Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT)

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE for the second annual Let The Sparks Fly: Welding Silent Auction Gala on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 6 PM!

Join us for an exciting evening featuring stunning welding art created by our Women in Welding students, great music, a fire dance performance, and more!

All proceeds from the event will support the Women in Welding program, helping to fund essential supplies for our talented students.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: Chicago Women in Trades, 2444 W 16th St, Chicago, IL 60608

This event will be completely cashless. Tickets are limited, so grab yours today by visiting https://onecau.se/welding-gala.

We can't wait to see you there!

Mark the date! The Chicago-based United Association Plumbers' JAC Local 130 will begin accepting Apprenticeship application for its Plumbing program on November 18, 2024, through February 4, 2025, OR the first 2,000 submissions, whichever occurs first.
Applications will be available online on November 18, 2024.
https://apply.jac130.org/

Get ready—Chicago Women in Trades is excited to announce the second annual “Let the Sparks Fly: Welding Art Gala” on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 6 PM! Join us for a night of stunning welding art, live performances, and community celebration.

Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Chicago Women in Trades, 2444 W 16th St, Chicago, IL 60608

Stay tuned for more details—we can’t wait to celebrate with you!

🎉 Congratulations to the Women Build Illinois Summer 2024 Class on their graduation! 🎓✨

We are incredibly proud of each graduate and excited for the bright futures ahead. Special thanks to our inspiring speakers, Sarah Joy Liles and Alderwoman Emma Mitts, for their empowering words and support.

And a heartfelt thank you to our amazing Class Speaker, Alicia Martinez, for representing her peers with such grace and passion.

Here’s to breaking barriers, building dreams, and showing the world what tradeswomen can do! 🔧🔨

This spring, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidelines to combat racial and sexual harassment in the construction industry. These guidelines promote strong leadership, clear complaint procedures, custom training, and effective follow-up to create safer, more inclusive workplaces.

On July 24th, EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels, along with leaders from across the industry including Chicago Women in Trades, Painters District Councils 14 and 30, Ironworkers Local 63, IDOT, Turner Construction, Power Construction, and expert tradeswomen, gathered to discuss how to support and implement these guidelines on the jobsite.

Thank you to all who attended and contributed to this important discussion. Together, we are building a better future for ALL. 💪👷‍♀️👷‍♂️

To learn more about the EEOC’s Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment in the Construction Industry, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/promising-practices-preventing-harassment-construction-industry

🔍 Home Inspection Workshop 🔍

📅 Wednesday, August 21st | 5-7PM
📍 2444 W 16th St. 3E, Chicago, IL 60608

Discover the exciting career of a home inspector! This workshop covers everything you need to get started, including Illinois licensing, education options, employment opportunities, and inspection report filings.

Exclusively for tradeswomen, this is an excellent opportunity to expand your employment options!

📞 Contact Renee Richardson to sign up: [email protected] | 312-766-1983

🚀 Ready to elevate your public speaking game? Join us on August 6, 2024, from 5-7 PM, for an empowering workshop with public speaking coach Carol Moore and CWIT’s Policy Committee! 📣✨

Learn how to boost your confidence, perfect your content, and connect with your audience. Don’t miss out on this chance to prepare for your next big public speaking opportunity! 🌟

Click the link in our bio to sign up!

🚀 Ready to elevate your public speaking game? Join us on August 6, 2024, from 5-7 PM, for an empowering (CWIT TRADESWOMEN ONLY) workshop with public speaking coach Carol Moore and CWIT’s Policy Committee! 📣✨

Learn how to boost your confidence, perfect your content, and connect with your audience. Don't miss out on this chance to prepare for your next big public speaking opportunity! 🌟

Click here to sign up!
https://shorturl.at/pZOG1

This week on July 11th The Biden-Harris Administration awarded over $244 million to modernize, diversify, and expand Registered Apprenticeships in growing industries. To lift up this announcement from the White House, Acting Secretary Julie Su visited the Women in Nontraditional Careers (WINC) Tradeswomen Readiness Program at the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia, to highlight the success of WINC, which has received training on best practices to recruit and retain women in the skilled trades by CWIT's National Center with support from the WANTO grant and Philadelphia Works.

Along with Mayor Cherelle Parker, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tamden, Business Manager of Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Ryan Boyer Sr., Shakeena Hardrick a WINC Tradeswomen Readiness Program Summer 2023 graduate, , John Kibblehouse of Contractors Association of Eastern PA, Secretary Su spoke to the importance of access and training to high paying jobs in the trades for all, especially those historically excluded from these opportunities.

CWIT's National Center Associate Director played a leading role in the day's program. For more information on the Women in Nontraditional Careers Initiative visit https://philaworks.org/winc/

Celebrating the accomplishments of our talented Spring 2024 Women in Welding graduates!

