“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” Shakespeare wrote in one of his immortal plays. It seems it was this very sentiment that guided Claudia Montenegro to shift gears at a time when many lives appear to follow a preordained path.
Claudia was raised in the Andes, where she followed a road familiar to so many women: “I left school and didn't study because I was raised by my grandmother; we didn't have the means to study.” Then came the wedding and the raising of three children—the lingering sense that this was life, and it couldn't be anything else. Then one day in 2019, having already turned forty, a Facebook advert for a “partitioning course” caught her eye. It was only for a week. After all, what was there to lose?
Ultimately, she lost nothing and gained a completely new life. This is a conversation with Claudia, the first woman to join the nursery project at the Marga Marga Provincial Hospital as part of a pioneering construction team in Chile composed entirely of women—a team that today teaches others to follow in their footsteps.
We spoke with her about everything she's gained and the journey that took her from a mountain village to a multinational corporation. It was a journey she began “with a suitcase full of fears, but with hope,” as she puts it so simply yet powerfully—a journey that has taken her much further than she ever dreamed.
Claudia speaks to us from the Chilean city of La Serena, where she leads a team of women working on the construction of another hospital. She speaks with the seasoned authority of someone who participated in that now-historic Marga Marga project. “Right now, there are five girls with me from the twenty-two who trained at Marga Marga. There's one in maintenance, who supervises the entire electrical side; another is in collective installations supervising safety ropes and falls from height; and then there are three who are with me.”
Her career is now so well-established that many of the women working alongside her are already embarking on new professional paths. Sometimes, once they're trained, it's time for them to move on so that other newcomers—just as she once was—can also learn: “Yes, I tell them: ‘It’s hard for me to see you leave my side and hand you over to others, but I’d be selfish to keep you here because I know you have other potential.’” We will explore her transition from apprentice to trainer later, but first, it's essential to understand where she came from.
I’m surprised to have seen so many women here looking for an opportunity… What if one day they gave us the chance to build a building?
As she explained at the start of our chat, Claudia hails from the fifth region of the Chilean Andes, in Valparaíso. “At twenty, I got married and moved to Quilpué, which is also in Valparaíso. I have three children and I dedicated myself 100% to being a mum, 24/7, and I fell by the wayside a little,” she explains. She also had to care for a son with medical issues, requiring weekly travel for tests. “No company gives you permission to miss days during the week in that way.”
Years later, what she describes as an “existential crisis” arrived. It was then, in 2019, that she came across the “partitioning course”. She wasn't particularly drawn to construction, “not even to pick up a hammer at home.” Claudia was unaware of the company behind it, but she decided to try her luck. “When I started, I was struck by how many women there were—so many. Out of sixty people, forty were women. But I liked it; the treatment was very human.”
On the day the course certificates were awarded, a representative from SENCE, the training body, approached her. To her surprise, he asked, “Hey, Claudia, could you give a speech?” With no time to prepare, she improvised: “I’m surprised to have seen so many women here looking for an opportunity… What if one day they gave us the opportunity to build a building?” She adds: “I said that without knowing that a HR manager and the manager of ACCIONA’s Marga Marga hospital were there.” Unbeknownst to her, the wheels had been set in motion.
Months later, in the middle of the pandemic, she received an unexpected call. “They asked if I’d done a health and safety course, and I said no.” Claudia took the chance to mention she was the one who gave the speech at the certification. Who would remember the words of an “unimportant housewife”, as she then described herself? She couldn't have been more wrong. “Yes, we know. We were looking for you,” the voice on the phone said. “ACCIONA wants to work with you.”
Two weeks later, another call: “We want to talk to you about a project,” she heard them say. “But I have nothing, I have no studies, I left school and got married,” she exclaimed. “Come tomorrow with your CV and explain what you’ve done,” the voice continued. That was when she learned about the Marga Marga project. “And there, I fell in love with construction,” she says, smiling.
The other day my daughter mentioned that she’d told her friends I work at the hospital and they didn't believe her because ‘women don't work in construction’. And when they see what I do, they believe her. That’s how perceptions change.
What was the hardest part of the transition? “Well, leaving my house, ensuring the kids knew that if I left, the house wasn't going to collapse… Then I realised that the one most attached to the house and the children was me,” she reflects. “I had to tell my children that they were capable now and that now I had to start my own thing.”
She speaks of her children—two boys and a girl—and how they witnessed her evolution. Her daughter, in particular, is thrilled. “My daughter is proud, she’s happy, she tells everyone where I work. The other day she mentioned she’d told her friends I work at the hospital and they didn't believe her because ‘women don't work in construction’. When they see what I do, they believe her. That’s how perceptions change. If they see from a young age that you can do it, they believe they can too.”
