Creates the women and high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional jobs grant program; encourages and assists women to enter high-wage, high-demand occupations including but not limited to trades, science, technology, engineering, and math; makes an appropriation therefor.
This bill would amend the Labor Law to create a new Women and High-Wage, High-Demand, Nontraditional Jobs Grant Program within the Department of Labor. The program is designed to increase the number of women entering occupations where women are underrepresented, especially in skilled trades, STEM fields, apprenticeships, and other high-wage, high-demand jobs. The commissioner would award grants to eligible organizations such as community-based groups, employers, unions, apprenticeship programs, schools, and workforce agencies.
Grant funds could be used for recruitment, training, placement, retention, outreach, mentoring, internships, apprenticeships, employer training, and workplace support services. The bill specifically emphasizes helping low-income women and women over age 50, and it requires at least half of all grant funds to support programs serving low-income women. It also directs the commissioner, with the state comptroller, to monitor spending and identify related public and private funding sources.
The bill would add a new section 206-d to the Labor Law and create a state grant program administered by the Commissioner of Labor. It would also appropriate $500,000 from the general fund to fund the program, making those funds immediately available for implementation. The measure would affect workforce development, apprenticeship, education, and employer training efforts by directing state resources toward expanding women’s participation in nontraditional, higher-paying occupations and by requiring reporting and oversight of the grant funds.
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available materials. Based on the bill text and sponsor framing, the measure appears intended as a workforce equity and economic opportunity initiative, with a focus on expanding access for women in trades and STEM. The overall tone of the proposal is affirmative and programmatic rather than punitive or regulatory.
The main policy questions likely concern how the grant program would be funded, which organizations would be eligible to receive grants, and how success would be measured. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s targeting of resources, including the requirement that at least 50 percent of funds go to programs serving low-income women and the emphasis on women over 50, which may prompt discussion about prioritization and program design. Employers and apprenticeship sponsors may also scrutinize the workplace-retention and anti-harassment training components, while supporters are likely to emphasize the need to address gender segregation in high-wage occupations and improve access to training pipelines.