I got this from Hard Hatted Women today and I wanted to share it.

Much ado about the oft mentioned Joe the Plumber adorned the last presidential debate and subsequent news media. Blatantly absent from the conversion is the mention of Betty the Bricklayer and the women she might represent. Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many women working in the skilled trades, such Joe, as a plumber, pipefitter or heavy equipment operator. In fact, nationally, women represent only 4% of the skilled trades, which provide family-sustaining wages, healthcare and pensions, especially when they are union jobs. Instead, women continue to work predominately in sectors still considered traditional “women’s work” – such as those in the service sector and childcare, making just minimum wage and often without benefits. In an average work lifetime a woman working in a career considered “nontraditional” such as that of a plumber will earn $1 million dollars more than a woman working as a childcare worker.

This is important to understand because women continue to be disproportionately impacted by poverty. According to the most recent U.S. Census, in Cleveland 53 % of households headed by women live in poverty and for women of color that number rises to 68%. Additionally, women are often excluded from these jobs opportunities because of discrimination and lack of access to training. While not every woman wants to be a bricklayer or a plumber, she should be provided the choice. And when she does not opt for those careers, she should not be expected to work for less than her male counterparts. Despite years of outcry and activism, women still continue to earn less than their male counterparts for the same work. Studies show that women, on average, earn 77 cents for each dollar earned by a man.

Recently, a woman named Lilly Ledbetter has been criss-crossing the nation to raise awareness about pay equity. Lilly is now retired but has said how important it is to remedy this for our daughters and granddaughters. Lilly sued Good Year Tire and Rubber when she discovered the company had discriminated against her for decades by paying her male counterparts, even those less qualified and less senior higher wages. Lilly was awarded $3.8 million dollars by a jury of her peers for this violation of her civil rights under Title VII. Yet somehow the Supreme Court overturned the ruling stating Ledbetter did not act in a timely fashion. Lilly sued upon the discovery yet somehow the Supreme Court determined she was negligent in not knowing about the discrimination from her first paycheck.

In the spring, legislation bearing this courageous woman’s name will go once again before the United States Senate for a vote. Lilly was mentioned by name only once during the last presidential debate and there was no follow-up discussion on how that legislation or the continued disparity between women’s wages and men’s impacts our families, our communities and our nation again. Putting choices in the hands of women and girls provides equality. Ensuring equal pay for equal work can mean the difference between remaining in poverty or being lifted out of it.


Kelly M. Kupcak
Director of Policy
Hard Hatted Women
216-861-6500, ext. 203
kkupcak@hardhattedwomen.org

Thanks Kelly and Hard Hatted Women. I wish there was a similar organization in every state and territory. It's time women were better represented in the TRADES.

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well, McCain, of course, silly. That's actually not the point to this post, the point is the AP news post on it, it had me laughing my ass off:

McCain points to Wurzelbacher as an example of the middle-class worker who would be hurt economically by an Obama presidency, However, Wurzelbacher likely would fare better under Obama's tax plan because it calls for no tax increase for working couples earning less than $250,000 a year — Wurzelbacher himself earns far less — and provides for a middle-class tax cut.

snip

When a McCain supporter asked him if he believed "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel," Wurzelbacher replied, "I'll go ahead and agree with you on that." He didn't elaborate on how Obama, who has said his commitment to Israeli security is "nonnegotiable," would be caustic for the Jewish state.

Fame brought media scrutiny to Wurzelbacher, who turned out to be an unlicensed plumber with unpaid back taxes.

Sam-the-contractor has less experience in plumbing than women who've gone through the pre-apprenticeship programs at Hard Hatted Women. You know, Hard Hatted Women, a group of women who help women transition into the trades?

Hard Hatted Women began in 1979 when three women - a telephone repair technician, a steelworker and a truck driver, formed a support group for tradeswomen.

Now, I don't know how she's planning to vote next week, but let me tell you what a real plumber looks like, she looks like Barb

Barbara Brunell
Plumber, A 1991 graduate of Hard Hatted Women’s pre-apprenticeship training program, Barb has more than a decade of experience as a plumber. She was hired by Case Western Reserve University in November 2002 and is the only female plumber on staff.

She doesn't look like Sam. Barb has been apprenticed and she really is a plumber and that says a hell of a lot more to me than what Sam-the-contractor has to say, on any subject.

