(PASADENA, CALIFORNIA) - For many organizations diversity, equity, inclusion are boilerplate words tacked on at the bottom of a website or added at the end of a press release.

In Pasadena, California, at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 11, Business Manager Joël Barton and the Local’s Executive Board have made these values the foundational pillars of its commitment to recruit and retain more Female Apprentices and Journey-Level Workers - not just grow in numbers, but more importantly add a new infusion of talent, strength, and innovation to its leadership ranks.

IBEW 11 recently announced its goal to increase the number of Women Members to 10% by 2024.

Local 11’s current Construction Female Membership is around 3% and 4.5% among Apprentices.

Leading the charge to build that Membership is Diana Limon, IBEW 11’s Director of Women Recruitment & Support.

Limon - a 28-year Local 11 Member who was the first Female to receive the Outstanding Apprentice Award in 2000, was previously on IBEW Local 11’s Staff in Compliance and served as Training Director before taking on her new role in 2023.

Said Limon: “The difference now from when I first started is that there is support from the Local Union who recognizes the contributions of our Women and the activism that comes with our Women.  The women in Local 11, even though percentagewise is small, when you show up to any IBEW 11 event you always see Women.  Women play a huge role in membership activism here.”

Limon knows how far Local 11 has come - and how far it still has to go - to educate Women about the opportunities Union Membership offers, overcome the stubborn stereotypes Women still face, and secure more representation at the executive level.

“Women will feel like they’re more a part of this organization when they see people that look like them in Leadership roles and at the Apprentice levels - having Women that are Instructors and in management roles and out on the job site seeing Women run work as Foremen, Superintendents, Project Managers, Owners.  We see much more of that today than we have in the past,” Limon said.

Citlali Castillo, IBEW 11’s Sound and Communications Organizer, said Women are slowly making inroads in the field and in the office, and that simple visual of a changing face - and even simpler steps like now providing a Women’s bathroom on a job site - can make a real impact on the next generation.

“I definitely see a lot more Women in the field now than when I first started eight years ago, when on almost every job site I would be the only Woman,” Castillo said.

“Now, we’re seeing more Women on the job and in these executive positions and that’s something that will encourage the younger generation and Females coming into the Trades.  They see this as an industry they can relate to and grow in,” Castillo added.

Limon is actively coordinating with national organizations like the National Association of Women in Construction, non-profits like Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles (WINTER), coordinating Pre-Apprenticeships with the Los Angeles and Orange County Building and Construction Trades, as well as partnering with employers and awarding agencies to make sure Women are represented on the job and making sure IBEW 11 Is Represented At career fairs.

But, Limon says, the real key to recruiting and retaining Women comes from within.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: IBEW 11 on a Mission to Make Its Membership Mirror Its Communities – IBEW