Did she have doubts? “Of course there was fear at the start. When I saw the blueprints initially, I saw steel everywhere; I didn't understand a thing. One day I sat in the car and burst into tears, but then I encouraged myself and said: ‘Come on, you can do this’.” And she did.
Any company that began working with ACCIONA had to include women in their subcontract.
From there, more women arrived—up to a hundred—as “all the companies that began working with ACCIONA had to include women in their subcontract.” Not just for steelwork, but for partitioning, electrical installations, and plumbing. “In the end, the whole project was flooded with women,” she laughs. Speaking from her current role, she summarises: “All I want now is for this not to end; I want more women to come.”
After two months of waiting, it was her turn to go on-site. “It’s time for you to go down to the ground, to the steelwork,” she says, using the Chilean term for formwork. “At first, some colleagues from other subcontractors told me to move aside, that it was dangerous, but I told them: ‘no, I’m here to learn’.” She was the first woman to arrive, but she knew then that more girls would be trained.
“Within a month, six more girls joined who were part of my team until the end of the steelwork.” She explains that she fell in love with that stage because it is “what isn't seen; it's the heart of the construction. It’s an art. When you see a house, you don't see that the steel goes in different ways, with stirrups… Nobody sees that part, but without it, a building cannot stand.” Could it be like the crucial role of women, which often goes unnoticed in society? “I think so,” she nods.
I’ve always liked butterflies and didn’t know why, but I only recently realised, while working at ACCIONA, that I was a butterfly; I just needed someone to unstick my wings.
She offers a broader reflection: “I’ve always liked butterflies and didn’t know why. It's only since I've been working at ACCIONA that I realized I was a butterfly; I just needed someone to unstick my wings—someone to pull you out of that cocoon of your comfort zone so you can fly and pursue your dreams. It’s what happens to many of us; we’re in a system, whether caring for children or being unable to study, and we don't realise our capabilities. I think about how I chose that course to escape depression, to get out of the house, and life changed completely for me. It’s a metamorphosis.”
Speaking of flying, in December, they spoke to her again. Here, she cannot help but get emotional: “They told me they wanted to offer me the chance to study.” Specifically, she was given the choice between civil construction or a construction technician qualification. She chose the former. “I thought they’d forgotten, but when they found out I hadn't enrolled myself, they took care of it. The company took a chance on me. There are no words for that; it’s something that fills you with pride. It fills your soul that they gave us the opportunity to be where we are, both me and my colleagues.”
They told me they wanted to offer me the chance to study… I thought they’d forgotten, but when they found out I hadn't enrolled myself, they took care of it. The company took a chance on me.
Here, she speaks about the barriers—not just external ones, but her own: “It wasn't just studying, but working and being a housewife too. If they tell you it can't be done, it isn't true; of course it can. You can always do it. And sometimes you get tired or frustrated, but if you have a good team behind you, it’s a pillar. And the nursery team formed a beautiful family; we were all rowing in the same direction.”
It wasn't always easy. “There were colleagues from subcontractors—this didn't happen at ACCIONA—who were a bit more sexist. The first time they saw us, they said we should go home. Until one day they realised we could do it and started teaching us. And then we were just like any other member of the team.” Claudia says they approached them with humility: “We told them they’d been in construction for years and we were here to learn and contribute—that it was like a 50/50 marriage.”
I’d work until 6:00 pm and then from 7:00 until 10:30 or 11 at night, I’d study in person. It was a whole new world for me, but I began connecting it to what I was experiencing day-to-day on-site.
Brick by brick, they began to raise the nursery, one day at a time, first overcoming their own fears and then the suspicions of others. Meanwhile, Claudia continued her training. “I worked until 6:00 pm and from 7:00 to 10:30 or 11:00 at night, I studied in person. It was a new world for me, but I associated it with what I was experiencing day-to-day on site.”
This is a story of personal and professional growth because, alongside those evening classes, Claudia was also climbing the ladder. “I started as a labourer, then moved to a skilled worker, and I finished the building as a site supervisor. At the start, I saw everything from a tiny perspective, but then it widened; you had to oversee all the different stages, everything that was happening. It was a big leap. From the age of 40 to 45, I’ve achieved a lot,” she reflects.
We started the project from scratch and saw it through to completion. We did the partitioning, porcelain tiling, steelwork, concrete…
Which parts of the project did she and her female team handle? “We started the project from scratch and saw it through to completion. We did partitioning, porcelain tiling, steelwork, concrete… The only thing we didn't do was the electrics, because there was a separate girl who was also from ACCIONA but worked in the building there. But all the structural and finishing work, we did. From the rubber in the playgrounds to the doors, glass, and windows…”. She pauses and smiles broadly: “It’s more a case of what we didn't do! Everything there was to learn, we learnt.”
