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In this article, we ask whether macro-level changes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to changes in the levels of discrimination against women and Black job-seekers at the point of hire. We develop three main hypotheses: that discrimination against women and Black job-seekers increases due to a reduction in labor demand; that discrimination against women decreases due to the reduced supply of women employees and applicants; and that discrimination against Black job-seekers decreases due to increased attention toward racial inequities associated with the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. We test these hypotheses using a correspondence audit study collected over two periods, before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic, for one professional occupation: accountants. We find that White women experience a positive change in callbacks during the pandemic, being preferred over White men, and this change is concentrated in geographic areas that experienced relatively larger decreases in women's labor supply. Black women experience discrimination pre-pandemic but receive similar callbacks to White men during the pandemic. In contrast to both White and Black women, discrimination against Black men is persistent before and during the pandemic. Our findings are consistent with the prediction of gender-specific changes in labor supply being associated with gender-specific changes in hiring discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. More broadly, our study shows how hiring decision-making is related to macro-level labor market processes.
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Mechatronics Education- Current and Future Trends
Mechatronics for Technologists and Technicians was recognized as an occupation by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2019 and was given the code 49-2094.00. In 2022 the occupation was migrated to the code 17-3024.00 and titled "Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians". Several organizations offer certifications in the mechatronics occupation that we list here. The major challenge that faces mechatronics education is the decline in the job market that is projected to stand at -2 % over the next decade for holders of bachelor’s or lower degrees. This is attributed to the post-pandemic remote work trend and the hard-hit manufacturing industry during the pandemic. This decline is coupled with an aggressive growth in the job market for holders of graduate degrees (standing at over 11% growth) due to the growing demand in research and innovation and engineering training.
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- PAR ID:
- 10416589
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2023 11th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS)
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 5
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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ASEE (Ed.)With manufacturing facilities across the country becoming more connected, it is critical that safeguards are in place to protect against threats to facilities’ cyber-physical systems. Technicians with training in robotics/automation/mechatronics are well positioned to help provide a first line of defense to such threats. This work, funded through a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant, seeks to enhance technician cybersecurity awareness through education and training. The paper provides details on the process the project team utilized to develop an initial micro-credential in the area of cybersecurity for robotics/automation/mechatronics. The paper focuses on the badge creation process and outlines how the badge modules developed can be shared to help raise cyber awareness in other fields, such as semiconductors, solar power, and electric vehicles. The badge leverages the work of other NSF ATE projects, providing a no-cost avenue for automation technicians to expand their background by earning a digital badge that enhances their resume.more » « less
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Data centers are large, centralized clusters of computing hardware. Enterprise and economic activities that rely on internet services (e.g., cloud-based computing, online commerce, video and audio streaming) require significant data center infrastructure to ensure continuity of services. To provide these services, data centers require significant capital investment, ongoing operational maintenance, and the engineering workforce capacity to support these. Nationally, increasing reliance on distributed computing and off-site data storage has caused a boom in data center construction in multiple key markets nationwide. Additionally, shifts towards telecommuting and spikes in internet demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred increased demand for fast and reliable access to remote computing infrastructure (Miller, 2020). Northern Virginia has the largest and fastest growing market for data center capacity in the US (JLARC, 2019). Data center capacity is forecasted to double in Virginia during the next 10 years, with most of that growth concentrated in regions of Loudoun County and Manassas (Miller, 2018). The jobs created as a result of these investments offer high salaries for entry level technicians, especially compared with other regional opportunities to 2-year degree holders (Patil, 2019; Schneider & Vivari, 2012). Despite this rapid growth, data center pathways remain underdeveloped in Northern Virginia. Student and teacher awareness of data centers is low, with the sector operating almost invisibly to the education system (Magnolia Consulting, 2022). This project attempts to improve regional awareness of data center careers through an industry externship targeted to high school counselors from Virginia districts with highly concentrated data center industries. During their externships, educators attended structured tours of Micron Technology and Stack Infrastructure, participated in networking sessions at NOVA campuses, and developed an action plan to bring awareness of data center careers to their institutions. Using pre- and post-surveys, focus groups, and content analysis of action plans, this paper investigates the extent to which participation in externship activities improves educator awareness and knowledge of the data center industry, knowledge of regional career pathways, and intentions to change professional practice. The results are generalized to provide recommendations for practitioners seeking to increase awareness of emerging technological fields within the K-12 education system.more » « less
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Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MRE) is a growing engineering discipline focused on the creation of smart and autonomous systems and processes in an integrated and interdisciplinary fashion towards improving the quality of human lives. Despite the growing need for MRE professionals and increasing numbers of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, this field does not yet enjoy recognition as a distinct and identifiable discipline. A distinct and identifiable engineering discipline must address four questions: 1) What is the body of knowledge that practitioners must master? 2) What skills must practitioners demonstrate? 3) What are the ways of thinking that permeate the discipline? 4) How do practitioners define and distinguish the discipline? Within the MRE community, there is disagreement over how these questions are addressed, and hence, whether and how to define a unified “mechatronics and robotics engineering” discipline or to differentiate “mechatronics engineering” from “robotics engineering”. Four groups of stakeholders were identified: prospective students, current students, educators, and industry professionals. An online survey with common sections on definitions of “mechatronics engineering” and “robotics engineering” and stakeholder-specific questions about differentiators was distributed to stakeholders via email invitation. Quantitative data analysis was used to code and categorize responses. Preliminary data analysis results for categories and codes are presented.more » « less
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Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich (Ed.)BackgroundThe fast-changing labor market highlights the need for an in-depth understanding of occupational mobility impacted by technological change. However, we lack a multidimensional classification scheme that considers similarities of occupations comprehensively, which prevents us from predicting employment trends and mobility across occupations. This study fills the gap by examining employment trends based on similarities between occupations. MethodWe first demonstrated a new method that clusters 756 occupation titles based on knowledge, skills, abilities, education, experience, training, activities, values, and interests. We used the Principal Component Analysis to categorize occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification, which is grouped into a four-level hierarchy. Then, we paired the occupation clusters with the occupational employment projections provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We analyzed how employment would change and what factors affect the employment changes within occupation groups. Particularly, we specified factors related to technological changes. ResultsThe results reveal that technological change accounts for significant job losses in some clusters. This poses occupational mobility challenges for workers in these jobs at present. Job losses for nearly 60% of current employment will occur in low-skill, low-wage occupational groups. Meanwhile, many mid-skilled and highly skilled jobs are projected to grow in the next ten years. ConclusionOur results demonstrate the utility of our occupational classification scheme. Furthermore, it suggests a critical need for skills upgrading and workforce development for workers in declining jobs. Special attention should be paid to vulnerable workers, such as older individuals and minorities.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/ISDFS58141.2023.10131706
