Spanish woman trades medicine for bricklaying, challenges construction stereotypes

Nerea, a 27-year-old Spanish woman, earns 32 euros per hour working as a bricklayer in Australia, having left a medical career for greater satisfaction and tangible results. Her story highlights the lack of female workers in construction and the persistence of gender stereotypes on building sites.

Career shift

Nerea studied medicine in Spain but decided to move to Australia to explore different paths. She took up bricklaying and found it more rewarding than medicine. "Me compensa trabajar en la obra porque puedo ver resultados tangibles, siento que mi trabajo vale y me llena" she says Source: clarin. She values the camaraderie and physical contribution, and finds the pay competitive.

Stereotypes and barriers

Despite the construction sector employing over 1.5 million workers in Spain, women represent only 11.5% of the workforce and far fewer at the worksite level Source: elespanol. Nerea faced discrimination in job hunting: "Cuando saben que soy una mujer, la conversación se corta y ya no puedo avanzar para conseguir ese trabajo" Source: elespanol. She insists that mistakes or slowness are due to inexperience, not gender: "Si soy lenta o cometo errores no es porque sea mujer, sino porque soy nueva y principiante" Source: clarin.

Need for change

Both articles note the industry's urgent need for generational replacement and more women. Nerea calls for hiring managers to change their mindset and value motivation over gender. She also emphasizes that construction work, often called "dirty", is noble and necessary.