She reflects on ACCIONA'S role: “I had ACCIONA’s support in everything, side by side. If I needed anything, they gave it to me. I was struck by that level of comfort, that immense support, that concern for everything to go well, and the feeling that they truly cared about the women. It’s something that generally doesn't happen: a company giving you the chance to study.”
I had ACCIONA’S support in everything, side by side. If I needed anything, they provided it. I was struck by that level of comfort, that immense support, that concern for everything to go well, and the feeling that they truly cared about the women. It’s something that generally doesn't happen: a company giving you the opportunity to study.
That process has developed to the point where Claudia is witnessing the arrival of new generations of women following her path. “Now here, for example, the 10 or 12 girls are being trained; they’re going to a course at INACAP to become site supervisors and work on-site. And those girls started just like me...”
This range of capabilities exemplifies the diversity of profiles recruited for the work. “The youngest here is 20 and the oldest is 65; everyone has a job tailored to them. You have to see each person's qualities. You have to be a bit of a psychologist.”
Welcoming these women has become a mission for Claudia. “The other day one called me on the phone and my daughter said it wasn't right because it was Sunday and I should rest, but I told her that tomorrow that girl could be better and work better. You feel reflected in every story.”
The work and adaptation process isn't always easy. Claudia mentions the physical demands and the aches: “Some girls tell me: ‘Oh, my leg hurts,’ and I tell them: ‘It’s going to hurt today, tomorrow, the day after, but keep going, don't give up. Your body will ache, you’ll tell yourself you want to quit, but don't give up. If you want to achieve it, you can, regardless of your social class or where you come from.’” She notes the physical change in many of them: “They grow muscle. The first thing you get are quadriceps.”
She speaks of the transition to her current work in La Serena: “It all happened so fast because I finished on 15 May. On 16 May, we handed over the nursery. A few days earlier, around 5 May, they told me: ‘Claudia, you start on 2 June in La Serena.’ At that moment you think you didn't do a bad job. It fills you with pride to know you finished one project and are moving on to another because your work was good. They offered it to the whole team, but some couldn't come.”
It fills you with pride to know that you finished one project and are moving on to another because your work was good.
One aspect Claudia emphasises most is shared responsibility. “I always tell them that what we’re doing is teamwork, that we all have to row in the same direction. I say: ‘If anything happens to you, I’m here to defend you; don't get caught up in arguments or anything—that’s why we’re a team.’”
This understanding, she insists, is crucial for growth. “For example, in the early days when we’d just started, I had some women who made a mistake on a task—which was logical because we were just starting and everything had to be dismantled. But it's not that she made a mistake. No, she didn't make a mistake. We all made a mistake because we all worked as a team.” She concludes: “Mistakes are always committed as a team, and praise is given to the whole group.” It's a phrase that reminds us of what Génesis Loyola, another ACCIONA pioneer, this time in the energy sector, said.
She also highlights the work style that distinguished the female team. Sometimes it seemed they took longer or were less productive, but she soon understood something: “We realised that while we sometimes took longer, we had to redo things less often. Men sometimes work, work, work, and then they've made a mistake and have to go back. In contrast, while we were learning in those first months and took our time with the steelwork and everything, once we mastered it, we delivered a job well done that didn't need to be returned to us. Women tend to be more methodical.”
We realised that although we sometimes took longer, we had to backtrack less.
After five years, Claudia is in a position to look back. She does so through an anecdote. “The health and safety officer who stayed there still sends me photos and says: ‘Look Claudia, here is your baby, I’m with your child.’” The baby, if anyone hasn't guessed, is the Marga Marga Nursery.
“I show them to the six colleagues who came from Marga Marga with me. ‘Girls, they sent me a photo, they sent me a video…’. It’s something we saw grow from zero; we put in the pillars and the steelwork. It belongs to us; it’s part of us. It’s a project we lived through first-hand, with rain, wind, cold, and heat, but it was ours.”
The Marga Marga Nursery is a project we experienced first-hand, through rain, cold winds, and heat, but it was ours.
She continues: “It’s a sense of pride that leaves you at a loss for words when we saw the building finished—an immense emotion. I don’t know if you’ve had the chance, or if you might have the opportunity to see how the nursery turned out. It’s beautiful. We had the chance to kit it out ourselves, because the cots arrived, the prams, the tables, while we were still there. We left it fully equipped, and it was hard to leave, hard to let go.” Eventually, Claudia did let go—so much so that she is already imagining new experiences, perhaps in the wind energy sector.
If you are reading this and haven't yet seen what Claudia and other women like her built with their own hands, it’s a good time to accept her invitation and see the fruit of their labour in this feature article about Marga Marga. Today, that hospital welcomes the lives of children coming into the world. It also serves as a reminder that, just as happened to her, nothing is written and it’s never too late to transform ourselves—especially if someone lends a hand to help us get there.