Women welders enjoying a break at a recent gathering.
Having been founded in 1977 and long since turned the corner on its own adulthood, Boxer & Gerson was honored and pleased to help Tradeswomen, Inc. usher in its 40th anniversary last month at a gala dinner held in the very Rotunda Building in downtown Oakland that houses the Boxer & Gerson offices. The firm served as a sponsor of the evening’s festivities, hosting a table that included attorneys Maria Grasso and Amy Shen along with administrator Wai-Ming Damian.
As its name suggests, Tradeswomen, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to “outreach, recruitment, retention and leadership development for women in blue-collar skilled craft jobs.”
The organization lists three main goals on its website:
• Recruit more women into construction and related trades;
• Promote retention of women in the trades
• Develop their capacity for leadership and career growth, on the job and in their unions.
The Boxer & Gerson table
Based in Oakland but serving the greater Bay Area and beyond, Tradeswomen, Inc. has a storied history that includes robust training, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship and employment programs, conference organizing, support groups, publication of a national magazine, and collaboration with a wide variety of construction and building organizations to help advance the cause of women embracing jobs in the skilled trades.
Its efforts include extensive work on behalf of gender equity, anti-harassment programs, and positive workplace culture.
“We enjoyed a delightful evening celebrating the achievements of this highly effective organization doing important work in our community,” said Boxer & Gerson Partner Maria Grasso in the aftermath of the event. “It was especially meaningful to have it take place in our own building, which gave us the opportunity to offer quick tours of our own offices during breaks in the program. We are proud of our affiliation with Tradeswomen, and look forward to many more such occasions for celebration in the future.”
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