VOA常速英语:美国女性建筑工人的生活

A nine-to-five office job isn’t for these women.
Instead, they work construction and they do it for the same reasons the men do,
because they find construction work more fulfilling.
Being able to see the bigger picture, being a part of something bigger,
so driving by the building be like, I built that building to your family,
or to your kids in the future, that’s kind of why I did it,
just to be a part of something bigger.
Before they start working, these women taken mandatory training course at a special center.
And many of them say it teaches them not just to construct buildings,
but also build a harmonious relationship with themselves.
I think it’s for me, personally, it’s a constant battle on gaining confidence,
but this job has definitely helped it.
I don’t think I would be as confident as I am now working in another field.
Today women make up about 10 percent of all construction workers in the country.
All the workers need are a few tools, a helmet, special protective glasses, training, and self-confidence.

Kelly Kaptchuk has been working in construction for over two decades.
For the last three years, she has been head of the Tradeswomen organization,
a company that has been helping women in Portland Oregon, to master construction work for free.
Kaptchuk also helps them find a job, something a lot of them need
because it’s harder for women to break into the business.
I also saw some really hard things,
and I experienced some really hard things as a woman,
in an industry that still dominated by men, and an industry which I think is changing,
but back then, it was still largely this very macho like,
why are you here,
why are you here taking my job,
why are you here taking a job from another man who has to feed his family,
and I was like, I have to feed my family too.
So that was a big eye-opening experience for me firsthand.