CHICAGO — On a warm fall day, thousands of female construction workers joined a mile-long parade, joyously celebrating gains they've made in an industry still dominated by men.

It was the marquee event of the annual Tradeswomen Build Nations conference. The women marched, sang and rang cowbells, proudly sporting their union t-shirts and carrying banners announcing their trades: plumbing, pipefitting, roofing, drywall finishing and many more.

Leading the parade in fluorescent vests and hardhats was a drumline made up of a dozen or so staff from the nonprofit Chicago Women in Trades.

"This is amazing to see what it has grown into," says Lauren Sugerman, who worked as an elevator constructor in the 1980s before spending the bulk of her career at Chicago Women in Trades. "To see the sisterh

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