MONROE - According to findings by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2014, female highway workers make up just 1.5 percent of the total number of people employed in the occupation.
Green County Highway Commissioner Jeff Wunschel agrees the gap as clearly visible.
"It's not a field too many women pursue," Wunschel said.
Despite this, the highway department has had the dedicated work of one woman since 1993. Cheri Foulker, a Monroe native, has been driving snow plows, raising fences and filling potholes for more than two decades. Recently, she took to a desk and now spends her days traveling to Madison for urgent truck parts for the head mechanic or tackling paperwork. Foulker, 58, gave up the outdoor work after years of demanding labor called for a change of pace - but she still wishes she could be back in the seat of a truck.
"I miss plowing something terrible," Foulker said.
Foulker attacked all jobs with the same attitude she has in her everyday life: It may be difficult, but just keep moving and in the end you will feel the sense of a job well done.
"It's hard work, but you get through it," she said.
When Foulker began in the early 1990s, she was a part-time custodian. Then, she noticed a few job openings were describing a better opportunity.
"I thought, "I think I would like this,'" Foulker said.
Most of the women working with the department are young and seasonal, holding signs for roadwork as a summer job while they go to school or look for a more permanent position.
But Foulker was in for the long-term, and surrounded by male co-workers.
"It was hard, and I'm sure it was hard for them, but it worked," Foulker said. "If there was anything said, I didn't hear it. I'd just go about my work. I would just do what I was told and everything went fine."
Foulker never experienced any outright challenges to her presence, but simply being there made a difference. On July 20 of this year, Marsha Wilde began her job with the department performing duties such as sealcoating and driving large trucks while working on crews of variable size. She was added to a construction crew of 20 workers.
Both Wilde and Foulker profess a love of the outside and said they prefer more physically challenging work.
"I enjoy a variety of different jobs," Wilde said. "I'm not a behind-a-desk type of person. I enjoy being outside, getting my hands dirty."
For example, one day while working as a unit secretary at Monroe Clinic Hospital, she left her job to work for more than a decade in a salvage yard. While the commute with her husband was enjoyable, both wanted to find positions closer to home in Monroe. Wilde, 45, decided to change her life once more by applying for an opening with the Green County Highway Department.
So far, Wilde said she has been learning and "digesting new information." She said she has been an acquaintance of Foulker for years, dating to when they had played on the same sports team.
"I always remember when I heard she was hired for that job," Wilde said. "I thought that was great."
Wilde has plans to stay with the department for long-term. Wunschel said the new hire has been doing a good job, and credited Foulker for a job well done for the past 23 years.
"I've been treated like one of the guys," Wilde said. "There's been no preferential treatment or any issues. I had a lot of friends there already."
Green County Highway Commissioner Jeff Wunschel agrees the gap as clearly visible.
"It's not a field too many women pursue," Wunschel said.
Despite this, the highway department has had the dedicated work of one woman since 1993. Cheri Foulker, a Monroe native, has been driving snow plows, raising fences and filling potholes for more than two decades. Recently, she took to a desk and now spends her days traveling to Madison for urgent truck parts for the head mechanic or tackling paperwork. Foulker, 58, gave up the outdoor work after years of demanding labor called for a change of pace - but she still wishes she could be back in the seat of a truck.
"I miss plowing something terrible," Foulker said.
Foulker attacked all jobs with the same attitude she has in her everyday life: It may be difficult, but just keep moving and in the end you will feel the sense of a job well done.
"It's hard work, but you get through it," she said.
When Foulker began in the early 1990s, she was a part-time custodian. Then, she noticed a few job openings were describing a better opportunity.
"I thought, "I think I would like this,'" Foulker said.
Most of the women working with the department are young and seasonal, holding signs for roadwork as a summer job while they go to school or look for a more permanent position.
But Foulker was in for the long-term, and surrounded by male co-workers.
"It was hard, and I'm sure it was hard for them, but it worked," Foulker said. "If there was anything said, I didn't hear it. I'd just go about my work. I would just do what I was told and everything went fine."
Foulker never experienced any outright challenges to her presence, but simply being there made a difference. On July 20 of this year, Marsha Wilde began her job with the department performing duties such as sealcoating and driving large trucks while working on crews of variable size. She was added to a construction crew of 20 workers.
Both Wilde and Foulker profess a love of the outside and said they prefer more physically challenging work.
"I enjoy a variety of different jobs," Wilde said. "I'm not a behind-a-desk type of person. I enjoy being outside, getting my hands dirty."
For example, one day while working as a unit secretary at Monroe Clinic Hospital, she left her job to work for more than a decade in a salvage yard. While the commute with her husband was enjoyable, both wanted to find positions closer to home in Monroe. Wilde, 45, decided to change her life once more by applying for an opening with the Green County Highway Department.
So far, Wilde said she has been learning and "digesting new information." She said she has been an acquaintance of Foulker for years, dating to when they had played on the same sports team.
"I always remember when I heard she was hired for that job," Wilde said. "I thought that was great."
Wilde has plans to stay with the department for long-term. Wunschel said the new hire has been doing a good job, and credited Foulker for a job well done for the past 23 years.
"I've been treated like one of the guys," Wilde said. "There's been no preferential treatment or any issues. I had a lot of friends there already."