lack of pay during the program period and a problem obtaining childcare. These issues go hand in hand with food insecurity, a need for mental health support and a need for travel assistance. Tradeswomen, Inc. counters this by partnering with pre- apprenticeship programs that provide supportive services and a stipend for participation. Christina Junker is the executive director of Marin City Community Development Corporation (CDC), an employment- focused nonprofit in Marin City. The Marin City CDC partners with the Northern California Laborers Training Center in San Ramon, the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) and the California Department of Rehabilitation to offer supportive services like those Ramsey describes. For example, the Marin City CDC provides tools for up to 20 participants per cohort, a modest stipend and pays for three months of union dues. It also educates participants on financial literacy, soft skills like how to interview for a job and mental health support. “We’ve been offering our enhanced eight-week construction trades program for two years. For this recent cohort, of the 75 applicants, eight are women. These eight applicants were dealing with a number of difficulties, including a lack of childcare and transportation and living without shelter, as well as dealing with the stigma of being a woman in construction. We diligently work to gain their trust since they do not readily share their needs at first,” says Junker. As the women continue through the program, their confidence builds to the point where they are excited, determined and confidently see their futures in construction. “We recognize clients’ issues with respect and dignity by providing them with person-centered and case-management services. We are grateful to our funders and partners for making this unique program possible.” says Junker. Hall says her story began like those in the Marin City CDC’s program, when she was working at a dead-end job. “My brother was in IBEW and told me about what kind of money I could be making. When I first started, I didn’t like it right away. But I stuck it out and found out what I like to do. I tell women to keep at it. You may not like an activity until you
did background checks. I was making $10 an hour. At one point, I learned I might get a raise of three cents a year. Wanting to be able to provide for myself and make a livable wage pushed me to apply for a four- year apprenticeship program,” says Bell. Building a community, starting in middle school The term “Career Technical Education” (CTE) refers to classes that prepare students for a variety of careers, many of them in the trades. Examples include the
Christina Junker, director of the Marin City Community Development Corporation. She says of the 75 applicants to its most recent trades program, eight were women. [Photo courtesy MCCDC]
construction technology and engineering and manufacturing technology classes at sites such as Napa High School and Petaluma High School. Other programs, like the Tinker Academy in Sonoma County, spark the interest of middle school students, a number of them girls. This encourages the participants to develop an interest in STEM and trades-related classes they may take in high school or beyond. “Girls’ self-confidence in STEM declines even earlier,” says Kathy Goodacre, CEO of Career Technical Education Foundation Sonoma County, a nonprofit that furthers CTE education in Sonoma County. “Beginning as early as third grade, many girls feel insecure about their math skills, which continues through middle school. By high school, they don’t see themselves fitting in or welcome in male-dominated shop classes.” The Tinker Academy is a remedy for that, she says. “By providing an engaging STEM environment with like-minded girls and young women, participants gain self-confidence and motivation to pursue these career pathways,” says Goodacre. The education continues in high school with CTE classes and programs like the North Bay Construction Corps (NBCC), a basic construction training program for seniors in their last semester of high school. This Sonoma County program offers classes taught by local contractors and construction managers. The classes introduce students to a variety of trades. Another avenue for training is the North Coast Builders Exchange (NCBE), a Santa Rosa-based association for construction companies in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties. “In 2023, of the 83 students participating in the NBCC, five were women,” says Lisa Wittke Schaffner, CEO of NCBE. “We realized women entering the field and already in the field need more support. That’s why in 2024, we started a new group for female construction professionals, Empowering Women in Construction.”
do it for at least a month,” says Hall. Ayanna Bell is an apprenticeship coordinator with the Northern California Carpenters Training Center, based in Pleasanton. She has traveled to Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties to talk to women interested in or working in carpentry. “Before that I worked with
Kathy Goodacre, CEO of Career Technical Education Foundation Sonoma County. [Photo courtesy CTE Foundation Sonoma County]
children and later at an agency that
June 2024
NorthBaybiz 53
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