Christopher Allen of the Providence Business News reports on the difficulties for women in the trades, and how organizations such as Polaris MEP’s partner, the Jane Addams Resource Corp., are working to tear down these barriers and get more women in the trades.

Anita Bruno, executive director of Rhode Island Women In The Trades, has seen both the opportunity and ugliness of working in a male dominated field.

“A recent study found 60% of female construction workers between the ages of 28 and 40 have alleged to be the targets of harassment. Bruno has experienced hassling from male co-workers, and she has seen ­female colleagues face retaliation for ­speaking up.”

In Rhode Island, women fill less than a 10th of jobs in the trades and Bruno believes that they need more “boots on the ground” to help break the preception that there are certain jobs women cannot do. 

One organization helping with this issue is the Jane Addams Resource Corp. Who partnering with Polaris MEP has opened a job training center in Providence for the trades, where 50% of trainees are women.

Click here to read the full article, published August 4, 2023 in Providence Business News.