Tradeswomen Building Bridges: the North American Network of Women Working in the Construction Trades

Registration Link: 4th Quarter International Call Link

Join your International Trades Sisters for our Quarterly zoom meet-up. This quarters international speaker is Ms. Jane Vargas of Association of Women Workers in the Construction Industry (AWWCI) in Quezon City, Philippines 

Jane Vargas is a women and workers advocate, Construction Safety Officer, Community Development, Organizer, Union leader, Co-founder and coordinator of the Association of Women Workers in the Construction Industry (AWWCI). 

AWWCI, established in 2004, is an association of women construction workers Painters, Carpenters, Masons and Welders from different parts of the Philippines. They aim to recognize all women workers in the construction industry with social protection, social justice, equality and gender perspectives without any forms of discrimination and effective response and participation of women in all labor matters. 

Podcast – A Force for Good

Hear union members from S. Korea, Ukraine and the UK share that even under the harshest conditions – war, austerity, and repression – trade unions remain a force for democracy, dignity, and hope.

“Unions are the life blood of democracy…and have the power to bring together all social movements as a shared force for change…”

Our 3rd Quarter International Tradeswomen meet-up was an inspiring one!

Thresiamma Mathews, director of Archana Women’s Center (AWC) – Kerala, India, presented the history of AWC and its support of women. From skills training to community education, from understanding women’s rights to political engagement, from self defense classes to female empowerment – AWC continues to be a space for women to learn, grow and become economically stable members of the community.

We are grateful to have our friend and partner in the Global Tradeswomen network share with us so that we can share with you.

You can find the slide presentation in our ‘Research & Reports’ tab under India and the recording of the presentation is here. Passcode: Sk8ZWzW&

TBB started the weekend in Chicago with a table at the CWIT ‘Building the Tradeswomen Movement’ event – sharing the mementos and stories from our various delegations.

It was great to reconnect with fellow TBB members and welcome our BWI friends from Switzerland and Norway.

We ended the weekend sharing our TBB history and future plans at Tradeswomen Taskforce. It was an exciting weekend full of reconnecting and building new connections as we continue to hold up the importance that a women’s place is in her union!

Registration Link: 3rd Quarter International Call Link

Join your International Trades Sisters for our Quarterly zoom meet-ups. This quarters an international speaker is Ms. Thresiamma Mathew of Archana Women’s Centre (AWC) in Kerala, India 

Thresiamma Mathew is the founder and director of Archana Women’s Centre. she will share the organizations holistic development of women, addressing their physical, mental, psychological, financial, and spiritual well-being. 

AWC creates gender awareness and imparts training in non-traditional skills, enabling women to break into traditionally male-dominated professions such as masonry, carpentry, electrical and plumbing work, driving, and construction. 

TBB was a guest of Sandi Rhys Jones, former president of CIOB, at this years Women in Construction 2025 awards pre party. Two of our partners Sandi and Hattie Hassan from Stopcocks and Register of Tradeswomen CIC are judges this years event.

It was great to spend time with fellow tradeswomen from across the pond and hear the strong work that is happening in the England area to promote and retain women in the crafts work!

TBB had the honor of presenting our Game Changers to a diverse crowd at the University of Westminster, London England this summer.

The annual ProBE Research Symposium brought together politicians, academics, AI engineers and more to discuss retrofit and housing policy, construction challenges and women in construction. We discussed how we can collaborate and benefit from each other.

Well deserved recognition 🌟 of our sister Doreen Cannon: leader, advocate and friend – your dedication to promoting union trades🦺 and creating paths for women to good, financially stable jobs will impact many for years to come! 👊🏾

Recognizing Doreen Cannon – UA Plumber

The first Midwest Tradeswomen Summit brought together union members from Kansas and Missouri and reunited TBB delegates from India 2017 and London 2022.

TBB spoke during the lunchtime slot, where we shared our history, mission and some highlights from our past delegations. We also heard from three of the Midwest area leaders and TBB alumni as they shared about their journeys into the trades and how they navigated tough situations by building their confidence and earning respect as they rose into leadership positions.

Thank you to the Midwest Summit team for giving us a space to share the importance of building international tradeswomen networks.

Growing Through Indigenous Identity and Culture to Overcome Obstacles with Local 343 Member Angel Anderson