Organizations for Women & Girls

 
 
 

Building Pathways

building pathways joins in partnership with allies from across the country and in our state, to support local, state, and federal policies, and industry practices, that promote greater diversity and inclusion in the construction workforce.

Since 2011, Building Pathways has provided a pathway for under-represented communities in Massachusetts to access rewarding and family-sustaining careers in the construction trades. The building trades offer high-paying careers with competitive benefits without the need for a college degree. These careers therefore hold particular promise for individuals – such as women and people of color – who, without college degrees, struggle to find and maintain high-paying, stable jobs. Construction careers aren’t just critical to ending income inequality and providing women and people of color economic security, but they also bring a unique kind of empowerment that comes with work that allows you to point to a high-rise, a bridge, a road, and say: I built that! 

Building Pathways approaches its mission through an integrated supply and demand strategy which seeks to increase the pipeline of diverse workers in the building trades workforce, while ensuring that there are employment and advancement opportunities that lead to life long, family-sustaining careers in the union trades. To that end, we engage in 5 pillars of work: preparing diverse workers for entry into a union building trades apprenticeship program through occupational and career readiness training; introducing women, high school students and opportunity youth to careers in the building trades; providing workers with the tools and support necessary to create and maintain a safe, inclusive and productive work environment for everyone; providing child care support for tradespeople; and advocating for industry practices and public policies that support equity in the construction industry.

Building Pathways has earned national recognition for its leadership in building greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the building trades workforce not only in Massachusetts, but across the country. And, closer to home, as one of our training graduates stated, “Building Pathways is in the business of changing lives.”

Quick List: Apprenticeships, Training & Employment