A Lesson Plan from Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program

Purpose: To learn about nontraditional occupations for women and men

Materials: Paper; Leader's Resource, Questions for the Panel (pdf); guest speakers from nontraditional occupations

Time: Session 1:15 20 minutes; Session 2: 45 55 minutes

Planning Notes

• If necessary, obtain permission from your school or agency to bring guest speakers to meet with your group.
• This is a good opportunity for young people to shape the program. Explain what nontraditional occupations are (see definitions in Step 2) and ask what kinds of nontraditional workers the teens would like to meet. Ask for help to locate speakers from among family members, friends or neighbors who work in nontraditional occupations and would be willing to talk to the group.
• If you have difficulty finding speakers, call local businesses, hospitals and other work places to find women and men, working in nontraditional jobs, who would like to speak to teens.
• Prepare guest speakers by describing your program and what your group is like. Ask them to prepare a five minute talk on their job, how they got the job and what it is like to be a man or women in that field. Let them know they will be part of a panel of people who have nontraditional jobs. Tell them the teens will prepare questions in advance.
• After Session 1, prepare a list of the questions teens want to ask and make copies for use in Session 2.
  

Procedure:

Session 1

1. Remind the group that one of the most damaging results of stereotypes is the false belief that women and men should only have jobs in certain fields.
2. Ask if anyone knows someone who works in a nontraditional career. Define the term:
   Nontraditional career: any job that a man or woman does that is usually done by someone of the other gender. The official government definition of “nontraditional careers” is one in which 75 percent of all workers are of the other gender.
   
   Ask for examples of nontraditional jobs for men (nursing, elementary school teaching, hairdressing or child care) and women (construction, utility repair, house painting or policing).
3. Explain that you have invited (or will invite) men and women who have nontraditional careers to talk with the group. Tell the teens when the visitors will come.
4. Brainstorm with the group questioons they will want to ask panel members. Use their potential questions on newsprint or the board. Use the Leader's Resource to help the group come up with appropriate questions.
5. When finished, ask the group to select four or five questions they most want to have asked. Circle those and tell teens you will prepare a list of questions for the panel, with the priority questions listed first.
   

Session 2

1. Introduce each member of the panel to the group. Distribute the questions generated in the previous session.
2. Have panelists each give a five minute summary of the work she or he does and how the person chose that work, then open the floor to questions.
3. Conclude the activity using the Discussion Points.
   

Discussion Points:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of women working in a nontraditional career? If you are a young woman, have you thought about a nontraditional career? Why or why not?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of men working in a nontraditional career? If you are a young man, have you thought about a nontraditional career? Why or why not?
3. What do you think is the biggest barrier to women working in nontraditional areas?
4. What do you think is the biggest barrier to men working in nontraditional areas?