Pushing to become a more visible, vocal and valued segment of the construction workforce, more than 1,000 women craftworkers—a record number—convened in Los Angeles this month for a union- sponsored conference to share best practices in everything from pre-apprenticeships to coping with a hostile workplace to long-term career creation.
"The goal of this conference is to increase the numbers of women coming into the building trades and to enable them to stay in the trades by giving them the skills to succeed and by supporting women's leadership on the job and in their unions," said California Building & Construction Trades Council President Robbie Hunter.