Across Arizona, industries are shifting. Construction is facing a well-documented labor shortage, yet women only make up roughly 11.2% of the U.S. construction workforce. According to data released in 2026, Arizona is slightly higher at 12.2%.
A Career Built Opening Doors
Kate Glantz, a Phoenix native, spent two decades as a social entrepreneur and brand builder, with a background in economic development. Moving back to Arizona in 2024, she wanted to explore in-depth: why do trades remain so closed to women when the opportunity is right there?
Rather than examine the issue from the outside, Glantz enrolled in the Construction Trades: Carpentry program at Mesa Community College (MCC). In 2025, she earned a Certificate of Completion. For Glantz, MCC’s program was both rigorous and welcoming. She learned how to read a blueprint, frame a house, use tools and equipment, and follow safety protocols.
“Before I walked into Mesa Community College, day one of my carpentry program, I had never picked up a tool,” shares Glantz. “I loved every moment of my time. The education was fantastic, and I was allowed just to explore.”
A Media Company Focused on Trades for Women
With hands-on experience and a new perspective in carpentry, Glantz was ready to co-found Move Over Bob and serve as its CEO. Move Over Bob is more than a print magazine and a lifestyle brand; it’s a community built around one central idea: showing the next generation of girls and women that careers in construction and skilled trades are for them.
“As a storyteller, I was fascinated by this reimagination of what construction could look like when it included more women,” Glantz says. “I got to have a really special time where I was just a student. That gave me a sense of empathy, and I think preparedness or confidence to be able to go out and change hearts and minds and say construction is for everyone.”
To change these narratives, the Move Over Bob magazine is distributed to over 500 schools, libraries, workforce organizations, and community partners across Arizona. Move Over Bob covers career profiles of women working in the industry as carpenters, electricians, welders, and plumbers, as well as providing practical information about business ownership, financial literacy, workplace culture and earning potential, tools, and most importantly, empowerment and ways to build their future.
“We like to say to tradeswomen we meet, ‘You might be the only woman on a job site, but you’re not on this path alone,’” Glantz explains.
Skilled Trades Represent Economic Opportunities for Women
Today, the average age of a construction worker is 42, with 22% over 55 or older. For every five skilled workers who retire today, only two are available and trained to replace them. While women remain underrepresented in skilled trades roles, these careers also offer women higher wages, often with a pension, and a path to economic stability, business ownership, and generational wealth.
“When I think about the word opportunity, it’s a word that just encompasses so much hope and optimism, that really anything is possible,” she says. “Access to opportunity creates resilient communities.”
That’s exactly what Maricopa Community Colleges offers: opportunity. Whether you’re a new student or returning to learn hands-on skills that lead to in-demand, high-wage trades careers, the system’s 10 colleges provide students with support services, resources, and a safe space to learn. Learn more at maricopa.edu.