A highly skilled female mason struggles to find work due to gender discrimination

Despite dedicating over 25 years to her craft as a mason, Alvina Hannah finds herself relying on the compassion of others, unable to secure employment.

Hannah, a determined mother of two, has faced a challenging two months without work, even though her invaluable skills are in high demand.

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“A two months now mi nuh work and mi kids them have exam and caah guh school. Mi willing to do the work enuh, but mi can’t get any. Right now a sell mi a think ’bout to sell some stuff but mi not even have the money to buy the things to sell,” Hannah explained.

“Mi just want a work mi nuh need nuh handout mi willing fi work, all mi want is for mi kids dem to alright and nuh afi a stop from school because mi nuh have nuh money to send them,” Hannah said.

According to The Star, Hannah was featured in their newspaper five years ago, where she expressed her passion for construction. A proficient worker, she followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather to become a mason, .

“I love masonry work. I tried sewing and hairdressing, but those were not my true calling. Now I do block work, doorjambs, window jambs, flashing, granite ceilings, essentially everything in masonry,” she stated.

Five years later, and Hannah is struggling to support herself and her family through her craft. She also shared with THE STAR that her inability to work over the past two months stems from pervasive gender discrimination, highlighting the significant impact it has had on her life and livelihood.

“Nuff time mi go on site and ask for work as the only woman, because sometimes I have to walk and look for work, and when I ask I get turned away, even when every other man get the work. I even go on a job the other day and the boss tell mi straight him not hiring no woman,” Hannah said, pointing out that even other women are reluctant to hire her.

“Some weeks ago mi guh up a this lady, she seh she want her wall to splash. When mi go, because she see is a woman, she look pan mi and she a woman! And then she just seh ‘Alright, I’ll buy the material and call yuh back’. But all now she cyah call mi,” she said.

Hannah, who is 51-year-old, indicated to THE STAR as a woman in a male-dominated field, she isn’t treated as an equal by her male colleagues when she gets jobs.

“Sometimes the man dem bad mind mi because me faster than them or mi neater than them, suh when mi guh pan the site them, mi get a lot a fight from them,” Hannah explained. She said that she has grown frustrated with the discrimination, and even though masonry is her only skill, she has considered giving up the trade.

Carvel Stewart, past president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association, told THE STAR that while he hasn’t seen discrimination himself, he knows some employers might be hesitant to hire women.

“Masonry involves the laying of blocks, mixing of concrete and mortar and rendering. So the men may believe that the laying of blocks is too heavy for the females,” Stewart theorised, adding that despite one’s perception, women should be given a fair chance to prove themselves.

“I don’t think it’s a men against women thing. It could be that whomever she had applied to thinks that she wasn’t strong enough physically to undertake that work, which is understandable. But they should then find out which area of it she’s best at,” Stewart said.