2021 Features (Small Newsroom) Winner

About the Winner:

For her article “The jobs where sexual harassment and discrimination never stopped,” Hechinger Report senior editor Caroline Preston unearthed dozens of stories of mistreatment within the building trades. She elevated the voices of tradeswomen in the #MeToo movement and documented how apprenticeships — a popular training model that is spreading — have often subjected women to abuse.

Comments from the Judges:

“This was a smartly done look at an important topic. I’m so impressed the reporter talked with 40+ women, and identified themes in their experiences. The reporter deftly selected where to dive deep as well. I loved that this story took on an issue I had never thought or read about.”

“The woman at the center of the piece was fully and compellingly fleshed out. The story packs in some good news about hiring among women, without at all sugarcoating the nature of the brutal experiences many female construction workers face as they seek advancement in the building trades.”

Photo credit: Vanessa Carman