Marina Andrade-Silva, project manager for Bauer Foundation Corp., discovered geotechnics during her higher education years. “From my first internship, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in this field and that it was meant to be,” she said. “Somehow, I loved the challenge, the organization and all the equipment required. Since then, I decided that this would be where I wanted to be.”
Andrade-Silva is motivated by seeing everything that her company can build and that “what we do has a purpose and serves the public interest. I like the challenges, dealing with deadlines, and organizing our operation in the best way possible in order to lead to a successful project whilst maintaining safety and quality standards.”
She also takes pride in seeing the Bauer rigs standing tall. “They are still impressive in my eyes, and I still enjoy working with them and my crew every day,” she said. “What motivates me is having a job that I really love.”
Andrade-Silva notes that “women in construction may struggle to gain respect or credibility, especially in leadership or technical roles where they may be seen as less knowledgeable or capable than their male counterparts, even when they are equally or more qualified.”
There also is a barrier with work-life balance and family expectations, Andrade-Silva said. “Women often face societal expectations to be primary caregivers, which can affect their career progression. The lack of flexible working hours may force women to make choices between their career and family.”
Joining Bauer Foundation Corp. was a turning point in Andrade-Silva’s career as she took on more responsibilities with each project. “From being a quality manager to a project manager, there was only one step that I took as an opportunity,” she said. “I was not sure at first due to my past experience as a project manager, but with the support and the success that we have encountered on the Natomas Reach A project (levee improvements in the Sacramento, California, region), I know that I can do it and this is essential to be happy in my position.”
“As women, we bring diverse perspectives, strong communication skills and attention to detail — all of which are valuable on any jobsite,” she said. “We have a different approach to problem solving and can diffuse situations in a better way. We can also multitask better and are able to listen to constructive feedback in order to progress.”
Andrade-Silva advises industry leaders to implement supportive policies, offer better family leave options and make efforts to adjust workplace cultures and policies to be more welcoming for women.
“I am helping to foster the next generation of women in the workforce by first showing them that you can be a woman and be successful, that you are allowed to be yourself and still own the respect of your team.”
Andrade-Silva has been mentoring a few new women engineers over the past years, as well as women interns.
“On our job, we have also taken on board a woman excavator operator,” she said. “On our project, we have proven that we can be as successful as others with more women involved, showing that blue-collar women can also foster the next generation in the workforce.”