The fact that gender desegregation of vocational programs has not yet been achieved might be related to labor force occupational segregation by gender. Social theorists view schooling inequities as mirrors of social structure, whereby schools track students to maintain social stratification. Mirroring the labor market, education has segregated students into programs based on factors such as their class background, racial/ethnic classification, and gender. Although current enrollments of females reflect greater numbers of students in programs nontraditional for their gender, female students remain clustered in the service and clerical occupations. An examination of 1988-89 enrollments in vocational programs in nine of Connecticut's comprehensive high schools shows that they mirror national trends and have made little progress in reversing gender segregation. Follow-up data on graduates from these schools support this fact. Vocational education can empower students in traditionally female programs by providing them with knowledge about the following: (1) workplace issues that will directly affect them; (2) issues of self-esteem and identity that shape females' work lives; (3) peer relationships and managerial practices in employment settings; and (4) contemporary labor issues on pay equity and comparable worth, sexual harassment, pregnancy and child-care benefits, promotion, and career advancement. (YLB)