Timeline

In January 1979, a handful of Chicago women in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America met with a goal for supporting one another and all women seeking to enter the Carpenters Union. They began advocating for the rights and welfare of women in their union. This was the beginning of the tradeswomen’s movement. As they met more women seeking entry into other trades, they knew they needed to become more inclusive. The idea for Chicago Women in Trades was born and officially became an organization in 1982.

Painter Erie Magruder-Jackson becomes an instructor after the school is ordered to remedy the exclusion of women following a lawsuit filed by women apprentices under Title IX, which was then substantiated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights. CWIT’s workshop, Orientation to the Trades, at Washburne attracted over 700 women.