San Antonio – Dora Jasso De Robles always thought about following in her father’s footsteps by seeking a plumbing or welding trade, and she did both. She is currently working on a welding certification.
“Having a lot more tools that can fit in your belt is always good. Knowledge is power,” she said.
She found encouragement and support in her family but also in a group called Texas Women in Trades. She found a sisterhood she said, “offering to buy me my tools connecting me to other females, or trades and having that girl power, that’s what we need girl power.”
Allie Perez founded the group over a decade ago to support women and people of color in their efforts to enter the construction industry.
“That’s been my mission is really to kind of raise awareness about the industry and the benefits of the industry,” Perez said. “It’s heavily based on apprenticeship, meaning that you already have a job and you’re learning while you’re making money, which is great. Like any time you can learn while you’re being paid is phenomenal.”
She wants to help women in low-income communities see an opportunity to make a lot of money in a field where college is not required. It also gives single moms independence as breadwinners.
Perez has not done it alone. She’s partnered with Blythe Zemel, who started Girl with Grit, to guide women through the different trades. Girl with Grit provides hands-on tool training,
“It really makes sure that girls and women now have those beginning skills,” Perez said.
The group works with girls in SAISD, Northside ISD, they will be going into Comfort and Judson ISD to put on classes for girls and minorities. But the success has been so great they are now also working to put on classes for women starting in 2025.
“We found that girls who did not go on to college they’re over 40% more likely to be in poverty,” Zemel explained.
“These kinds of tool trainings, I think, are really the path to making women feel comfortable and confident. And that starts young, that really should start when they’re in elementary school, making sure that they know that the workforce is not full of gender roles,” Zemel said.