The Women Can Build LatAm project, funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme, is the natural evolution of the first Women Can Build initiative (carried out between 2017 and 2020), also coordinated by Fundación Laboral, which was launched with the goal of (re)defining vocational training to promote equality in the construction industry and increase the presence of women in the trades.

Following the success of the first edition, the second initiative aimed at women was launched in 2023 and has concluded with solid results and a significant impact on the visibility and inclusion of women in the construction sector in both Latin America and Europe.

Throughout the project, the international consortium—comprising organizations specializing in training, job placement, and construction from Spain, Italy, Chile, and Argentina—worked in alignment to share best practices in vocational training, improve women’s employability, highlight female professionals working on construction sites, and foster a cultural shift in a traditionally male-dominated sector.

Women Can Build LatAm in figures

The project’s final data demonstrate the initiative’s reach and success: over 4,500 website visits and 33,200 social media impressions; 477,000 people reached in Spain, Italy, Chile, and Argentina through informational sessions, awareness-raising activities, publications on corporate channels, and campaigns; more than 40 media appearances; and active participation in over 30 relevant events, which brought together more than 730 attendees from both continents.

These results establish Women Can Build as a leading initiative in promoting female talent in construction, capable of generating public conversation, engaging key players in the ecosystem, and projecting a renewed image of the sector as a space of opportunity for women.

Inspiring Stories: Female Role Models for the Sector

Through the “Inspiring Stories” campaign, the project has given a voice and a face to professional women in the construction sector in Latin America, using their testimonials to raise awareness about the need to promote female talent in the trades and encourage other women to consider construction as a career option.

The campaign has achieved exceptional results, with over 81,000 views on YouTube and 7,400 additional impressions on social media, reinforcing the role of female role models as a key driver of cultural change in the sector.

A fitting conclusion to the challenge: final event at the European Parliament Office

The project’s final event, held on September 25, 2025, at the European Parliament Office in Madrid, became a milestone in terms of visibility and networking for the sector.

The event brought together 359 in-person attendees and garnered over 605 views on YouTube, featuring speakers of significant institutional and sectoral relevance, such as the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM), AEMENER, and the Institute for Women, under the Ministry of Equality, who emphasized the importance of moving toward a more diverse and equitable construction sector.

Tools and resources to continue promoting equality

Beyond the numbers, Women Can Build LatAm has generated a set of strategic tools to guide the actions of companies, government agencies, training centers, and social partners. Among the main outcomes are:

• A comparative analysis of the situation of women in construction in the participating countries (Statu Quo), which offers an updated snapshot of the challenges and opportunities in Latin America.
• An Action Plan for the training and professional integration of women in the sector, with concrete measures that can be adapted to different contexts.
• An equality self-assessment tool for organizations and another specifically for organizational leaders in the construction sector, which allows for measuring the degree of equality and guiding improvement plans.
• The Purple Book on Women in Construction, which compiles the main conclusions of the assessment, the level of equality within organizations, and the set of action plans to improve the situation of women on construction sites.

An international alliance that will continue to grow

As an added value, the project has launched the Women’s Alliance for Construction, part of the virtual space Women Can Build Community, which brings together initiatives, campaigns, and testimonials from professionals, companies, and associations working toward gender equality in the sector.

This international network, connecting Europe and Latin America, forms a dynamic space for cooperation, the exchange of best practices, and the joint development of solutions so that more and more women can train, work, and lead in the construction industry.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.