This Much is True » Women’s Work Contest

Winners in the Women’s Work Contest

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:44:06 +0000

In a totally non-techie way, I drew names out of a hat and the three winners of the Women’s Work Contest are Erin, Rosalind, and Marion Quinton Brake. Winners have been contacted but I wanted to add their names here too and officially end the contest. However, if anyone would ever like to contact me with stories about women in non-traditional work, please do and I will post it on my blog. I love hearing about these women. Thanks to everyone who entered and those who promoted the contest as well.

Last Day for Entries in Women’s Work Contest

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:09:48 +0000

The contest ends at midnight tonight and is available to everyone, everywhere. Getting more entries come in today so join in and leave a comment on the contest post about a woman you know who is working in a non-traditional job for women (such as mechanic, welder, engineer, offshore rig worker, and anything else that sounds a bit different for a woman to work at).

Women’s Work Contest Extended

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:59:22 +0000

The Women’s Work Contest deadline has been extended to November 30th at midnight. So, there’s still lots of time to share your experience of women in non-traditional work by commenting here or by emailing afewkindsofwrong@gmail.com. It doesn’t have to be long or detailed or, as some people have thought, have to be a story of how hard it is to be a woman in a non-traditional job (but if that’s your experience, feel free to share it as well). “I’m a mechanic and have been for four years” is great but longer is fine as well. So, share your experiences (about yourself or someone you know) and you could win books.

Contest: A Few Kinds of Wrong is Looking for A Few Kinds of Women’s Work

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:35:51 +0000

Of all the things that are wrong in Jennifer Collins’ life, one thing is absolutely right, she loves her job.

In my new novel, A Few Kinds of Wrong, Jennifer is a mechanic. It’s something that makes her stand out, because, unfortunately, female mechanics are pretty rare. Although the book isn’t trying to make any political statements, and Jennifer’s job is not the main focus of the novel, by making Jennifer a mechanic I’ve called some attention to how unusual it is to find women in some fields and gotten some responses back from both women and men who appreciate seeing a book about a woman in a non-traditional job.

That made me think that I’d like to use the book, and Jennifer’s occupation, to bring some more attention to how women’s work should be more about the jobs that women choose than just about the jobs that are traditionally defined as female.

So, I’m having a contest to celebrate women in non-traditional work and I want to hear from you!

Tell us about a woman in a non-traditional job. Could be you’re an engineer, your nan was a factory-worker in the war, your mom is a fisher-person, your wife is a mechanic, your friend is a truck-driver, any example of women working in work that is usually male dominated. Doesn’t have to be about you, nor does it have to be long (but I sure would like them longer than shorter).

FYI, the US Department of Labor, says that “A nontraditional occupation for women is one in which women comprise 25 percent or less of total employment” and they have a pretty extensive list of such occupations. http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/nontra2008.htm (but you’re not restricted to the jobs on this list, if you want to tell of a woman who is in a field that you think is “male-dominated”, that’s enough for me).

Submitting your story is easy. Just add your comment to this post or, if you’d prefer, you can email your story to afewkindsofwrong@gmail.com and I will post it here on the blog. Feel free to send photos or submit your story via a youtube video. (Please note that comments are moderated so, unless you’ve posted before on this blog, you won’t see your comment right away. ) Each story will receive an entry into the contest.

Your email address will not be posted and will not be used except in the case you’re a winner and I need to contact you to get your address. But your story/video/photo will be posted on this blog.

There will be three separate prizes, each being two autographed books–one of A Few Kinds of Wrong and also my first novel, this much is true. The contest ends at midnight on November 25th (extended to midnight on November 30th) and is open to anyone, anywhere.

I’m hoping the extra prize will be hearing more about women doing a few kinds of work and showing examples of women redefining the phrase “a woman’s work”.