"For my very first day in union construction I was sent to a bank in downtown Boston where a journeyman needed a hand pulling wire. Arriving early with my new tools and pouch, I knocked on the glass door in the high-rise lobby and explained to the...

That transformation did not happen. In this book, Eisenberg weaves the voices of 30 women who worked as carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, painters and plumbers to examine why their numbers remained small. Speaking as if to a friend, the women recall their decisions to enter the trades, their first days on the job and their strategies to gain training and acceptance. They assess, with thought, passion and 20 years perspective, the affirmative action efforts. The author ends with a discussion of the practices and policies that would be required to uproot gender barriers where they are deeply embedded in the organization and culture of the workplace.