Bridging the Gap for Women
Women from TDIndustries inaugural tradeswoman class and TWR staff.
The Women’s Resource in partnership with the United Way Houston is helping local businesses bridge the gap between women and the construction industry.
It is no secret that construction has traditionally been thought of as a “man’s trade.” This fact is evidenced by the low percentage of women in construction — women only make up 9% of all construction jobs. However, with a clear labor shortage looming, several Houston businesses are seeking to change that dynamic.
Both TDIndustries and S&B Engineers & Constructors have created programs in partnership with the United Way to hire and train more women for construction jobs. TDInudstires just graduated their inaugural class from their tradeswoman program, and S&B is scheduled to begin their training program in August.
In support of this innovative idea, The Women’s Resource provides financial education services to the job training participants. Over the 12 weeks of the TDIndustrires program, TWR hosted a YourLife Possibility Group with the selected women.
Possibility Groups are founded on the belief that when women support each other, the sky is the limit. We provide a group learning setting for the women and teach them the basics of personal finances and help them set financial goals. The women, with the help of a trained financial coach, then support each other as they strive to achieve their goals. The purpose of Possibility Groups is to promote behavior change for our clients in a safe and supportive environment.
The TDIndustries Possibility Group was a resounding success. By the end of the 12 weeks the group had a collective savings of $8,362, with 70% of clients reporting an increase in savings. Moreover, over half of the ladies were able to increase their credit score in the program and one woman was able to pay of $13,000 in debt in just over two months!
We hope to replicate the success of the TDIndustries group in August when we begin our partnership with S&B Construction. For the ladies in that program, we will offer both the Possibility Group as well as one-on-one financial coaching with our YourLife Coaching program.
We are honored to be able to assist these pioneering women as they move along their path to financial security and success.
