The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), in conjunction with the Northeast Center for Tradeswomen’s Equity (NCTE), enthusiastically recognizes the second anniversary of the “Build A Life That Works” campaign. The award-winning recruitment initiative has added 1600 Massachusetts women to a pipeline database, including over 70% women of color. The Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues reports that 9.22% of union trade apprentices in Massachusetts are now women, up from 7% in 2016.

The gaming law set a clear mandate to ensure the establishment of a diverse gaming industry. The MGC prioritized this mandate and instituted a process to monitor compliance and accountability. The demand for diversity was firmly established; however, the monitoring process reinforced a chronic need for the supply of tradeswomen.

At the forefront of the Commonwealth’s historic building boom, casino development was a prime driver of the demand side of the supply and demand strategy that NCTE and its founding partners have employed to increase the participation of women in the building trades. The gaming industry also demonstrated a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion. These factors presented a tremendous opportunity to have a meaningful impact on a recruitment challenge that has long-affected the construction trades, inspiring stakeholders to identify a collaborative and tangible solution to increase the supply of tradeswomen.

In November 2017, the MGC and NCTE launched the “Build A Life That Works” recruitment initiative, seeking to inspire women to pursue a career in the union building trades as a viable path to equal pay for equal work, excellent benefits, and a better future. The first-ever statewide effort set an ambitious goal to increase tradeswomen in the building trades to 20% by 2020.

“Gaming is about connecting people with opportunity. We are pleased that the gaming industry has played an important role in the movement to increase the supply of tradeswomen. We hope this program will continue to enhance economic opportunity for women, while inspiring the Commonwealth’s construction industry for years to come,” said MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein.

During the casino construction phase, Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield both exceeded their goals for tradeswomen. MGM Springfield reported 8.55% of construction hours worked by women, including an all-female demolition team.  Encore Boston Harbor, the largest single-phase construction project ever built in the Commonwealth, made history with nearly 500 tradeswomen – the highest number of women on a single U.S. job site ever, according to the Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues.

The “Build A Life That Works” campaign taps into the insight that women could enjoy a rewarding career in the construction trades — if they would only consider the opportunity. To break down the barriers of awareness and consideration, the campaign illustrates not just the benefits of a career with promising growth but also shares the great pride in building a legacy of Massachusetts developments. The campaign features real women in the building trades, now enjoying home ownership, quality time with their families, world travel, and many more life moments and experiences, made possible with a career in construction.

“This initiative has greatly increased the number of women exploring and pursuing careers in the trades. The sustained and branded outreach campaign, including associated programs such as Tradeswomen Tuesdays, has provided women from across the state with the opportunity to learn more about family-sustaining careers in union construction,” said Mary Vogel, NCTE co-founder and Building Pathways executive director.

The core educational component of this initiative is a mobile-enabled, user-friendly website BuildALifeMA.org. The site provides a hub of valuable career information and practical guidance. The campaign also promotes its message through advertising, marketing, grassroots events and digital strategies.

The following partners have supported the program through funding and in-kind signage donation: Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), The Boston Foundation, the United States Department of Labor, the Office of the Attorney General, Massachusetts Construction Advancement Program, Millennium Partners, the Building Trades Employers Association, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 (IBEW), the City of Boston and the City of Everett.

About NCTE

The Northeast Center for Tradeswomen’s Equity (NCTE) is a Massachusetts-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping women find careers in the union building trades. This isn’t just a campaign; it’s a movement with a big goal: to have 20% women in the building trades by 2020. The principal partner groups include Massachusetts AFL-CIO (MA AFL-CIO), Building Pathways (BPI), the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District (MetroBTC), the New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC) and the Policy Group on Tradeswomen’s Issues (PGTI). This multi-stakeholder collaboration brings together a leadership team with decades of experience and a proven track record of success in increasing access and opportunities for women and people of color to enter careers in the union building trades in Massachusetts.

About MassGaming

The mission of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is to create a fair, transparent, and participatory process for implementing the expanded gaming law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in November 2011. In creating that process, the Commission will strive to ensure that its decision-making and regulatory systems engender the confidence of the public and participants, and that they provide the greatest possible economic development benefits and revenues to the people of the Commonwealth, reduce to the maximum extent possible the potentially negative or unintended consequences of the new legislation, and allow an appropriate return on investment for gaming providers that assures the operation of casino-resorts of the highest quality. For more information on MGC, please visit MassGaming.com or connect and share on Twitter (@MassGamingComm) or Facebook www.facebook.com/MAGamingComm.