ALICANTE. The Alicante engineer Cristina Ávila, responsible for the Health and Safety and Innovation departments at the construction company CHM Works and Infrastructures,
is the clear example that some glass ceilings can't withstand a good dose of feminine concrete. The young woman is in charge of two key departments of a
the largest construction companies in the province, a family business with a turnover of 90 million euros in a traditionally male-dominated sector. Something that,
However, Ávila claims he is changing.
«I've never felt treated specially for being a woman,» the CHM executive assures. «If anything, I suppose it's to avoid being accused of..."
misinterpret, the men working on the construction sites I supervise treat me in a certain way even more exquisite than if it were a man«, she recounts with amusement. We come from celebrating
a day of protest for women's rights, largely focused on working conditions, and Ávila embodies the perfect example of what can
when a company values an employee for their skills, not for what's on their ID.
The head of R&D at a company that has been standing out precisely for its contributions to innovation in the sector has spent her whole life among beams and bricks. «I started studying
Public Works, and then I moved on to a master's degree in Risk Prevention,» she recalls. «That's where I joined CHM for an internship, six years ago, and here I am.» That is to say, Ávila puts
value how the company you work for, owned by a male-dominated family clan and operating in a decidedly masculinized sector, has promoted you at
value of its worth in a relatively short period of time.
«The truth is that being a woman in a sector like construction is not something I think about on a daily basis,» she admits. «I do my job, I give instructions both
to men as well as women, and everyone accepts it naturally.» At CHM, he emphasizes, «I have had many opportunities to personal development, where it has not been taken into account
»she was a woman.« In the end, it has consolidated little by little, and now »I feel valued." Her case, however, is not as extraordinary as it might seem in the popular imagination:
"There are more and more women in positions of responsibility. In this sector, site managers, surveyors, middle managers...»
Of course, she has experienced episodes of machismo, but she downplays them. «Look, the first time I set foot on a construction site, in a family business, I was 18 years old,» she explains, «and
She was surrounded by men between 30 and 40 years old. Of course I noticed their stares.«he admits. But, at least in her case, it hasn't been the usual. After starting as an intern,
began to rise until he was at the head of his department, which controls issues such as quality, environmental matters, occupational risks, and innovation. In
A normal day might involve «visiting a job site, advising bosses, overseeing product development... it's a very varied job,» she/he/they celebrates.
But, as everyone knows, CHM does not only focus on building residential housing, a booming sector in Alicante at the moment and where the company is
family Martinez Berna stands out especially. Its core It has always been the construction and maintenance of roads, and Cristina Ávila has also spent a lot of time on the asphalt.
«We have a calendar of active projects in the department; I visit roads, work centers, manufacturing plants, extraction sites, quarries, services...» And it's because public works are
"a little stuck»At this time, CHM is focusing on conservation and private work, and we currently have four projects underway.«.
Your department also stands out for its constant labor of innovation, which has contributed very interesting lines of action to the road sector. CHM has
Eight R&D projects related to climate change, sector modernization, or the pursuit of new, more sustainable materials have been completed to date. Ávila
She is the woman who lends a face to that department. «We are researching new materials and new ways of conceiving construction,» she highlights.
For example, they have created a reflective, cream-colored pavement that reduces ground temperature and helps to lower the effect known as the ‘heat island’ effect, which
raises the average temperature of large population centers precisely by the action of asphalt and the vehicles that drive on it. Or the project ‘Life Cycles‘, that
They manufacture pavement from ceramic waste to reuse rainwater in urban environments. They have also invented another ‘sound’ pavement so that
pedestrians perceive the presence of electric vehicles, which are quieter than combustion engines, or concrete for railway tracks that dampens the vibration of passing trains
of trains in urban environments.
It's hard for us to believe that Ávila hasn't had a bad experience to recount (a ‘you have no idea’ moment) in such a male-dominated industry. We insisted at the end of the interview, but
the answer is the same. «At least in the environment that I perceive, There is no problem with women«,« he assures. "We go to construction sites, we do audits, and we never
No man has complained about a woman telling him what to do. I think they respect me more than a man, so there are no misunderstandings.
Source: Alicantesquare
