New York’s Women of Steel

In a blue-collar business bursting with male bravado, a handful of willful women work twice as hard to conquer the world of construction.

Photos by Jonathan Alpeyrie

“When I started in the masonry trade, men around me tried to break me and to discourage me,” says Michelle McKenzie, speaking on a freezing New York winter day, her nose and mouth covered with a motley scarf to keep them warm. “But I stuck with it.”

McKenzie, forty-eight, is a rare sight in the world of construction, a traditionally male realm. In the United States, women have gradually broken into the industry over the past forty years, yet still account for only nine percent of the workforce, in a field that pays noticiably more than many other blue-collar jobs.

“It's been seventeen years since I worked on the field and I make fifty dollars an hour, plus benefits — that is a total of $1,800 per week,” McKenzie says proudly. “I own my home. I can take vacation. I have a good life.”