--- title: "Sisters in the Brotherhood: Carpenters’ Union Campaign Drives More Women to Trade" id: "42676" type: "post" slug: "sisters-in-the-brotherhood-carpenters-union-campaign-drives-more-women-to-trade" published_at: "2018-05-21T23:26:53+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:04:25+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/05/21/sisters-in-the-brotherhood-carpenters-union-campaign-drives-more-women-to-trade/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/05/21/sisters-in-the-brotherhood-carpenters-union-campaign-drives-more-women-to-trade.md" excerpt: "The United Brotherhood of Carpenters, along with its regional arms, has worked in recent years to attract more women to the trade, which has traditionally been a male-dominated field, through both training programs and initiatives to encourage solidarity and community." taxonomy_category: - "Conscious Inclusion" taxonomy_post_tag: - "Advocacy" - "AssociationsNow" - "Career Development" - "Membership" - "women in trades" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Sisters in the Brotherhood: Carpenters’ Union Campaign Drives More Women to Trade Although the United Brotherhood of Carpenters has the word “brother” in its name, the group has a message for women: You’re welcome here. In recent years, the trade union has taken steps to encourage more women to join the trade and has aimed to build support for women carpenters through[its Sisters in the Brotherhood program (opens in a new tab)](https://www.carpenters.org/sib-join-us/) . Since announcing the program a few years ago, the union[has created a short film (opens in a new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG1Jxxwrzn4) to highlight the work of women in the field and a number of regional organizations affiliated with the union—including the Mid-Atlantic Carpenters’ Training Center, the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, and the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters—which run pre-apprentice programs targeted at introducing women to the trade. Just 2 percent of all carpenters nationally are women. “For the most part, most women don’t grow up thinking, ‘OK, I want to be a carpenter,’” said Susan Schultz, head of the Eastern branch of Sisters in the Brotherhood, [in comments to The Baltimore Sun (opens in a new tab)](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/arbutus-lansdowne/ph-ca-at-women-carpenters-0314-story.html) . “We’re trying to change that image.” The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, in particular, has heavily supported the initiative, [making it a focus (opens in a new tab)](https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/04/27/1489242/0/en/The-Northeast-Regional-Council-of-Carpenters-Launches-New-Website.html) of the council’s recent website redesign [and holding an event last month (opens in a new tab)](https://www.roi-nj.com/2018/04/16/industry/union-honors-sisters-in-brotherhood-who-paved-way-for-todays-women-carpenters/) that honored both current and retired women carpenters. The event drew attention to 14 “pioneer sisters” who have worked in the industry for more than two decades. [In an interview with The Daily Gazette (opens in a new tab)](https://dailygazette.com/article/2018/05/15/carpenters-union-pushes-to-increase-female-membership) of Schenectady, New York, Northeast Regional Council spokeswoman Nicole Grodner said the initiative could help strengthen the union movement as a whole. “We strongly feel that women and minorities are going to save the labor movement, almost,” she said. (Halfpoint/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Advocacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/advocacy/) [#Career Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/career-development/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) [#women in trades](https://associationsnow.com/tag/women-in-trades/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoASAE DELP Reunion 2025 & Introduction of New ClassAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/asae-delp-reunion-2025-introduction-of-new-class-2/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond Accessibility: Building Neuroinclusive Association CommunitiesMay 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/05/28/associations-now-presents-beyond-accessibility-building-neuroinclusive-association-communities/) - [VideoChristine Diedrich Shares Her CAE JourneyApril 25, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/04/25/christine-diedrich-shares-her-cae-journey/) - [VideoASAE’s The ExchangeApril 24, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/04/24/asaes-the-exchange/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2018%2F05%2F21%2Fsisters-in-the-brotherhood-carpenters-union-campaign-drives-more-women-to-trade%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !