Career education & training
Pre-apprenticeship readiness, trade exposure, and the practical skills women need to step onto a job site with confidence.
Rhode Island · Since 2019
Building careers for women in the skilled trades.
We help Rhode Island women and girls enter, train for, and thrive in construction and the skilled trades — through education, mentorship, and advocacy for fair access.
Founded 2019
501(c)(3) nonprofit
Rhode Island based
Women-focused trades advocacy
Youth & workforce programming
Choose your path
Three ways to take the next step.
Whether you're exploring a trade career, supporting a young person, or building Rhode Island's workforce, there's a place for you here.
For Women
Exploring a trade career
Connect with mentors, training programs, and pre-apprenticeship pathways into construction and the skilled trades.
Find your path
For Youth & Students
Discover the trades early
Hands-on outreach for girls and young women — see what a career in skilled trades can look like, and how to get there.
Programs for youth
For Sponsors & Partners
Help build the workforce
Partner with us to open doors, fund training, and expand access for women in Rhode Island's skilled trades.
Partner with us
A letter from our founder
"Every woman deserves a fair shot at a trade career."
I founded RI Women in the Trades because I saw too many women shut out of the same skilled-trade careers that built our state. Good jobs. Stable wages. Real futures.
We're here to change that — one mentor, one classroom, one job site at a time. If you're a woman thinking about the trades, a parent of a curious daughter, or a partner who believes Rhode Island's workforce should reflect the people who live here — you belong with us.
Anita Bruno
Founder & CEO
Our work
Programs that open doors.
Education, mentorship, advocacy, and community — wrapped around the women and youth we serve.
Outreach to girls & youth
Bringing the trades to classrooms and community spaces so young women can see themselves in these careers.
Advocacy & community
Organizing tradeswomen into one voice for fair, equal access to information, training, and employment.
"Walking onto a job site as the only woman is hard. Walking on with a community behind you is different. That's what they gave me."
— A Rhode Island tradeswoman
Stand with us
Your gift opens a door for a Rhode Island woman.
Every dollar funds career education, mentorship, and outreach that puts women on a path to skilled-trade careers.