I was recently reading a trade journal when I found an article titled “The Seven Percent.”* It was about the lack of women in the industry and how the numbers aren’t moving fast enough.

The statistics showed that there is currently a significant operator shortage, and more than 320,000 new operators will be needed within the next ten years.  To add to the deficit, the average operator is about 46 years old, and more than forty percent are over the age of 50.

The article described the lack of women in the profession is crucial.  Although women accounted for nearly 13 percent of students, only seven percent of them ended up working in the field.  Continue reading →