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Lilly Ledbetter will be speaking tonight in Cleveland for Hard Hatted Women. I highly recommend sending a little green their way for all the amazing work they do with pre-apprenticeship programs for women in Cleveland. And to tell you the kinds of stuff women in the workplace face, perhaps we can shine a light on the choices we have to make when planning for kids or even thinking about adopting. It's kind of a reality check:

of half a million impoverished children in one year's time.

Nikki Maxwell is a 39-year-old mother of three living in North Hills, California. As an employee of California State University, she was well-supported when she chose to have children. A human resources staff member took the time to explain the family and health policies. As a union member, she received six weeks paid leave. Her co-workers were responsive to the flexible hours she needed at the office.

By the time her third child was born, though, Maxwell worked in a new department.

"[In the new department], nobody had children and you were expected to work weekends and evenings," Maxwell said. "I just couldn't do that anymore. It was time to leave."

She left CSU to work as a consultant from home. But her timing, she said, couldn't have been worse.

"The economy has tanked and we've gone from being fairly stable and secure as parents to feeling stressed and unsure," she said. "I like my flexible lifestyle, but I don't like not have health insurance for my kids."

She added that while she and her husband planned their first child, the other two were unexpected. "I'm not sure I ever would have had more children on purpose," Maxwell said. "It's a big, responsible and scary job to be a parent these days.

"I would adopt (another child) if I felt I could afford it. I can't afford more children at this point."

Amy Minton, a writer in San Antonio, shares this frustration.

"Frankly, I'd love to adopt, but the financial and medical bills for that are way out of our league. Why isn't it more affordable to adopt so that middle-class people can do it? That frustrates me," she said.

Becoming a parent in and of itself wasn't without economic strain for Minton.

"When I had my baby in 2000, I worked for myself and had a crappy individual policy. I paid cash to midwives for the birth, and we negotiated with the hospital on a payment plan. I went back to work the day after I gave birth," she said.

"Now, in 2008, with an employer that offers family leave and a crappy health care plan I can't afford--so I still have the same individual insurance plan--I wouldn't think of having a baby," Minton said. "I've seen too many new moms here at work get caught in the system they thought would take care of them. Then they get passed over for promotions because their focus is on family."

My daughter is now 15. In 1993, SChip (Ohio's Healthy Babies) made it possible for me to have her. Both my husband and I were working and I had health insurance, but it wasn't enough to cover the medical bills. I went back to work as a waitress 10 weeks after she was born and had to deal with babysitters from hell until I could afford day care. There were times when I pulled the cushions to search for pennies so I could put something, anything in the gas tank.

Women deserve equal pay. We deserve to be able to feed our families and where possible, adopt kids whose parents aren't able to care for them. No one should have to make a choice between family and career and NO EMPLOYER should be able to pass a woman with a family over for a promotion just because she has a family. On that last one, I should know. As a single mom, it happened to me and there wasn't a damn thing to do about it. They didn't select me because I was a single mother and the job required travel. They hired another woman instead of me. Single moms are not a protected class. Mom's in general aren't, either. It's as if they're still telling women that we need to learn to sit down and shut up, you know, learn to take it like a man. Only thing is, men still get all the breaks and having to even consider a Lilly Ledbetter keeps proving that point.

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Do you live in New York City? If so, don’t miss this event:

Gala Book Party

SISTERS IN THE BROTHERHOODS
(Palgrave/Macmillan 2008).

WHEN: September 16th, 2008 — 6 p.m.
WHERE: Tamiment Library
70 Washington Square South, 10th Flr, NYC

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
FOR INFORMATION: 212-998-2636

Organized by the New York Labor History Association
Co-sponsor: Tamiment Library / Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, NYU

But what exactly is this book about? I was curious, so I looked it up and found this:

Description

Sisters in the Brotherhoods is an oral-history-based study of women who have, against considerable odds, broken the gender barrier to blue-collar employment in various trades in New York City beginning in the 1970s. It is a story of the fight against deeply ingrained cultural assumptions about what constitutes women's work, the middle-class bias of feminism, the daily grinding sexism of male coworkers, and the institutionalized discrimination of employers and unions. It is also the story of some gutsy women who, seeking the material rewards and personal satisfactions of skilled manual labor, have struggled to make a place for themselves among New York City's construction workers, stationary engineers, firefighters, electronic technicians, plumbers, and transit workers. Each story contributes to an important unifying theme: the way women confronted the enormous sexism embedded in union culture and developed new organizational forms to support their struggles, including and especially the United Tradeswomen.

