How a small Chicago nonprofit is resisting Trump's war on DEI

The staff of Chicago Women in Trades lead a parade of female construction workers at the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference in Chicago on Sept. 20, 2025.

Since 1981, Chicago Women in Trades has worked to promote equity by getting more women into the construction trades. Now the nonprofit faces a different challenge: Trump's efforts to erase DEI.

(Image credit: Andrea Hsu)