But the law also includes an unusual provision: a $25 million investment to get more women like Alvarez into pre-apprenticeships. At the same time, affirmative action required that the construction trades open up to them. But because affirmative action by public employers is illegal in California, Rainey said, the state can’t set specific goals for hiring or training women or other disadvantaged groups. Maine was one of the first states to tie public works funding with actively recruiting women to work in construction. “I know it’s not normal for girls to be hitting up construction sites and wanting to work hard,” Alvarez said.

Source: Huffington Post March 19, 2018 16:52 UTC