Girl Power: The Top Industries Dominated by Women & What It's Like to Work in Them

At some point in your life, you've probably experienced an environment where you're completely surrounded by girls—your high school cheerleading team, your sorority, or even girls' night out with your best friends. Even among your closest girl friends, it can be tough to stay sane in the midst of what can potentially be a breeding ground for catty behavior and gossip. Her Campus talked to collegiettes™ in five industries—nursing, education, communications, human resources and accounting—that are dominated by women to see exactly what the workplace looks like when girls rule the roost.  
 
Nursing: 92 percent female
More than nine times out of 10, nurses are female. Talk about girl power! Lauren Anzalone, a freshman at Saint Anselm's College in New Hampshire, is pursuing a career in nursing. “There are five freshman boys in the nursing program out of about a hundred,” she says, “And none at all in the sophomore class.” Not surprisingly, her days are mostly spent in class with other girls. “It would be nice to have more balanced classes,” she says.
 
Although guys might be scarce in nursing classes, don't let that discourage you from the field if you're truly passionate about it. More and more guys are opting to study nursing, and in a hospital environment, you're bound to be working alongside male doctors, nurses, and patients, anyway.
 
Education requirements vary between the types of nurses: Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) typically require one to two years of specialized undergraduate education before taking a state or national board exam. They are able to perform simple medical procedures under the supervision of a doctor or another nurse. Registered Nurses (RNs) must earn an associate's degree in nursing, which allows them to supervise LPNs, oversee general care of patients, and use their skills in a wide variety of fields. While some RNs work in hospitals, others opt to go onto work at insurance companies, schools, and even as independent medical consultants.
 
Primary Education: 82 percent female
While you probably had plenty of high school teachers who were male, it's a safe bet to say the majority of your elementary and middle school teachers were female. Education has been primarily dominated by women for generations, with no sign of slowing down anytime time soon. Requirements vary by state, the level of credentials you'd like to achieve, and the age and subject you'd like to teach. In general, though, you'll need to earn a bachelor's degree in the field of education you'd like to work in (e.g., high school English or special education), complete an accredited teacher's education program (some states require teachers to earn master's degrees), and pass either your state's teacher's exam or the widely-used national Praxis exam.
 
Melissa Nichols is a senior studying secondary English education and political science at Western Michigan University. By the time she graduates, she will be certified to teach English and Social Studies at the high school level. “In my experience, women are just more creative when it comes to ideas for teaching,” she says. “I don't connect with many of the guys in my classes, even though they're doing the same program.”
 
Although the gender ratio tips heavily towards the women's side, Melissa admits she still sees sexism in the field. Her 20-person education classes typically only include two or three guys, but she says she often sees schools hiring men over women simply because of their gender.

Communications, including Public Relations: 73 percent female
Forget the old boys' club image of newspapers—within certain sectors of the communications industry, women are stealing the spotlight. 73 percent of the Public Relations Society of America members are female. Many colleges and universities offer field-specific communications majors, such as public relations, advertising or broadcast journalism, while other schools offer broader majors such as communications or journalism. Regardless of your course of study, hands-on internship and work experience is invaluable in this field.
 
Sarah Kamenetz, a New York University sophomore majoring in media, culture and communications, says, “My MCC classes are almost entirely girls. In my professional experience, I work mostly with girls and when I do work with guys, they're usually my bosses. I have had only positive experiences with the girls I work with, so I don't really mind.” According to Sarah, her interests include fashion, health, nutrition and art, which may skew her professional experiences towards female-dominated environments.