Nontraditional careers (also called nontraditional occupations or NTOs) are those in which women make up less than 25 percent of the workforce. Pay, benefits and job satisfaction can be much higher than in traditionally female occupations.
Her Own Words ® Women in Nontraditional Careers
PO Box 5264
Madison, WI 53705-0264
p: 608.271.7083
f: 608.271.0209
e: jocelynriley at nontraditionalcareers.com
All materials Copyright © 2024 Jocelyn Riley, Her Own Words, LLC.
Jocelyn Riley is writer and producer of the Her Own Words® Women in Nontraditional Careers series of media programs, career cards, resource guides, and posters. These materials were created from her extensive interviews with nearly 200 women from diverse backgrounds who hold a wide variety of jobs not thought as being typically held by women.
Riley served on the board of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation from 2007-2020 and she was its Vice President for twelve of those years. In 2022 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Click here to watch her acceptance speech.
Riley has a B.A. degree from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and earned a GCDF (Global Career Development Facilitator) certification from the Center on Education and Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Riley’s work has been recognized by the State of Wisconsin with the 2018 Governor’s Trailblazer Award for Women in Business and was honored with the Write Women Back into History Award from the National Women’s History Project. Riley discusses the power of role models in “Breaking the Gender Barrier” published by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Jocelyn Riley was quoted in the ACTE publication, Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers. The article, "Breaking the Gender Barrier" by Joan Runnheim Olson, discusses ways to encourage students interested in pursuing a nontraditional career path. This issue of Techniques focused entirely on how to help students go beyond stereotypes when choosing a career. Read the full article here: "Breaking the Gender Barrier"
“The best part about my work,” Riley says, “is meeting the wonderful women who work in a wide variety of challenging careers and presenting their stories to girls and women who are searching for meaningful and family-sustaining work. Not every woman will choose a ‘nontraditional’ career, but every girl and woman should have the opportunity to consider that choice.”
“We show the Her Own Words: Women in Nontraditional Careers DVDs during our CareerFests. The DVDs are very easy to use and the pictures really get attention.” – Larry Lee, Dean of Business, Professional, & Technical Education, Del Mar College, Texas
“We are very impressed with the quality and content of the material highlighting women in nontraditional careers.” – Pamela Ayers, Program Analyst, US Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau
“My library owns a copy of Jocelyn Riley’s excellent series on women in non-traditional careers—Women in Engineering, Women in Welding, etc.” – Laura Staley, Media Librarian, Renton Technical College Library
