Tradeswomen Building Bridges To Host Delegation in London

As the construction industry has become global, women who work in the industry need a global platform. Although working conditions for women vary widely, exploitation of women and ineffective government intervention are constants in the global construction sector.

That’s why Tradeswomen Building Bridges (TBB) is committed to helping build an international network of women working in construction. In partnership with the University of Westminster, TBB is bringing together a Delegation of Tradeswomen to London in June 2022.

In 1995, the seed of TBB was planted at The United Nations Women’s conference in Beijing and has been developing over the past 20+ years. One of the TBB founders, Dr. Susan Moir, worked in the blue collar industry for 20 years before shifting her focus to studying and advocating for construction workers' health. She won a Fulbright scholarship in 2016 to develop a mutually beneficial relationship between the construction communities of both countries. A delegation trip to India in January 2017 was the second part of her Fulbright proposal work.

The 2022 London delegation is the third official delegation for TBB. Fifty delegates from across North America will represent the diversity of women working in construction by racial and ethnic identity, by trade and by geography. "With this project, I hope to build the basis for sustainable relationships between researchers, workers, labor and other communities in the UK and the US that are working to bring equality to the women working in construction in each country," said Dr. Moir.

Currently women make up only 1-2% of tradespersons in the UK. The delegation will be participating in forums and workshops as well as visiting construction sites and training centers in London. On the final weekend, we will be meeting with tradeswomen from the UK and across Europe to discuss ways to create regional tradeswomen’s networks and promote greater international solidarity among women working in construction.

The delegation also stands with Reclaim Holloway, which is campaigning for a women's building to be built on the site of the now-closed Holloway women’s prison. In 2016, when the prison closed, 600 women were shuttled to crowded or at-capacity prisons outside of London. The delegation will be visiting Holloway during their travels.