Last Friday, I attended Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Female Construction Employment Training Program‘s graduation ceremony, because Goodwill is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.
Since 2005, Goodwill has received funds from the Stepping Stones Jobs Fund that allow them to continue helping women in the Stepping Stones target population–women-headed families with annual incomes of $15,000 to $35,000, a working population still struggling to make ends meet because of the high cost of living in the region–strive towards success via attaining jobs that pay a living wage.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see the women graduate. Their proud faces mirrored those of their families and the Goodwill employees and supporters who helped them through the program. There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing the tangible results coming from The Women’s Foundation’s grantmaking process.
The first few words that came to my mind during the ceremony: hope, pride, struggling, overcoming, nontraditional, and daring.
Many graduates gave brief stories when rising for their certificates, and reflected on how they came to the program with low confidence and doubt about how the program would work for them, but upon completion, were more confident, happy and armed with the hard and soft skills necessary for work (such as time management), and some even heartily exclaimed that they had landed jobs!
A big theme was confidence.
Entering the construction program was more than just a way to land another job and paycheck for these women. It started with a desire to be something.
One of the Goodwill employees gave a great rendition of Linda Rabbitt’s story. Linda Rabbitt is the founder and CEO of Rand, the third largest female owned construction company in the world. When Linda reentered the workforce as a secretary, her boss noticed her strong entrepreneurial spirit and urged her to start her own business. And just look at Rand now.
The women sitting in that room on Friday now have the potential to be a motivation like Rabbit.
I especially enjoyed one story by a Latina graduate, because it was also reflective of the gender stereotypes and sexism women challenge. Her story set the light-hearted and down-to-earth vibe of the room with a comical (but serious) story about her adventure with Goodwill. She had learned about the program when she spotted the word "free" while looking at advertisements in an unemployment office. Upon calling, she was encouraged to come in. With the the language barrier, she had a hard time finding Goodwill, but she made it there.
But, when she found out it was for construction, she had some doubts.
Even though over 1.1 million women in the U.S. work in construction at a steadily rising rate, it’s still more the exception than the rule to spot women toiling away in hardhats.
Nevertheless, she joined the program despite her and her family’s skepticism. In her family (as in many others), the natural thought was that females belonged in the kitchen. But, she persevered and showed her family that she did know a thing or two about construction, and is on her way to finding a construction job!
These women illustrated how women in construction isn’t just another job.
It represents a challenge we are making to the status quo. It is representative of our resilience, smarts and true abilities.
It’s also a marker of the economic improvement in women’s lives.
I wish these women the best of luck, and I think they will do great things even outside of construction. They are now armed with the powerful knowledge that they are capable of pursuing a lifestyle that will provide economic security and stability.
And just think that all of the smiling faces of the graduates are products of a wave of philanthropy, a cycle of people who just want to help other people.
I can see the great places those women are now capable of getting to.
To learn more about similar training programs for women, visit our blog to and read more stories about the impact of Goodwill of Greater Washington’s female construction and environmental services programs, and YWCA National Capital Area’s Washington Area Women in the Trades program.
Then, join us by getting involved in the growing wave of philanthropy that’s leading women throughout our region to break barriers and build bright futures. Become a part of the power of giving together.
