Worcester Roots Awarded Grant Funding From State

WORCESTER, MA—Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Friday that her office is awarding $90,000 in grant funding to organizations across the state to promote equal opportunity for women and minority workers and small business owners in the construction industry.

Worcester Roots is one of the recipients. The nonprofit organization will reach out to formerly incarcerated individuals and minority workers about jobs in the construction industry. The organization will also create a construction and trade opportunities grant resource guide and hold trainings for union officials and chambers of commerce on best practices for engaging with underrepresented communities in the workforce.

The Equal Opportunity in the Construction Trades Grant program is providing funding to non-profit organizations, apprenticeship programs, labor unions, and vocational schools to conduct worker training and outreach programs..

“The construction industry provides good-paying jobs for thousands of Massachusetts residents,” said AG Healey in a statement. “These grants will help diversify the industry and expand economic opportunity for women and minority residents.”

“We are pleased to see the Attorney General’s Office use this settlement in this way to support initiatives that will help promote diversity in the construction industry,” said Greg Beeman, president of the Massachusetts Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, in a statement. “This funding will help woman and minorities enter an industry that offers meaningful, long-term careers and good, family-supporting wages.”

According to a 2014 report by the National Women’s Law Center, women represent nearly half of the workforce but hold only 2.6 percent of all construction jobs nationwide, continues the announcement. There are more than 7.6 million men working in the construction industry and only 206,000 women.

Information via AG's office