City of Duluth Promote Women in Construction Week

DULUTH, Minn. – This week is Women in Construction Week, and the City of Duluth is highlighting their efforts to increase their numbers in these trades.

Their Workforce Development office teams up with others in the region to educate women about the benefits through videos and presentations.  One way this is done is through the website 218 Trades, which has a general focus on careers in construction.  “The 218 Trades website has amazing information,” says Elena Foshay, Director of Duluth’s Workforce Development Office, “videos of people who work in constructions, myths and facts section, and there are staff who go out and do presentations in high schools and with community groups about careers in construction.”

Foshay expects this to get a boost after the National Association of Women in Construction opened a chapter in Duluth last year.   “That is a really important hub for women who work in construction to connect with each other, and then to mentor new entrance into the field to help them navigate.

“Worksites have to be prepared to receive women, so they have to have safety equipment that fits a women’s body.  They have to have separate bathrooms.  They have to have policies in place to intervene if there is any kind of harassment or discrimination going on.”

The city also has a community benefits program, which encourages companies to try to get at least 15-percent of a project’s workforce to consist of women and under-representative workers such as people of color.  Last year saw that number around 10-percent, which is down from 2020.  Foshay says that decline was due to the increase in projects across the city, adding more work hours that did not employ women.