Girls Who Build

In 2021, I sparked the idea for Girls Who Build, a children’s story that would introduce young readers to construction trade jobs and, most importantly, show girls doing the work. It was a simple concept, but I just knew there was a need for female representation in the children’s book market, especially regarding construction careers. The biggest question I keep getting is “why?” Why this story, why now? The more I ponder this question, the more I am beginning to realize that this story perfectly combines three driving forces in my life: my family, my education, and my career.

For the last 12 years, I have served as a program director for Painters District Council No. 30, a union labor organization in Aurora, Illinois. Our organization works to recruit and train the next generation of trades workers, and we are continually identifying ways to diversify our membership. Over the last few years specifically, I’ve worked with many teams to develop and deploy innovative strategies that aim to encourage more women to join the trades. Recruitment and retention efforts are key in this strategy, but our teams also sought to improve the work environment so that women would feel safe and supported once they embarked on a career in construction. Joining forces with various union leaders and employer partners, we updated sexual harassment policies, developed a unique sexual harassment course for construction workers, and created an initiative that urged our members to become allies and advocates for safer, more supportive working environments.

The concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion is gaining speed in the construction industry – with big strides taking place on local and national levels. Nationally, the trades are working together to market more specifically to women, so they see the construction industry as a welcoming place and a viable career option. These are family sustaining careers, and women deserve equal access to them. On the local level, we are working to better align with high schools, so they include trade apprenticeships among the list of post-secondary education options, and with middle schools, to ensure that females are also invited to participate in conversations about construction apprenticeships.

I’ve always been a firm believer that conversations about representation and diversity need to start much earlier, when girls are learning about their place in society. And children’s books have become much more inclusive and empowering over the last few years. There are now many books teaching girls about opportunities to be astronauts, scientists, architects, and engineers – Girls Who Build teaches girls that they can also have successful and lucrative careers in construction.

I became a mom in 2017, and I’m now the mother of two young girls. My husband and I decided early on that we would raise our daughters through a very equitable lens. It was important to me that we teach our girls to be strong, to speak their minds, and to know their worth. We regularly introduce them to strong female characters and intentionally encourage them to ignore – and sometimes defy – gender stereotypes, so they truly believe that their possibilities are endless.

15 years ago, when I was studying creative writing and gender/women studies at the University of Illinois, I set my sights on writing a book. I knew I would feature a strong female lead, but I envisioned writing a young adult fiction novel, very similar to the types of books I was reading at that time. But today, most of my nights are spent reading children’s books to my daughters, so it’s very fitting that my career as an author began in children’s fiction – the fact that the story focuses on gender equity and female empowerment is just icing on the cake.

Now more than ever, it’s important that we teach girls that they, too, are allowed to get dirty, to work with their hands, to find value in seeing the finished project, and to be part of the construction industry. Women can do these jobs, and girls need to learn that at an earlier age, before social norms and education systems teach them otherwise.

I believe girls are capable of anything, and this book helps prove that. My hope is to inspire our next generation of young girls, so they not only begin to learn about construction jobs at a younger age, but they also begin to believe that there is a place for them within the industry. I was lucky enough to be inspired by many strong female characters throughout my childhood, as well as the real-life female heroes who blazed the trail for women like me, and it would be an honor of a lifetime to similarly inspire just one young girl through the pages of my story.

About the Author: Marisa L. Richards is the outreach and engagement program manager at the Painters District Council No. 30 in Aurora, Illinois. Her children’s book, Girls Who Build, is available for purchase online.