Name: Kim Machado

Title: Human Resources Assistant

Company Name: Holt Construction

Why should women consider a career in construction?
Construction has always been a heavily male dominated industry, but I think we’re finally starting to see a big change. When people think of construction, they mostly think of the physical labor it takes to build. But construction is so much more than that. And whether women want to work in the field (which they are physically strong enough to do) or work within an office, the industry offers ample opportunities to do either. Additionally, there are so many support networks for women including, NAWIC and PWC. Women are important and they will help diversify the industry. Diversity leads to innovation and innovation leads to success.

Starting out in the construction business, who or what empowered you?
Construction is so deeply rooted in my family. Starting from when my grandparents and parents came to the U.S. from Portugal in the early 70s. My grandfathers both worked in construction and two of my uncles started their own construction companies, one in concrete, the other masonry. My father and brother followed suit and worked for my uncles. My mom too was a secretary for her brothers’ concrete company for several years. As for me, I’ve always been a people person and always wanting to help others. What better way to combine the two than to work in human resources for construction?