I was a co-lead for the project in La Huaylla, Peru. When I was in the community, my counterpart, Evan Barnell, and I shared responsibilities. He was more technical than I am so he was normally at the construction site and I was either assisting him or leading the team in another part of the project. When Evan did not go to the construction site, I was the construction manager in his place. As a women construction manager, I was not something the contractors and laborers were used to.
EWB members posing after unloading construction materials.
In La Huaylla, women almost never work on constructions sites. Last year, when EWB constructed something in the community for the first time, the contractors and laborers got used to seeing women and men on the construction site. Both last year and this year our teams were half male and half female. Last year we only had one contactor and this year we had two contractors because the scale of the project was much larger. The contractor that we worked with last year, Ramon, was one of the contractors we worked with this year. He got to know us well and we became friends. From working with us for a month last year, he understood that the women in the group were capable of helping on the construction site and he respected the women as construction managers. The other contractor, Concepcion, that we worked with for this project had a difficult time understanding the women's role in the project. One day during construction, Evan and the two other men on our team were working on something else so it was only me and two women on the construction site. We were digging the footing of the reservoir and I was measuring the depth of the hole. I noticed that the hole was deep enough so I told the Concepcion to ask the laborers to stop digging. He looked me in the eye, said OK, and then turned next to him and told the laborers to keep digging. He was not used to receiving orders from a women, further, one that was much younger than him. He did not trust my judgement. I told Ramon that the depth of the hole was sufficient and that the laborers should stop digging. He told Concepcion to follow my orders and he finally told them to stop digging. Because I had gained Ramon’s respect, he trusted my judgement and wanted Concepcion to as well. As the project progressed, Concepcion improved his attitude towards the women on the team but not as much as we wanted. It is hard for someone to change their ideas when it is so ingrained in the culture. Although Concepcion had a difficult time understanding gender equality on the construction site, thankfully, Ramon and the other laborers did.
Pouring concrete.
One day on the construction site, when we were pouring concrete, I taught the laborers how to do the slump test. The slump test is a way to test the consistency and structural integrity of the concrete and see if it needs more water or dry ingredients. I explained to the laborers that were mixing the concrete how and why I did the slump test. After I showed them, they kept calling me over to their area so I could test their concrete consistency. When I told some of them that they needed more water or aggregate, they followed my suggestion. I was very happy that the men respected my authority and followed my suggestions. We made sure there were almost always both men and women on the construction site because it is important for community members to see both men and women doing the same job. Overall, the community was very respectful to both men and women on the team. I am glad that we got to share our dynamic with them and hopefully in the future they will be more open to gender equality.
In La Huaylla, women almost never work on constructions sites. Last year, when EWB constructed something in the community for the first time, the contractors and laborers got used to seeing women and men on the construction site. Both last year and this year our teams were half male and half female. Last year we only had one contactor and this year we had two contractors because the scale of the project was much larger. The contractor that we worked with last year, Ramon, was one of the contractors we worked with this year. He got to know us well and we became friends. From working with us for a month last year, he understood that the women in the group were capable of helping on the construction site and he respected the women as construction managers. The other contractor, Concepcion, that we worked with for this project had a difficult time understanding the women's role in the project. One day during construction, Evan and the two other men on our team were working on something else so it was only me and two women on the construction site. We were digging the footing of the reservoir and I was measuring the depth of the hole. I noticed that the hole was deep enough so I told the Concepcion to ask the laborers to stop digging. He looked me in the eye, said OK, and then turned next to him and told the laborers to keep digging. He was not used to receiving orders from a women, further, one that was much younger than him. He did not trust my judgement. I told Ramon that the depth of the hole was sufficient and that the laborers should stop digging. He told Concepcion to follow my orders and he finally told them to stop digging. Because I had gained Ramon’s respect, he trusted my judgement and wanted Concepcion to as well. As the project progressed, Concepcion improved his attitude towards the women on the team but not as much as we wanted. It is hard for someone to change their ideas when it is so ingrained in the culture. Although Concepcion had a difficult time understanding gender equality on the construction site, thankfully, Ramon and the other laborers did.
EWB members on top of the spring catchment chambers they constructed last year.
Pouring concrete.
One day on the construction site, when we were pouring concrete, I taught the laborers how to do the slump test. The slump test is a way to test the consistency and structural integrity of the concrete and see if it needs more water or dry ingredients. I explained to the laborers that were mixing the concrete how and why I did the slump test. After I showed them, they kept calling me over to their area so I could test their concrete consistency. When I told some of them that they needed more water or aggregate, they followed my suggestion. I was very happy that the men respected my authority and followed my suggestions. We made sure there were almost always both men and women on the construction site because it is important for community members to see both men and women doing the same job. Overall, the community was very respectful to both men and women on the team. I am glad that we got to share our dynamic with them and hopefully in the future they will be more open to gender equality.
Concepcion passing a wooden form through the rebar cage.
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