Women Are Ready to Build America—Congress Must Fund the Tools to Make It Happen

May 22. 2025

The National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues and five International Building Trades Unions issued a joint statement about the necessity for Congress to maintain funding for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau and the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program.

Women make up the vast majority (70%) of low-wage workers — a major contributor to the gender age gap, which is largest for women of color. At the same time, women constitute less than 4% of workers in the construction trades, which are careers that provide family-sustaining wages, benefits, and long-term financial security.

For those tradeswomen who are able to overcome systemic barriers and establish a career in the trades, they are not only able to better support their families; they also make critical contributions to American companies and the overall economy.

For more than 100 years, the Women’s Bureau has been instrumental in creating pathways for women to enter well-paid jobs in traditionally male-dominated fields like the skilled trades, including through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program. Despite the critical role the Women’s Bureau has played in supporting women workers and the real-life impact of WANTO funding in helping more women enter jobs in construction, the Administration has gutted the Agency and terminated WANTO grants, both of which are congressionally authorized.

Without ongoing federal investment, we stand to lose historic progress in the American workforce. The Joint Statement urges Congress to provide a minimum of $32.5 million in funding for the Women’s Bureau—a modest investment that would yield significant returns expanding economic opportunities for women while also ensuring an adequate skilled labor workforce.

The time for action is now, and every voice matters in this fight for economic equity and national prosperity.

Read the joint statement in its entirety here, then take action below to email Congress to Save the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau.