BANGOR – The world of welding, heavy equipment and technology isn’t just for men anymore.

Nearly 100 girls from 14 Maine high schools and technical schools attended Totally Trades on Friday, a conference that explored nontraditional trades through hands-on experience from women in the field. The program, held at United Technologies Center, is in its second year and is sponsored by the Bangor Coalition for Girls & Women in Trades and Technology.

“Girls can do things that guys can, and just as good,” said workshop participant Kai Kavanya, a senior at Mount View High School-Waldo County Technical Center.

Kavanya has an interest in law enforcement and plans to attend college next fall to major in psychology and minor in criminal justice. She wasn’t able to fully explore the law enforcement field until she started taking classes at Waldo County Technical Center this year. Kavanya’s experience coincides with the sentiments of Susan Russell, coordinator at Women, Work and Community.

“If they haven’t tried it, they don’t know if they’d be interested in it,” Russell said.

It’s important for girls to have an opportunity to learn about careers in the trades and technology field so they are aware of what’s out there, event organizers said.

It’s also important that girls get to have this experience without the presence of boys.

“If the boys were here, the girls would be quieter – both in voice and in body language,” Sharon Barker, director of the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Maine said Friday. She stressed that it’s not what boys do to girls, rather it’s what girls do to themselves when boys are around.

Girls naturally seem to take a step back when boys are around since boys are generally more aggressive, especially around tools, organizers explained.

“There is a self-consciousness that just changes in a mixed group,” Barker said. However, it’s important not to put boys and girls against each other.

“Times are changing and women are having different aspirations,” she said. “I think a lot of men support that.” Most men hold positive feelings toward women and don’t resent the gains they’ve made in society, she said.

In addition to participating in workshops focused on automotive repair, welding, public safety, rigging and hand and power tools, the girls were treated to a fashion show. The workshop leaders showed off the “latest and greatest” attire in nontraditional careers.

As the women walked down the makeshift runway donning safety goggles, helmets and steel-toed boots, Russell read descriptions of each of their jobs and a brief comment from the women. Deanna Witham of Lane Construction received cheers with her statement: “The best man for a job is a woman.”

Christy Cross, equal employment officer for the Maine Department of Transportation noted that women have been relegated to a very small part of the career opportunities available.

“The really important thing is that there are opportunities for women to earn a living wage,” she said. Maine is leading the country in the number of women in road construction, according to Cross. In most states, women make up 2 percent or 3 percent of road construction crews. In Maine, we’re around 11 percent and the number keeps increasing.

“We work hard to make that happen; you can’t do it standing still,” Cross said. And that’s what Totally Trades is all about – getting information about nontraditional careers to girls who are young enough to explore the trades as a career option.

In fields where women comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed, they have the opportunity to earn 20 percent to 30 percent more than women in traditional jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Maine Department of Labor.

The nontraditional job market is a good one, according to Cross. Unlike other fields of work, these jobs generally are not contracted out overseas and there is job availability here in Maine.

“The jobs are going to be here because this is where we live – this is where our toilets are,” Cross said.

The Bangor Coalition for Girls & Women in Trades and Technology plans to continue to hold Totally Trades conferences to encourage girls to be in nontraditional occupations and give them the opportunity to explore careers they may not otherwise consider.