By: Rhoni Basden, VWW Executive Director
Vermont Works for Women (VWW) is a 2024 grant awardee of the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau’s long-standing Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program. This funding – $398,019 pledged in total over two years (September 2024-September 2026) – is intended to support the expansion of our statewide Trailblazers training program for women and gender-expansive individuals, including the creation of a new training program for careers in semiconductor/advanced manufacturing. This grant also funds training for employers to create more inclusive workplaces, and enhanced services for current and future tradeswomen.
On January 22nd, Vermont Works for Women received notification from the Women’s Bureau that all Federal Project Officers were asked to share the following announcement: “Effective immediately, all recipients of federal financial assistance are directed to cease all activities related to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) or “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) under their federal awards, consistent with the requirements of the Executive Orders titled, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” issued on January 20, 2025, and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” issued on January 21, 2025. Any cost incurred on such activities, after the issuance of this notice, will not be considered allowable, and if incurred will be disallowed.”
Accordingly, VWW has been forced to pause work on significant portions of the funded programming while we await further guidance on the fate of this funding, even though our WANTO contract has been signed and executed and originates from Public Law No: 102-530, passed by Congress and enacted into law in 1992.
This rescission of substantial federal dollars coming into Vermont directly impacts our state’s ability to meet workforce development goals and labor needs. It hinders our ability to expand necessary training programs and help Vermonters gain skills to enter high-need industries such as the trades and advanced manufacturing. This would be a significant loss for Vermont’s economy and growth, and for many individuals across our state.
At this time, VWW is working diligently to gain more information from our federal funding agencies and raising awareness on the immediate impacts of these executive orders. We will continue to communicate information as it becomes available and seek to have conversations around impact and potential opportunities for the work ahead.
Update as of 1/30/2025: VWW’s WANTO funding is still paused due to the Executive Orders regarding DEI that were issued last week. Despite uncertainty and confusion, we remain engaged with our partners, our federal delegation, and state officials as we await further information about the fate of this funding. Please help us spread the word about the impacts of these executive orders in Vermont. We’ll continue to share updates as we know more. We remain committed to running our previously announced 2025 Trailblazers classes.