A local nonprofit supporting tradeswoman is suing President Donald Trump and his administration over his executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Chicago Women in Trades recently filed the lawsuit in federal court in Chicago, accusing the Trump administration of infringing upon free speech and causing widespread confusion. As a result, the orders limit the nonprofit’s ability to create opportunities for women among a workforce in which they’re already underrepresented.
The lawsuit challenges two executive orders Trump signed on Jan. 20 and 21—the first of which deems DEI programs as “illegal and immoral discrimination” and the second declaring such programs as “dangerous, demeaning and immoral.”
“These executive orders threaten [Chicago Women in Trades’] very mission and existence,” said Katy Youker, director for the Economic Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, which is among the team representing the nonprofit in the suit.
Chicago Women in Trades is based in Chicago, but works across the country to increase participation of women in nontraditional occupations that are typically dominated by men.
The group was created in 1981 and co-founded by Lauren Sugerman, who was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2002.
About 40% of Chicago Women in Trades’s annual budget comes from the federal government, according to the lawsuit. The organization receives this money through five federal programs that are directly affected by the anti-DEI executive orders.
Additionally, about 70% of the nonprofit’s participants are Black or Latina, according to the lawsuit.
“With these orders, we are setting ourselves back,” Youker said. “We’re not just hiring the people who stand to directly benefit from these programs to get a fair shot at opportunity, but we’re also hurting all of us because they pose a threat to our ability to make sure that the best talent is able to work on solving our country’s biggest problems.”
The lawsuit also argues Trump’s administration has not provided guidance or clarity on what constitutes as prohibited DEI-related activities, creating confusion and harm to the organizations that benefit from them.
“This is impeding [Chicago Women in Trades’] ability to just speak about discrimination that women and women of color face in the trades and the barriers they face,” Youker said.
Even today, women make up less than 4% of the trades workforce, which includes jobs like carpentry, construction, roofing, plumbing, welding and more, Youker said. Women of color make up an even smaller percent.
The lack of clarity in the orders has left groups like Chicago Women in Trades “handcuffed” in trying to do their work and figure out what is or is not allowed under the orders, Youker said.
“Groups are just unsure of what’s going to violate these orders because they never provide a definition of what is prohibited,” Youker said. “How do they define these terms?”
Already, some groups are pulling out of partnerships with Chicago Women in Trades, citing fears related to the executive orders, Youker said.
“They’re not sure if this will put a target on their backs from the administration, and this is work Chicago Women in Trades has been doing for over 40 years—much-needed work that’s not controversial,” Youker said.
Chicago Women in Trades hopes the lawsuit will stop the enforcement of these executive orders and prohibit all federal agencies from terminating contracts and grants that are equity-related, Youker said.
“We want these things to be completely unenforceable,” Youker said. “It is completely un-American to affront our ability to progress as a nation.”
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