The Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI) collection contains correspondence, budgets, reports, clippings, newsletters, grant proposals, conference and event materials, newsletters, papers of other trades organizations, videocassettes, and other materials relating to OTI. The bulk of the materials within this collection focus on OTI's grant funded and community based projects, and events. Materials related to the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant primarily focus on the Portland Pathways to Success program and contain reports, surveys, committee meeting minutes, notes, proposals, and statistics. Materials concerning OTI's annual Women in Trades Fair include documents regarding patrons and sponsors, advertising, programs and flyers, committee meeting minutes and notes, and budgets. In addition, other materials within this collection pertain to topics regarding training and education programs, career opportunities for women and girls, and educational and research material concerning discrimination, apprenticeship, and other topics regarding women in the trades.

While attending a national conference for women in the building trades in 1989, elevator constructor Connie Ashbrook along with three other tradeswomen- two carpenters, and an operating engineer, came up with the idea to form Oregon Tradeswomen Network with the objective to assist, support, and provide advocacy for women who work in trades in areas such as mentorship, education, and leadership. Incorporated in 1991, in its earliest days, Oregon Tradeswomen Network acted as a support group that held monthly meeting for tradeswomen to gather and discuss their thoughts and issues. In 1996 founding member Connie Ashbrook was named Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen Network. Under her direction, she started seeking out ways in which Oregon Tradeswomen Network could create and promote opportunities for women in the trades. With the help of grants funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Oregon Department of Education, Oregon Tradeswomen Network began developing more programs and projects that expanded their focus from networking to include education, training, and employment opportunities in building trades for girls and young women. In 1992, Oregon Tradeswomen Network formed The Women in Trades Fair- a one day event featuring exhibits, activities, and workshops dedicated to women and girls. The purpose of the Women in Trades Fair is to increase diversity and the overall number of women working in non-traditional career fields and educate them to the possibility of a future career in trades. What started out as a one day event has now extended into a three day event with days dedicated to middle school girls, high school girls, and women. In 2013, close to 2,000 women and girls attended or participated in the Women in Trades Fair.

16.7 Linear Feet (43 boxes; 9 unprocessed boxes)

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Processed materials in this collection are open for research. Please contact the Archives and Special Collections department in advance to request access to unprocessed material.