Female construction employees become more prevalent in Brooklyn workforce

<p>It&rsquo;s long been a job made up of mostly men, but&nbsp;construction&nbsp;is seeing a larger shift to women in the workforce. For women like Radell Wong from the Bronx, it was the job for her ever since she was a little girl. Now she&rsquo;s been in the business for nine years.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 22, 2017, 9:47 PM

Updated 2,499 days ago

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It’s long been a job made up of mostly men, but construction is seeing a larger shift to women in the workforce.
For women like Radell Wong from the Bronx, it was the job for her ever since she was a little girl. Now she’s been in the business for nine years.

Though a lot of the tools needed to work in the field come easy to Wong, she had to overcome a fear of heights to feel completely comfortable. But nowadays, she’s climbing up ladders with ease.
For another worker, Regina Yashchenko, her passion also comes from wanting to provide as a single mom for her 7-year-old son Adam.
The increase in women in the field has been aided by recruitment techniques. Lou Norelli of the New York City District Council of Carpenters says they find candidates in trade schools and train them via apprenticeships.
The union’s apprenticeship school trains over 1,500 students, 13 percent of which are women - the highest-ever, according to Norelli.
For other women thinking about breaking into the business, Wong says to go for it and to never be intimidated.


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