BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM

Building new foundations

Welcome to the third installment of The Optimist Daily’s Annual Local Changemakers series. Over five weeks, we’re celebrating ten extraordinary individuals and organizations transforming their communities through heart-led innovation. This week, we’re spotlighting changemakers who are rebuilding, physically and culturally, what has been lost, overlooked, or shut out.

Today, we head to Phoenix and beyond, where the media-lifestyle brand Move Over Bob is breaking new ground in a field too long dominated by one voice by making loud room for many more.

When the story changes, the world changes

When co-founders Kate Glantz and Angie Cacace launched Move Over Bob, they weren’t just starting a magazine. They were igniting a movement.

“For too long, construction culture has centered around one story and one image of who belongs,” the brand’s Who We Are page explains. Today, women make up less than five percent of workers in some trade roles. This is not because they lack the skill or drive, but because they’ve rarely been shown that they belong. After all, how can a girl aspire to be a construction worker if she’s never seen someone like her holding the tools?

“Move Over Bob is about so much more than construction,” says Kate Glantz, co-founder and CEO. “It’s an anthem and a blueprint for women to build a full, prosperous life—and to have the (power) tools to do it on their terms.”

What began as a bold idea to print a youth-friendly trades magazine has now expanded to reach thousands of girls and young women through classrooms, libraries, youth programs, and community events. In its first year alone, 20,000 magazines were distributed across more than 400 Arizona middle and high schools, correctional facilities, nonprofits, and community centers, completely free.

Meeting the gap with tools and stories

The problem is well documented: The U.S. is facing a skilled labor shortage, with nearly two million construction jobs expected to go unfilled by 2031. But Move Over Bob saw more than a workforce issue. It saw a visibility issue.

“If a girl has never seen a female plumber, or electrician, or welder, or crane operator, how do we expect her to become one?” asks the Move Over Bob team.

That insight drives their strategy.

• A lifestyle-forward print magazine blending role-model interviews, real-world training tips, and fashion-meets-function spreads.
• QR-coded multimedia guides linking readers to apprenticeships, scholarships, and local training programs.
• Representation at scale with contributors and stories from across experience levels, cultures, and trades.
• “Build with Us”, an invitation for women in trades to share their stories, mentor, and speak at events.

Real tools, real talk

One recent highlight that Kate Glantz shared with The Optimist Daily was the winter 2026 cover shoot featuring three women welders from different backgrounds and styles, all showing up unapologetically. “I am certain thousands of our readers will find something of themselves in these role models,” Kate said. “It was the perfect combination of inspo and real talk.”

A cultural shift, not a career brochure

Unlike traditional outreach campaigns that focus solely on labor stats, Move Over Bob is building something more fundamental: a sense of belonging. They’re showing up in spaces where girls can imagine futures on their terms, in their voices.

As first-year electrical apprentice Solei Donahue shared in an early issue:

“Move Over Bob matters because it’s inspiring the next generation of girls to do things they were taught they couldn’t do.”

And it’s working. The magazine is now expanding beyond Arizona, with national subscribers and growing demand from schools, families, and workforce programs in other states.

Why Move Over Bob matters

Representation meets access:

By making tradeswomen visible and linking readers directly to opportunities, Move Over Bob turns inspiration into tangible action.

Culture change over tokenism:

This isn’t a “women can do it too” side note. It’s a redesign of the story from the inside out with men as allies and women leading the way.

Narrative as infrastructure:

The helmet, the tool belt, the ladder. These are all symbols. But so is the magazine, the quote, the cover story. Move Over Bob is building both.

The next job site: everywhere

Kate Glantz says the mission is clear: scale nationally, while staying rooted in local ecosystems. “We now have subscribers all over the country… we just need to start meeting them where labor codes and training systems are local.”

The magazine’s free distribution model remains central to their equity strategy, and partnerships with training programs and schools continue to grow.

Where others see a labor gap, Move Over Bob sees a leadership opening. And they’re handing young women the mic and the toolbox to fill it.

Hungry for more?

Go to the Move Over Bob site to learn more about their work, grab a copy of the debut magazine, and discover their merch.

Follow them on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for the latest updates.