Women in the Skilled Trades Face New Hurdles
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
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Summary
President Trump has a vision for the American workforce. Forget expensive college educations. His eye is on the skilled trades. The U.S. Department of Labor has adopted the slogan “Make America Skilled Again.”
But who gets to be part of this renaissance?
Since the 1980s, women have made small but meaningful gains in the construction trades. Now there are concerns that President Trump’s campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion will stall that progress — setting back both women and the construction industry.
Today on the Sunday Story, we ask how women fit into this administration’s vision of this skilled trades future.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Aisha Roscoe, and you're listening to The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. |
| 0:08.1 | President Trump has a vision for the American workforce. Forget expensive college educations. His eye is on the skilled trades. |
| 0:17.6 | This is an Instagram video posted by the Labor Department. |
| 0:21.6 | For years, we lost sight of the value of our trades. Now, under President Trump, we are refocusing |
| 0:28.6 | on these critical careers. The new era of American dominance will be forged not by |
| 0:35.6 | woke universities, but by the grid of our skilled workers. |
| 0:39.5 | Are you ready to help to do the slogan, Make America Skilled Again? |
| 0:47.1 | Who gets to be part of that renaissance? |
| 0:51.3 | Since the 1980s, women have made small but meaningful gains in the construction trades. |
| 0:57.9 | Now there are concerns that President Trump's campaign to end diversity, equity, and inclusion will stall that progress, setting women and the construction industry back. |
| 1:10.0 | Today on the Sunday story, |
| 1:12.1 | the Trump administration says the skilled trades are the future. |
| 1:16.9 | But how do women fit into that vision? |
| 1:19.7 | It makes you proud. |
| 1:21.0 | I can point to all the buildings I work to, |
| 1:23.1 | and every carpenter does that. |
| 1:24.7 | I built that building. |
| 1:27.0 | Stay with us. |
| 1:32.0 | This message comes from Alian's travel insurance. If you're starting the year in Honolulu, |
| 1:37.5 | ending it in Austin, and taking a sojourn to Sweden somewhere in between, it's important to protect |
| 1:42.8 | yourself and your packed agenda. |
| 1:45.1 | The more adventures you have on your plate, the more chances there are for travel mishaps to leave |
... |
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