You know with all the swirl of stuff going on about Palin, it’s nice to see that there’s a book out there that takes a look at REAL Women who have done REAL jobs that had been reserved for men. Jobs like Firefighting, police, carpentry, oh hell, the jobs very much like what women in Cleveland can train for through the pre-apprenticeship programs through Hard Hatted Women.

Hard Hatted Women. needs you help to continue their work and you can help, you can go to their website and make a donation or you can also go to their upcoming fundraiser where Lilly Ledbetter will speak. I’d love to hear what Lilly has to say about the current race and not only about pay equity, but I’m also hoping, she’ll touch on the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act.

This year’s election is just too important, there’s just too much at stake. Register and vote. It’s really that important.

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I think we've only ever posted 1 other job announcement, but this one was too good to not post. It's all about women working with women. If you're a frequent reader of this blog you know that we're huge fans of the work that groups like Hard Hatted Women do in Cleveland. Well, here's your opportunity to take one step forward and help another woman up...

Language Arts Instructor (Part Time 15-20 hours weekly)



Education: Bachelor (BA, BS, etc.)
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, 20001, United States
Posted by: Washington Area Women in the Trades
Type: Part time
Language(s): English
Job posted on: July 17, 2008
Area of Focus: Education and Academia, Job Training and Workplace Issues, Women's Issues
Salary: Negotiable
Last day to apply: August 18, 2008
Last updated: July 21, 2008



Description:
RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide ABE and pre-GED instructions that increase students' reading and math skills, and prepare students for Non-traditional apprenticeship examinations.
• Submit weekly lesson plans for approval by the lead instructor
• Adhere to established curriculum; identify and report to Project Director any need for changes to address students’ learning styles.
• Follow established instructional guidelines, and methods that measure students' progress.
• Other related duties as assigned
Additional Qualifications:
1. Experience working with adults in an academic setting.
2. A BA Degree or currently enrolled in an institution of higher education with a minimum one (1) year experience in adult education/tutoring.
3. Understanding of the adult education, life skills, and non-traditional career concepts.
4. Understanding of the psychological and social challenges faced by under-employed women
5. Strong oral and written communication skills.
6. Strong teamwork skills.

POSITION CONTRACTED FOR 12 WEEKS

How to Apply:
Please submit cover letter indicating why you are interested in the position, with resume to: adrew@ywcanca.org

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I have no idea if there was much of a fight from the 8 employees to join a union, but I'm proud of this organization that I've been hooping and hollering for these past years...why? Take a look:

HARD HATTED WOMEN ALIGNS MISSION WITH PURPOSE, ANNOUNCING A UNIONIZED WORKFORCE

CLEVELAND, OHIO – May 22, 2008. Hard Hatted Women (HHW) today announced its ratification of a union contract, making HWW employees the newest members of OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union) Local 1794.

Seeking to provide equality, diversity and job protection—values they tirelessly defend on behalf of their constituents—within the walls of their own offices, management and workers came to an agreement on terms last week. A contract was ratified on May 13th, 2008.

Says Terri Burgess Sandu, Co-Interim Executive Director, “As non-profits are increasingly encouraged to adopt a framework and practices similar to corporate America, we are also seeing a trend towards unionization in the non-profit sector. I believe that all working people deserve to have a voice in decisions of wages, job protection, and benefits that affect our quality of life. We advocate those benefits for hundreds of women on a daily basis. For HHW, this is an excellent opportunity as we carry our mission into a fourth decade of doing business in Ohio.”

Adds Board of Directors President Calli Frehmeyer, “As a longtime member of both Laborers Local 310 and Hard Hatted Women it only made sense to support the employees’ efforts to unionize. I believe by doing this we are not only supporting our staff but we are standing in solidarity with labor. The board supports the staff and believes in them wholeheartedly.”

