This is women's work

Empowering portraits of women working in male-dominated fields around the world

Yolaina Chavez Talavera, 31, a firefighter in Managua, Nicaragua
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(Image credit: "People think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so)

(Image credit: "In my early days as a female firefighter, men, my teammates, thought that I would not last long due to the hard training. However, in practice I showed them that I am able to take on tasks a)

(Image credit: "No doubt this is a job initially intended for men, because you have to be standing on the street all your shift; it is dirty, greasy, and there is always a strong gasoline smell. I have to a)

(Image credit: "Men don't have to prove themselves like we do. We are tested every day. The instruction jobs still go mostly to men, whereas the administrative jobs go mostly to women." —Paloma Granero, 38.)

(Image credit: "Once I could not help laughing when an agricultural adviser asked me where the boss was when I was standing right in front of him. I can assure you that the meeting got very quickly cut shor)

(Image credit: "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professiona)

(Image credit: "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoes. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here, but I can drive both)

(Image credit: "In most of my professional life I did not face any inequality. In the port of Ashdod we are equal on the docks. I am the first woman who began working at the Ashdod port as a [dock worker].")

(Image credit: "When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male c)

(Image credit: "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands. To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal op)

(Image credit: "There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it. People have e)

(Image credit: "The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender." —Merylee, 26.)

(Image credit: "Much more can be done by the women themselves to solve such problems (gender inequality)." —Maria Uvarovskaya)

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

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