Broadening participation in the construction workforce is crucial to ensure that construction projects to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities have an adequate number of skilled workers to complete projects successfully and on time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, women represented just 10.9% of the construction industry and 4.2% of construction occupations. To help bring more women into the construction labor force, on May 2, the Department of Commerce launched the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework and has started to announce voluntary commitments from semiconductor manufacturing companies to adopt the Framework, which is open to all CHIPS applicants that have entered into a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with the Department. The CHIPS Framework is a set of five best practices that project owners, in this case, the semiconductor manufacturing company that oversees the entirety of any potential CHIPS-funded construction project, voluntarily adopt to expand participation in the construction workforce.

The Framework is intended to build upon the existing efforts of these companies and best practices established through labor, industry, government, and community leadership to increase the representation of women and economically disadvantaged individuals in the construction workforce. 

Companies that voluntarily adopt the Framework will collaborate with contractors, labor unions, and other community and workforce partners to implement the following practices:

1. Set goals and monitor progress toward increasing the participation of women in CHIPS-funded construction projects.
2. Build community partnerships with community organizations with a track record of increasing women’s and economically disadvantaged individuals’ exposure to and recruitment into the construction industry.
3. Develop training pathways such as training investments, apprentice utilization goals, or apprentice readiness program partnerships that serve women and economically disadvantaged individuals.
4. Provide access to supportive services such as child care or transportation that will increase the retention of women and economically disadvantaged individuals in the workforce.
5. Maintain healthy, safe, and respectful workplaces and prevent and address harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and violence through workplace training, policy, and practice.

View the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework

Companies that have voluntarily adopted the Framework will work with the CHIPS Program Office (CPO), the Department of Commerce, and local partners, such as labor unions and community-based organizations, to develop and implement activities carrying out the best practices outlined in the Framework. Adopting the Framework is not a requirement for receiving CHIPS funding, and CPO welcomes all companies who enter into a preliminary memorandum of terms with the Department to voluntarily adopt the Framework and implement its best practices.

Companies that have voluntarily adopted the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework:

• GlobalFoundries
• Intel Corporation
• Micron Technology
• Polar Semiconductor