Deep gratitude to Japlan "Jazz" Allen, our Keynote Speaker, CWIT Board Chair, Founder of Sista, I Got You, and Local 1 Ironworker. Your words of wisdom and encouragement inspire us all! 🔨

�� Celebrating Juneteenth! ��

Today, we honor the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and celebrate the rich history, resilience, and contributions of Black women in the trades.

Let’s continue to support and uplift each other as we build a more inclusive and equitable future.

Major thanks to all of the SPARKLING industry leaders who attended yesterday’s Mock Interviews for our Spring Welding Class! 🔥

Clayco
Local 1 Ironworkers
S & C Electric
Mahar Fabrication Studio
Chicago Ornamental Iron
Perimeter Security Solutions
Freedman Seating

These students are ready to take that next step into a fiery new career in manufacturing! 🧑‍🏭

CWIT is partnering with the EEOC Chicago Office to offer another 'Know Your Rights' Information Session. For folks who were unable to make our last in-person meeting, this session with be held virtually on June 20 from 4:30-6:00pm. Representatives from the EEOC will cover the following topics during the meeting:

· Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of a protected class
· Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to provide reasonable pregnancy accommodations to qualified workers

If you or other tradeswomen you know have experienced discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on the job OR have hidden a pregnancy out of fear while working this information session is for you.

Event Timing: June 20 from 4:30-6:00pm
Event Address: Virtual (link will be sent to folks who register)
Contact us at: (630)608-9079 or [email protected]

Register Here:
https://forms.gle/718E3HytsgM7sesX9

Or scan the QR code above

🌈 Happy Pride Month from Chicago Women in Trades! 🌈

We proudly support our LGBTQ+ community and stand firm in our fight for love, equality and justice.

Let's continue to stand up, speak out, and create spaces where EVERYONE can thrive. 🏳️‍🌈💪✨

🌟 We are deeply honored to be named Workforce Advocate of the Year by the Federation of Women Contractors (FWC) at their Annual WomenRock Awards Reception! 🌟

Our heartfelt thanks to the FWC for recognizing our efforts and dedication to empowering women in the trades. The night was truly unforgettable. Here's to continued growth, collaboration, and breaking barriers together! 💪✨

Thank you to Aina and the team at the for hosting a great event where the workforce teams from and got to know each other and work on ways to collaborate.

Chicago Women in Trades was proud to welcome the U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su (U.S. Department of Labor) last week to announce our new pilot project with the Illinois Department of Transportation. This collaboration is a result of funding CWIT received from the U.S. Department of Labor to help support our Tradeswomen Building Infrastructure initiative which aims to enhance workforce diversity in the construction trades.

Thank you Acting Secretary Julie Su, IDOT and IDOL for your dedication to building pathways for women to access and succeed in the construction industry!

For more info click here https://womensequitycenter.org/women-in-infrastructure-workforce-2/

🎉 Congratulations to the graduates of our Technical Opportunities Program (TOP)! 🌟

Last Thursday marked a significant achievement as our dedicated participants completed their training. You've all worked incredibly hard to reach this point, and your futures in the tech industry look incredibly bright. Here's to your success and the exciting opportunities ahead! 🚀

Thank to our partners with Painter’s DC 14, Ironworkers 63, and the Office of Apprenticeship for joining our panel “Advancing Diversity and Equity in Your Apprenticeship Program.” And thanks to Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO) for inviting CWIT to be a part of their 30th Illinois State Apprenticeship Conference last week!

Thank you Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) for your sponsorship of FWC’s WomenRock: Raising the Roof, 35 Years of Women Rocking the Industry.

This Annual Awards Reception will be held on Wednesday, June 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Offshore Rooftop, Navy Pier. To learn more: https://lnkd.in/gzmriuAn

Be there to celebrate the companies and individuals who help make this city, industry and our organization rock.

GO DESI!!

Had a fantastic conversation today in the podcast studio with Desirée Guzmán about Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT), welding careers, and modernizing industry standards when it comes to diversity hires.

That episode of The Fabricator Podcast will be out soon. Stay tuned and follow us: https://open.spotify.com/show/6W58W1ceTHoYkKNGZ7KQmc

🌟 Exciting News! Chicago Women in Trades is being honored at the FWC Annual Awards Reception! Join us on June 5th at the Offshore Rooftop, Navy Pier for an unforgettable evening.

👩‍🔧 Come out and support CWIT! Let’s celebrate our achievements together with a stunning view of the city and a spectacular fireworks show.

🎇 Don't miss this chance for great networking and fun! To buy tickets visit www.fwcchicago.com

✨ With deep appreciation for Constellation's generosity, we extend our heartfelt thanks for their $20,000 donation to Chicago Women in Trades.

This support not only honors the legacy of the late Chris Crane but also fuels our mission to empower more women in the trades. Together, we're creating pathways to lasting success and opportunity.