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The nation is at a critical moment of change. To date, the federal government has announced over $100 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to rebuild America’s infrastructure. These investments, plus the Biden-Harris administration’s climate initiative, will create thousands of good-paying jobs for working and middle-class families for years to come. The industries where these jobs will be created are ones where women have historically been underrepresented. For example, while women are roughly half the workforce, they represent only 4% of the construction trades. With this tremendous investment in new jobs, it’s never been more important to create and expand promising career pathways for women in the skilled trades.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau continues to expand pathways to better jobs through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary on Oct. 27, 2022. WANTO seeks to increase the number of women in registered apprenticeships as well as historically male-dominated jobs with higher wages. The program has provided nearly $33...