U.S. Labor Secretary Su highlights $1.3M grant for tradeswomen in Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Only on 2: Millions of dollars are pouring into infrastructure projects in Illinois.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey digs into why a lack of female construction and trade workers means women are missing out on the economic benefits.
She sat down exclusively with the acting United States Labor Secretary about the plan to fix that.
As drivers know, the 7.5-mile stretch of the Kennedy is getting a $150 million makeover, and Acting Secretary Julie Su said we will see more female workers on this project thanks to a $1.35 million grant.
In the wake of the pandemic, it's not just workers who are powering the economic recovery in this country.
It's women.
Acting Secretary Julie Su explained that the women's labor force participation rate is now at the highest in 75 years.
"It tells us that women want to work. It tells us that when we create opportunities for women, they will step into them and be amazing in them," Su said.
But while close to half of all workers in the labor force are women, they account for just 4% of all workers in construction occupations, and these projects are getting an influx of cash from the Biden administration.
"I think many young women and others, they just don't know that this opportunity exists. That they can get trained, the kind of earnings they can bring in to raise their family," said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
A group of local tradeswomen — some fresh off the night shift — met with Secretary Su to discuss the challenges they face, which include complaints of sexual harassment, feeling excluded from the boy's club, and not getting enough hours.
The newest Tradeswomen Building Infrastructure Grant aims to change that.
"Chicago women in trades are training women for these jobs and women of color black women for these jobs. That's the model for how we build an economy in which no one's left out," Su said.
The Kennedy construction zone was a ghost town Wednesday afternoon, likely due to the extreme heat. Still, Acting Secretary Su said building pathways to a construction "sisterhood" on sites like this will help the economy overall.
"It's about making sure that workers who want to work and get up every day go to a good job, put wages into their pockets, and come home healthy and safe at the end of the day," Su said.
The grant money will help promote "Workforce Equity Plans" on significant infrastructure projects like this one and will hopefully be replicated in other parts of the country.
