Washington, D.C. – March 8, 2021 – North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement in celebration of Women in Construction Week:

“This week, North America’s Building Trades Unions are proud to celebrate Women in Construction Week, saluting the thousands of tradeswomen within our ranks. For decades, these hard-working women have played crucial roles in their communities, blazing trails for future generations of young women across the globe. Every day, the recruitment and retention of tradeswomen in our unions progress, made up of faces that accurately represent America as we know it.

“In an effort to turn this goal into a reality, NABTU sponsors over 175 Apprenticeship Readiness Programs (ARPs) across the U.S. to provide a gateway to Registered Apprenticeship Programs for underserved communities including women, people of color, and veterans. Additionally, for over 10 years, NABTU has hosted the annual Tradeswomen Build Nations (TWBN) conference, which has since become the largest tradeswomen conference in the world, with nearly 3,000 attendees in 2019. This weekend-long conference includes a series of educational and empowering workshops aimed to increase the activity and engagement of tradeswomen within their respective unions. At our TWBN 2020 virtual conference, we announced the Tradeswomen Heroes Award – a monthly honor created by NABTU’s Tradeswomen’s Committee and Apprenticeship and Training Committee – to formally recognize the tremendous women journeyworkers and apprentices within our affiliate unions.

“On behalf of North America’s Building Trades Unions, I wish all tradeswomen a happy Women in Construction Week. I am beyond grateful for your strength, perseverance, and dedication to your craft and look forward to our continued work together as we expand opportunities for women within our industry. And to all women: happy International Women’s Day!”

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