Hard Hatted Women began in 1979 when three women, a telephone repair technician, a steelworker and a truck driver, formed a support group for tradeswomen. Since then the organization has worked to offer support for women in and seeking non-traditional jobs.

Hard Hatted Women assists women in obtaining a variety of blue collar jobs. There are union apprenticeships in the building and manufacturing trades. There are union and nonunion jobs in manufacturing. They have also assisted women in getting into road construction jobs in the skilled trades.

While most of the jobs targeted are in the construction trades, Hard Hatted Women is also getting into providing training for A+ certification in the IT world and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) training in association with OhioMEMS.

In this interview, The Great Lakes Geek wonders why boys and girls show similar aptitude and interest in math and science in school - up to about the age of 13. And why there are fewer women in Information Technology. Is there a Silicon Ceiling?

Then, four representatives of Hard Hatted Women explain what the group does and why it is necessary - even in 2006.

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February 22, 2006 Interview

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