The OPEIU Local 1794 negotiating team included Sandra Harvey, Christine Bowen, and Winny Clark, who were joined by HHW staff members Shelly Richmond and Kelly Kupcak. “We look forward to a long and mutually satisfying relationship with this organization. We feel that the Staff of HHW are both dedicated and energetic. We are pleased to welcome them into our Local Union, and excited to have successfully negotiated their initial contract with them,” states Sandra Harvey.

At its Cleveland office, HHW employs eight people, five of whom will now be part of the OPEIU Local 1794. HHW regularly works to place women in nontraditional occupations represented by a wide variety of unionized trade organizations.

With funding and participation from the local community, state organizations and federal government, HHW leverages their experience to assist women gain access to living wage jobs in nontraditional fields of employment. With a comprehensive platform including training, outreach, mentoring, leadership development, and programs for youth, HHW provides a single location where women can access employment, retention and advancement services for high wage, nontraditional careers. HHW also serves as a resource for employers seeking to attract and retain a qualified, diverse workforce.

YEAH!!

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If you've read this site before, you know how much I love Hard Hatted Women, well, yesterday, I'm equally proud of DCLabor. From Metro Washington Council News:

TRADESWOMEN TRADE TOOLS FOR CAPS & GOWNS:

Family and friends of 21 newly-minted graduates filled the Gompers Room at the AFL-CIO Monday for the Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) graduation ceremony. Traci Pfeffer and Jhonnal Daniels spoke for many of their fellow-graduates when they shared the many challenges they faced to complete the 12-week building and construction trades pre-apprenticeship program.

Congratulatory and supportive words were offered by keynote speakers including Channel 7 anchor Maureen Bunyan and YWCA Executive Director Orysia Stanchak, and special thanks were given to the four unions who provided hands-on experience for the women at their apprenticeship schools, including Cement Masons Local 891, the Sheet Metal Workers Apprenticeship program, the Joint Carpentry Apprenticeship Committee and the IBEW Apprenticeship Program.

This is the fourth group of female construction workers to complete the training, which is coordinated by the YWCA of the National Capital Area, Wider Opportunities for Women and the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO.

What I especially like about this program is that it empowers women to do something else, something more. It encourages women to find a new way to provide for their families. More about this program from the Metro Council:

The Program:
We have developed a strategy to help women acquire the skills they need to pursue careers in the trades, and to connect them to apprenticeship and career opportunities after they graduate from the program. The program will reach out to women from different communities and include some who face barriers that have prevented them from finding or keeping well-paying jobs in the past.

Might I also point out here that it takes women from low benefit Certified Nursing Assistant jobs into jobs with growth, potential and opportunity. And with DC City Council restricting the City's paid sick leave legistlation to everone who doesn't work in the food industry and the health care industry and further isolating those groups to fulltime AND only after having been on the job for 12 months, well, you can see how working in a trade might be much more valuable. Again from the Metro Council:

Basic skills curriculum:
The YWCA will be responsible for developing and implementing a curriculum that incorporates elements of earlier curricula developed by the YWCA and WOW. The curriculum will provide students with an array of soft skills necessary to be successful in the construction and building trades, including math and reading skills, fitness, life skills, and an introduction to the trades. The basic skills component will be taught at the YWCA headquarters in downtown Washington.

For more information on future programs, I'd suggest you drop Kathleen McKirchy: Comm Serv Agency 202-974-8221 (office) 202-974-8152 (fax) or Silvia Casaro a line.

Pictures are available on the Metropolitan Washington Council's website.

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Often, union members are not acknowledged for their contributions to companies, cities, hell, even the political process. But this past Friday, the Washington Post deep inside the newspaper’s print edition and again on the web (yeah, I can link to it!) did a story on the building of the new DC Nationals’ Stadium. This was a PUBLICLY funded project, so I won’t be mentioning the owner of the Nats from here on out, I’m not a fan of his. Instead, I’ll be focusing on what the Post’s Hamil R. Harris Focused on, the workers.

…for nearly two years, the sprawling site off South Capitol Street SE was the domain of men and women who wore hard hats instead of baseball helmets, leather boots instead of spikes.

People such as Theodore Richmond, who helped pour the concrete for Nationals Park. And Christopher Shrewsberry, who helped put in thousands of seats. And Veronica Salas, who made sure the workers were lined up and ready for their latest assignments.

