BUILDING BRIDGES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WOMEN WORKING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN INDIA AND THE US

In January 2017, a delegation of women construction workers and advocates from the United States will visit India to meet with labour and civic leaders and share stories and experiences with women working in India’s construction industry. The goal of the delegation is to lay a foundation for an international network by and for women construction workers. This article describes the history and background of the delegation and its purpose

Finishing the Job Best Practices for a Diverse Workforce in the Construction Industry v.8 Sept 2018

This manual is a work in progress. It is produced by the Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (PGTI), a regional collaboration of researchers, government agencies, unions, community-based organizations, developers and contractors committed to increasing access for women and people of color to good paying careers in the construction trades. Our goal is to make our shared efforts and experiences helpful to industry leaders who share our commitment. It is based on best practices developed on major projects that came close, met, or exceeded workforce hiring goals. This manual and additional resources are available online at on the PGTI website at www.policygroupontradeswomen.org . There is also a comment section. We look forward to receiving feedback from users that will help us improve the tools contained here. The Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (PGTI) is a regional collaboration of stakeholders working together since 2008 to crush the barriers to women’s access to good paying careers in the construction trades. Participants include tradeswomen, regional and local political leaders, representatives from state and federal government agencies, union and contractor representatives, staff from pre-apprentice programs, community-based organizations (CBOs) and other interested parties. Participants meet every other month to build relationships and share information across silos of expertise, to identify points of intervention that will get women into training and jobs and support high retention rates for women in the trades. Our focus on women explicitly supports efforts to increase all forms of diversity in the construction industry. In urban areas, as many as half of the women entering the trades are women of color. This demographic fact means that bringing more women into the trades addresses economic inequalities of both gender and race. As the industry opens up to women and people of color, the culture of workplaces is improving for all

Building Trades Apprentice Training in Massachusetts: An Analysis of Union and Non-Union Programs, 1997-2007

This study provides an analysis and comparison of the efficacy and sustainability of union and non-union building trades apprentice training programs in Massachusetts. The authors analyzed several outcome variables including total enrollment levels and completion rates; enrollment and completion rates for minorities, women and other non-traditional populations; and program size and sustainability. Based on the findings, the authors offer recommendations to the Massachusetts Division of Apprentice Training

DESIGNING A PRE-APPRENTICESHIP MODEL FOR WOMEN ENTERING AND SUCCEEDING IN THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES

It has been over a quarter century since the Carter administration set a goal of increasing the number of women working in the construction industry to 6.9% of the workforce. It is often overlooked that the stated intent of this policy initiative was for women to make up 25% of construction workers by the year 2000 (Eisenberg, 1999). While some isolated projects have met or exceeded the 6.9% target, the number of women working in the construction trades nationally increased in the first few years after 1979, but leveled off at under 3% in the early 1980’s and has stayed at that level for over two decades (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003). In fact, recent reports show that while the number of women moving into management and ownership positions in the construction industry has gone up sharply in the past few years, the number of tradeswomen has gone down

Gaming in Massachusetts: Can Casinos bring \u27Good Jobs\u27 to the Commonwealth?

This study examines the quality of jobs in the United States gaming industry and analyzes enabling legislation in five states that have legalized gaming. The authors find that the gaming industry -- particularly the unionized sector of the casino hotel industry -- provides good jobs with good wages and benefits for workers with less than a high school degree. The authors conlcude that workforce development efforts in Masschusetts must include strategies to address improving the quality of entry-level jobs

Finishing the Job: A Partnership for Diversity in the Construction Workforce

The Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (PGTI) is a regional collaboration of construction industry stakeholders working together since 2008 to tackle the persistent failure of policies enacted to open up good paying jobs in the construction trades to women. Our focus on women explicitly supports efforts to increase all forms of diversity in the construction industry. Following the publication of our 2011 founding document, Unfinished Business: Building Equality for Women in the Construction Trades, PGTI has focused on the development and implementation of best practices for a diverse construction workforce in public and non-profit construction

Cardiovascular benefits of lycopene : fantasy or reality?

Acknowledgements F. T. and S. M. are grateful for support from the Scottish Government (Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services). Financial Support F. T. and L. F. M. received funding from the UK Food Standard Agency for tomato and lycopene-related researchPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Track 2: Workforce Development and Training – Good Jobs for Women: Getting Business on Board

Recent strategies for opening up good jobs in the construction trades for women have relied heavily on labor/management partnerships. This workshop will describe the successes that have led to significant increases in women’s participation in the construction workforce and, using construction as one dynamic and current case, will look critically at the role of business in social change and the extent of the business sector’s commitment to radical alterations in business practices Moderator: Susan Moir, Research Director, Labor Resource Center, UMass Boston and Co-Convener of the Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues Panelists: Jon Barros, Chief of Economic Development, City of Boston Marcy Reed, CEO, National Grid Brian Doherty, Treasurer, Metro Boston Building Trades Council Gail Kinney, Labor Management Consultant (CT) Sue Mailman, Coghlin Electrical Contractor

B-Cell Responses to Sars-Cov-2 mRNA Vaccines

Most vaccines against viral pathogens protect through the acquisition of immunological memory from long-lived plasma cells that produce antibodies and memory B cells that can rapidly respond upon an encounter with the pathogen or its variants. The COVID-19 pandemic and rapid deployment of effective vaccines have provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the immune response to a new yet rapidly evolving pathogen. Here we review the scientific literature and our efforts to understand antibody and B-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on both primary and secondary immune responses, and how repeated exposures may impact outcomes