Greetings!

It’s no secret that construction continues to be a field that predominantly employs men. Nationally, women make up only 3-4% of construction tradespeople.

This doesn’t mean that the Building & Construction Trades can’t be a viable employment option for women. In fact, the union construction trades have one of the narrowest pay gaps between genders in the country. For women with the skills and commitment to the craft, these careers can provide life-changing financial opportunities.

Still, there are real barriers - cultural, societal and practical - that deter women from entering and persisting in the field. Because of this, it’s not enough to just say we want more women candidates. We actually have to respond to the struggles of those we want to recruit and do our best to remove barriers that stop them.



The Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship (ERiCA) grant will allow us to do just that. Earlier this month, CTWI was one of several organizations to receive an ERiCA grant award. With these funds, CTWI and our partners will be able to:

• Provide direct financial assistance, through child care stipends, to apprentices and pre-apprentices who are parents or guardians of minor children
• Develop a mentorship framework to retain women apprentices
• Revise recruitment tactics to attract more diverse applicants

This is an exciting moment for CTWI and the coalition of 10 JATCs, 5 MC3 programs and 2 nonprofits that partnered with us on this grant application, but it’s even more exciting for the existing and emerging tradespeople who these child care stipends will help. If you are interested in doing more with your trade or program to recruit and retain women tradespeople, please contact Elizabet Wendt.

Recruiting Now!

As always, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me at beli@ctwi-btca.org.

In Solidarity,

Beli

We’re Hiring! - CTWI is hiring! Could you help us spread the word? All of our current job openings are posted on our website.