The company has joined forces with Ambition Theory, a leadership coaching and diversity consulting firm training women in the industry to occupy leadership positions.

A new pilot program has been designed by Ambition Theory whose first edition is organized into eight modules, held every week during May and June. And what better way to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, being commemorated this month!

The program aims to equip participants with essential leadership skills to help them build their careers in the construction sector. Alejo Calcagno, Operations Director for the Southern Area, shares his satisfaction at being able to run this pilot. “The proposal came from our diversity governance committee, and we ran with it, developing a highly satisfactory solution. There’s no doubt that this is a very promising start, as the program will enable us to further promote the advancement of women in leadership positions within our industry.”

Among the main topics covered by the program modules were concepts linked to leadership, such as specific leadership skills, strategic thinking and emotional intelligence, for instance. They also took a deep dive into analyzing each participant’s individual development, such as the factors driving their ambitions, their personal brand, and how to add value, as well as recognizing the learning achieved and helping to plan future goals. All of these contents are developed from the perspective of the particular value that women bring to the construction industry.

In the pilot edition, three women from Techint E&C who are currently developing leadership roles participated: Julia Hijano, Planning Leader, Marcella Costa Luiz, QHSE Sr. Analyst - LTA Ternium, and Viviana Katherine Montero, Industrial Field Engineer – Auca.

All the participants were delighted with the program, and each one singles out different aspects that they found particularly valuable. For Julia, the pace was a little intense, but she found that the way that the activities were structured was both dynamic and interesting. “During the first week, I found it hard to adapt, but once I got into the rhythm of things, I thought it was very interesting. There aren’t many of us in the group and Andrea, who’s in charge of running the activities, is really dynamic. Some super important topics have been raised which have given me food for thought. The group is very good, and we can work freely without judging each other,” she says.

Viviana values the opportunity to interact with others, finding the experiences shared by the other participants very enriching. “The program is really interesting, and personally I appreciate the experiences shared by the other women, some of whom are in high-level management positions, because this gives greater depth to what I’m learning,” she states.

Marcella highlights the analysis of practical cases as a way of broadening the range of tools available to resolve potential situations. “I love this program! As well as the conceptual part, which is really valuable, it’s an opportunity to discuss and analyze specific cases of hypothetical situations where we have to deal with a bias or a sexist posture, which could easily occur with our peers or superiors. We were taught practical solutions to help overcome or resolve such situations,” she says.

It’s worth noting that the importance of the insertion of women in the construction industry was addressed as a key topic during the last Annual Conference of the Construction Industry Institute (CII), held in San Antonio-Austin, Texas, United States, earlier this year. On this occasion, Ambition Theory was one of the companies invited to give a presentation about the importance of women’s growth and leadership in the sector.

International Women in Engineering Day

June 23 marks International Women in Engineering Day, an initiative launched in 2014 by the UK-based Women's Engineering Society (WES), a professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. The occasion seeks to highlight contributions by women making their mark in the Engineering sector. 

Through the Leadership Accelerator Program, Techint E&C is making a contribution to commemorating International Women in Engineering Day, recognizing this auspicious date as part of its work to promote the leadership of women in the sector.