Tradeswomen

New York City, Then
According to the 2000 US Census, only 3.1% of construction workers nationwide are women. In New York City, even fewer women work in the construction trades, comprising around 2.5% of the workforce. This problem is not new. In 1993, the New York City Commission on Human Rights issued a report on the status of women and minorities, Building Barriers: Discrimination in NYC Construction Trades. The report - a product of two years of testimony by union officials, contractors, construction workers and worker advocates, including representatives of Legal Momentum (then-NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund) - found pervasive racism and gender bias in all sectors of the City's construction industry. Unfortunately, the City's still-abysmal workforce statistics confirm that in the nearly fifteen years since Building Barriers was released, little has changed.

New York City, Now
Approximately $30 billion - $4.5 billion of which is slotted for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan alone - is projected for construction in New York City in the coming 10 years. Legal Momentum's Equality Works Program is dedicated to assuring that New York City's tradeswomen are included in this historic boom. Through litigation, policy research, and media advocacy, we also work to assure that tradeswomen nationwide have the tools they need to protect their rights on the job and effect change in their own communities.

RESOURCES

See our resources page for a list of organizations with useful information for women in non-traditional jobs.

For additional information: