A collective, a bricklayer and two other women who challenge gender stereotypes at work

“When I grow up I want to be a racing driver, astronaut or bus driver.” Years ago, it seemed unthinkable that a woman could become a benchmark in the world of motoring or be in charge of a construction. And lead a group of men? Unimaginable But times changed, and for good, and the areas traditionally reserved for the male sex had to open, sometimes reluctantly, to give rise to female talent.

On International Women’s Day, Infobae He contacted four women from different professional areas previously monopolized by men.

Ianina Zanazzi, racing driver

At age 14 he decided to accompany his dad who was a mechanic to try a karting he had assembled for his clients, and asked him to let her go up to live the experience. “Speed ​​threw my head back and that experience of accelerating left me with a unique feeling that could not get me out of my mind. Thus, was that I discovered by chance what I was passionate about. From there, I started running and the truth is that I got many achievements unthinkable in motor racing and unthinkable for women, ”he told this media Zanazzi

In this way, Ianina Zanazzi (49 years old) became a benchmark of the female gender almost without looking for him, and one of the most demanding and competitive professionals in Argentina. “I was able to enter and know this world because my old man was a mechanic. Those who enter to compete today is because they enter from someone’s hand. The woman does not contemplate this possibility unfortunately; He has other things on his mind, ”he explained. Zanazzi

Mother of three children, it was clear from the beginning that the road was going to be difficult: “It cost me a lot but I had it clear since I was always earning a place. I naturalized it and I thought that I wanted to be a professional, that I was going to put a grip on everything I do and earn the respect of all products of my work ”.

The pilot maintains an excellent relationship with all her colleagues and even recognizes the companionship: “There is a lot of prejudice and it is logical because women do not have it easy in this area. Since arriving at the racetrack to find that the women’s bathroom was closed because it was never used, but luckily all that was changing. ”

“The beauty of my profession is that it is one of the few sports where men and women can compete together and show that we deserve that place for our work, beyond the gender we have,” he said.

If machismo ever lived in the first person, it was on a personal level and not the work environment: “It was difficult for my former partners to accept that the one that stood out from the relationship was me, but in motoring I did not feel that way”.

The first time Erica Borda (49 years old) drove a bus was at age 28 on line 140. “I wanted to be a bus driver because I always liked driving. One day I got on a bus and was driving a woman, so I went behind her, and she explained how to introduce me to the call to be a collective and that’s where it all started. ”

Thus, on the first day of December 1999, Erica began to manage a collective of line 140. “Within the company we were always treated as one more. The men always treated us as equals and there was even fellowship. Yes I lived sexist attitudes on the part of the passengers. In fact, many years ago a couple of people got off to see who was driving, something absurd, ”Borda described.

Their struggle allowed that in order to reverse the verified discriminatory effect, the establishment of a quota, which set at 30%, should be used as a measure of positive action, “allowing the wicked and intolerable inequality produced by gender discrimination to be left behind. “

“I started the fight for all the women that could come but I never imagined the magnitude that this ruling was going to take. Today I realize that it is much more than a simple labor trial won but that it is the opportunity for it to spread and for things to improve, I am proud of myself, “she said excitedly.

And it is that Borda, after being 8 years without managing the bus, but working as a nurse to support his four children, once again drove a bus, this time line 130. “I would tell the new applicants that in this or in any other job do it with desire. Let them persevere because they will arrive, ”Borda concluded.

Carolina Gutiérrez, architect and bricklayer

Born in Mendoza and living in Mexico for a while, Carolina Gutierrez He is 36 years old and he works as a mason and architect but also works in a gender perspective in architecture, construction and crafts. “When you get into construction, a workplace that is full of men, you realize that the only way to be well stopped is to be clear about things and your self-esteem to not let yourself be devalued, do not go over and give quality to your laburo, ”he said Gutierrez

Knowing feminism helped her think that she could become an entrepreneur and do the job in her own way. The first thing he did was to advise women who wanted to remodel their homes and then began to form different work groups only for women who wanted to be masons. “Many women would like to enter the world of construction but they do not cheer up and those who do are invisible,” Gutierrez emphasized.

Construction, according to Gutierrez, is a place that is not made or intended for women. “To all those who wish to enter this area, I would say that without a previous journey of self-knowledge and deconstruction of the reality in which we are immersed, it will be very difficult. I wouldn’t paint them all pink, because it isn’t, but I would tell them to try it and know that You should be very valued in that area, because you are going to feel bad, you are going to want to leave, but if you enter safely, with a lot of self-esteem and well stopped, there is no possibility of being turned in the first instance“

Belén Fucaraccio, manager of the flight attendants base of Buenos Aires

Born in Salta, she moved to Buenos Aires from an early age, where she studied the career of her dreams: tourism. Today, with 49 years and a long journey, he traveled different positions from a very young age, whose main characteristic was leadership in positions in which many times his opinion was not valued for the mere reason of being a woman.

“I went through many instances, from flying in charters to being a recruiter in different airlines. And yes there is something I noticed when I was directly related to them: The pilot industry was very macho. Sometimes I said my opinion and was not taken into account or valued despite having the same rank as me, but I didn’t let anything stop me. I continued on my way working and facing challenges that I always liked, ”Fucaraccio told this media.

She was a mother for the first time while working as a flight attendant, and made the decision to breastfeed her little one even in the air or take a relative always to take care of her little while she worked and not be an impediment to do your job: “I didn’t want to stop breastfeeding despite having a job where I traveled so much; Luckily I had that opportunity. ”

For five years she has been in charge of the base for American Airlines where she manages more than 100 cabin crew flying around the world, and also works with the flight attendants union: “Managing unions is not easy. It took me a lot of learning. I am from an Italian family, very impulsive and justifiable, I always see the well-being of my team and my beginnings in the negotiation were not the best. Today, luckily, the experience allowed me to negotiate better, things are changing and in this kind of round trip it never mattered whether I was a woman or not. “