TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0While construction has historically been a male dominated industry, women are also stepping up to the plate to fill those roles.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Leslie is working to get more women in construction and teach them how it can lead to other opportunities<\/p>\n
These days, one in 10 construction workers are women<\/a>, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n With a hard hat on, Leslie Macao Velez is ready to take on the day.<\/p>\n She and her husband own Dimac Solutions, a construction company they started in 2023.<\/p>\n Leslie says it was a\u00a0chance to try\u00a0something new, after immigrating from Ecuador 10 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cConstruction has always been a form of art for me, I\u2019m creating something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She started on the administrative side of things but has since made her way into the field.<\/p>\n She loves being hands on with projects, but has also grown into a leadership role, and she\u2019s not alone\u00a0\u2014 she\u2019s among\u00a0more than one million women working in construction, according to the National Association of Home Builders.<\/a><\/p>\n While it\u2019s a growing workforce, Leslie says there can be challenges. \u201cSometimes being a woman and arriving to a site where there are only men who have years of experience can be intimidating when they might only see you as a contractor for the job, not someone that is leading the project.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why she\u2019s working from the ground up, to make sure other women entering the field don\u2019t feel alone.<\/p>\n She teaches construction courses at Enterprising Latinas three times a week, covering\u00a0topics like OSHA safety and introduction to math in construction.<\/p>\n \u201cConstruction isn\u2019t just about your strength and knowing how to hammer, but it\u2019s also about knowing how to lead the administrative side of a company.\u201d<\/p>\n The National Association of Home Builders found most women in construction are in office and administrative roles.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why programs like this matter \u2014 inspiring students like Diolexes Nu\u00f1ez to get into the industry. \u201cIt\u2019s not only a job for men but it shows women that they also have the opportunity to grow and advance in this field with men.\u201d<\/p>\n Nu\u00f1ez\u00a0is taking this course to launch her own interior design and construction company, which is something she once never thought was possible.<\/p>\n While there might be more men than women on the job site, Leslie wants to\u00a0use her own success to inspire more women.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me every inch of this work is a dream, it\u2019s a new opportunity where we can continue to grow,\u201d said Leslie.<\/p>\n Building\u00a0a path for the next generation of women to take their place in a world of hard hats and steel toed boots.<\/p>\n