More than 2,700 people helped build the ballpark -- immigrants, war veterans, people on their first jobs, longtime D.C. residents, tradesmen and women who traveled hundreds of miles for a chance to work on the project. Electricians, ironworkers, carpenters, plumbers, laborers, you name it, tended to the details. They celebrated last summer when the last beam was put in place by construction workers. History was being made, an electrician said at the time. Then everyone went back to work on the plumbing, wiring and other tasks that were yet to be done.

For all the unsung hero’s like Local 40 Ironworkers at the World Trade Center or locals 262 and 235 UAW out on strike in Michigan at American Axle, this is for you…

"During the first phase, I helped pour the concrete. In the second phase, I did the insulation. In the third phase, I am installing TVs, desks, anything to do with the offices. . . . There aren't a lot of things that you can be proud of in your life. I think that this will be one of the things. It will be something that I can show my kids years down the road. I helped build the stadium. . . . This will be one of my war stories. I've never been to war, but this will be one of the stories that I will be telling."
Theodore Richmond, 33
Southeast Washington, Laborer

and another

"We did the scoreboard. It is a beautiful thing to look at that big screen."
Herbert Brown, 57
Northeast Washington,
Electrician apprentice

PS, there are a number of apprenticeship programs out there. Ironworkers in NY have a site dedicated to their programs , DC government has one, Hard Hatted Women in Cleveland trains women for the trades. There’s even a program for transitioning veterans and guards members called Helmets to Hard Hats and the Boilermakers have a post up now.

How about a few more comments?

"I think this is a good project because Latinos and African Americans are working together. Our workers are proud of this project. Even apprentices come here to practice and learn more. It is a sense of pride. . . . Our members are happy to be part of this."
Veronica Salas, 32
Staff, Laborers' International
Union of North America
Northeast Washington, Laborer

"I am putting in the fiber-optic cable for the camera setup to capture the speed of the ball. I'm a Nats fan. This means a lot. There is a lot of history around here. I will bring my kids here when they get a little older."
George Kerr
Indian Head, Electrician

For all that unions members do around this country, thank you. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!

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When I first decided to start this blog, I did so because I knew a lot of women in unions, but I didn’t know their stories. There were railroader wives, teamsters, carpenters, office workers, government employees, teachers, nurses, etc…I think you get the picture. I wanted to know both the good and bad. Somewhere along the way I decided that I wasn’t just interested in their stories but about taking all of our stories and pulling them together with other data to help buoy the movement, in some small way.

Over the past 18 months, I’ve blogged about a couple of womens organizations that help women get into the trades. That even has included the late Shirley Chisholm’s contributions. Today, it seems almost as if we’ve taken a giant leap in the trades.

You see, I wandered over to Union Review today to check out what was up and I found that the Carpenter’s Union (UBC) has started a sister’s site.

This site is dedicated to training women in the trades through apprenticeship programs. Rock on!!

I couldn’t help but think of the three single moms in Cleveland who sat at a kitchen table in the 70’s and decided that they needed a group to help them in their jobs and to bring more women into the trades. Hard Hatted Women, I love you!!

Now, one other note to make on this topic, when starting an apprenticeship program, some might find that their incomes are reduced (not usually), they will increase at the Journeyman level, but it might take time. Also, apprentices are most often the first to endure layoffs and last to be re-hired. So, Sisters linked to a financial planning resource so that groups organizing apprenticeship programs can assist workers with developing financial planning skills and an emergency financial back-up plan. You should totally go and check out their site and more specifically the pdf they have up on financial planning.

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So, what brought me over to Fire on the Black Mountain? It was the story on the Irish Patriotic Strike.

Please go and read the entire piece.

Strikes are largely economic by nature, so much so, that there is a perception that those are the only kind. Which of course is what's so interesting about the Irish Patriotic Strike, from Fire on the Mountain:

Strikes are usually economic in nature; union labor in a particular industry goes on strike to demand higher wages, better working conditions, a stop to layoffs, etc. Few labor actions in U.S. history have the broad political implications of the Irish Patriotic Strike of 1920. A strike on U.S. docks in support of a national liberation movement was unusual in its own right. The support the walkout garnered outside the Irish community, and across the so-called "color-line," was truly significant.

