Dear John,

We have great news on our lawsuit with our client, Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT)!

Recently, a federal district court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the federal government from enforcing parts of the anti-DEI executive orders against CWIT.

This ruling means the Department of Labor is temporarily prohibited from canceling or pausing any of CWIT's grants, which are essential for CWIT to function. It also stops the Department from requiring any grantee or contractor nationwide to certify they do not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

CWIT is a non-profit organization that seeks to help women across the country enter and remain in high-wage skilled trades—jobs traditionally held by men—including carpentry, electrical work, welding, plumbing, and others. Thanks to this ruling, CWIT can continue working to break down barriers and help women access jobs in skilled trades—an industry where only 3.9 percent of the workforce is women.

This is great news, but we need to keep fighting. Now, we’re moving for longer-term injunctive relief, which would protect CWIT’s work promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion while the case continues in court.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are critical to creating a fair playing field. We’re proud to work alongside CWIT and will keep fighting to defend organizations that center equity in their mission. We’ll keep you updated as this case progresses.

In solidarity,

Gaylynn Burroughs
she/her
Vice President for Education and Workplace Justice
National Women's Law Center

P.S. You can find more information about the case on our webpage.