has fostered support and connection to construction career opportunities for women in this metropolitan area. Results show that the proportion of hours worked by women in senior-level positions on the project was relatively high for a few years, followed by a general decline across all job types, and the WIA did not significantly enhance opportunities for women in construction.

Demonstrates that for-profit schools offer single mothers juggling school, employment, and family the benefits of accelerated degree programs along with enhanced convenience and streamlined student services. Community colleges can become a more appealing and feasible option for low-income single-mother students by adopting some of these characteristics while concurrently advertising their relative affordability and high level of academic rigor.

Describes the pre-test of a field experiment to examine whether the school type listed on a job applicant’s resume has an impact on receiving a call for a job interview, in fields commonly pursued by low-income women. School types tested were for-profit schools and community colleges.