It wasn't just significant in that it wasn't economically motivated but the kind of meetings that came out of this also shows one of the reasons that the longshoreman's unions divided into East and West in the early part of last century. It also shows how far sighted Harry Bridges was when he worked to integrate the union. The lessons from this strike must have been on his mind. Again, from Fire on the Mountain:

After Garvey sent the Rev. J. W. Selkridge, one of his chief lieutenants, to the docks urging the Black longshoremen to honor the strike, a contingent of Irish American longshoremen visited Liberty Hall in Harlem, seeking closer cooperation with the UNIA. A four-way meeting the next day brought together representatives of the UNIA, the American Women's Pickets, the Black longshoremen and the striking Irish longshoremen. When the African American dockworkers asked for promises that they wouldn't be banned from the piers after the strike, the striking workers refused to agree to this basic democratic demand. This decision sealed the strike's fate. It collapsed two days later.

Is it any wonder about why the Longshoreman's strike of 1936 was a successful strike? One answer, integration. When we all work together, we all win.

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But beyond the "barrier breaking" symbolism, now that it's nearly 30 years later, what have Ms. Chisholm's efforts achieved? This last weekend, my local of the International Longshoremen's Association local celebrated our "Women Pioneers": union sisters. approximately 48 to 65 years old who had come to the docks, sponsored by Congresswoman Chisholm, in that first wave. The local, and in fact the entire Port of NY/NJ, now boasts a substantial number of female longshoremen, but the seven sisters we were honoring all came from the 12th Congressional District of Brooklyn and there might well be NO women on the docks if not for them.

I found this bit of history while searching the web on another topic which brought me to Fire on the Mountain.

What I liked about this piece of info is that it reminds me about the women that founded Hard Hatted Women in Ohio.

Women work in the trades. But to get them in, it meant that women had to break barriers that men of all colors, shapes and creeds created. Thanks to Hard Hatted Women, Representative Chisholm and women willing to work good paying jobs no matter what the field; it's these players who've made it possible for women to support their families and take their own lives into their hands.

Thank you to all women who've come before me. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

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I love the trades. I know, as if that's a surprise. Actually, what I like most about the trades is that they do things like this:

The Community Service Agency’s (CSA) Building Futures Program “makes you like a top draft choice out there in the workforce,” said Daryl McNeil following a four-hour math tutorial course that will help him to pass the application test for a spot in a union construction apprenticeship program. McNeil – a former member of the Army and telecommunications worker – ran into some tough times after his military service but sees his participation in the Building Futures Program as a way to turn his life around and become a model father for his 11 year-old son. “I get a lot of positive reinforcement and help in bringing me up to speed in areas that I am weak in to make me competitive in the workplace.”

But so that you don't think this is just a DC thing, take a look at Hard Hatted Women. Hard Hatted Women is one of my favorite organizations. It's about women empowering women and in doing so, they also make it possible for women to enter the Trades. Yep, I mean good paying union jobs.

Hard Hatted Women began in 1979 when three women, a telephone repair technician, a steelworker and a truck driver, formed a support group for tradeswomen.

They started working these jobs to feed their families. They've helped take women from certified nursing programs which pay minimum wage and to put them into the trades making more as an apprentice than these women made being CNAs. But I'm really paraphrasing one of the founders here from a TV report from more than 10 years ago. See what kind of an impact it made on me?

In an era when women still make about 71 cents for every dollar that a man earns, Hard Hatted Women strives to train, advocate and support women in non-traditional jobs that often offer more pay, benefits and security than some others.

What this article fails to tell you is that this group has had amazing success not only in training women but placing them in jobs with starting salaries in the Cleveland area of $16 to 19 and hour. Again, I'm paraphrasing a 10 year old program. What I remembered most of that program was a woman who'd been through the program and moved from being a waitress to being an electrician. At the time, she made $2.10 an hour plus tips but when she became a journeyman electrician, she made no less than $27 an hour. She bought a house, put two kids through college and said that she didn't care how the men treated her, she was there to do a job and she could do it just as well as any man she met.

For years now, I've wanted to start a similar program in DC. Now that I see there is a full on program available, I wonder how easy or hard it would be to get them to expand this program to include women helping women in the trades.

From the DC program site:

Clients will come from several sources

Referrals from community groups running pre-apprenticeship training programs and those running Job Readiness programs.

Referrals from the DC Public School system and UDC.

Referrals from the DC One Stop Center system.

Self-referrals of individuals who hear about the project.

I wish they included women in this list.

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