WHEREAS, In 1987, Congress declared March as national Women’s History Month in perpetuity, and since then, the industry has celebrated women in construction during the first week of March; and

WHEREAS, The focus of Women in Construction Week is to highlight women as a visible component of the construction industry; and

WHEREAS, The continuous progress of our economy requires full participation and support of all citizens, regardless of gender, race, or ethnic background; and

WHEREAS, The workforce in California is becoming increasingly diversified and for this state’s construction industry to remain competitive in the global economy, it must also diversify its workforce by attracting significantly more women into the industry; and

WHEREAS, Women currently occupy only 10 percent of all apprenticeships and less than 3 percent of construction trade jobs nationally. As a state, we should support policy efforts, such as Chapter 675 of the Statutes of 2018 (Assembly Bill 2358) and Chapter 722 of the Statutes of 2019 (Senate Bill 530). We aim to make construction job sites safer and more welcoming to women and will help achieve at least 20 percent by 2021; and

WHEREAS, The construction industry in California has tremendous need for skilled and motivated workers, managers, and entrepreneurs from all segments of the population; and

WHEREAS, The construction industry must strive to educate and inspire parents, educators, and career counselors to encourage California’s youth to enter into rewarding career opportunities in construction; and

WHEREAS, Rising costs of higher education and evolving employer workforce training needs make apprenticeship an increasingly important career pathway without the burden of student loans; and

WHEREAS, Women face many barriers to entering and staying in the construction field and have historically been excluded from apprenticeship opportunities that lead to meaningful careers with family-supporting wages; and

WHEREAS, Apprenticeships are a critical pathway for women to participate fully and equally in California’s growing economy; and

WHEREAS, The development of women-owned business enterprises will benefit all members of the workforce through the creation of meaningful and productive jobs; and

WHEREAS, Research has shown that gender diversity is associated with increased performance, innovation, and opportunity. Having more women entrepreneurs and small business owners operating in the construction industry will only benefit the working conditions for women across all industries; and

WHEREAS, Women represent an untapped resource, and activities to improve women’s recruitment and retention in skilled construction jobs is critically important in helping to close the workforce skills gap, build the middle class, and help meet the needs of the 21st century; now, therefore, be it