Charles Guyard, edited by Gauthier Delomez 06:23, March 08, 2022
Between mockery, harassment and innuendo, many women find it difficult to flourish in a profession perceived as masculine.
This is the case of Georgina Martineau, a young woman who works metal near Châteaubriant, in Loire-Atlantique.
She tells the microphone of Europe 1 the difficulties she encountered to establish herself in her profession.
"My name is Georgina Martineau, I am 23 years old and I am a metalworker-ironworker", affirms, with assurance, the young woman who works near Chateaubriant, in Loire-Atlantique.
An assurance that contrasts sharply with the difficulties she encountered at the start of her career.
Like Georgina, many women have struggled to flourish in a profession mainly exercised by men, between mockery, harassment and innuendo.
On the occasion of Women's Day, Europe 1 met her.
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The need to prove, even if it means putting your health at risk
Georgina Martineau remembers her job interviews, where the tone was set with one of her first bosses.
"He told me that if there had been a male candidate, he would have taken the man instead. He will have more strength, so he will do more things", says the young woman at the microphone of Europe 1 This is why, once recruited, Georgina felt compelled to do more, even too much, even if it meant putting her health at risk.
"I have already had to force myself to prove that I had the capacity to do it and to come home in the evening with back pain from not being able to sleep at night", recalls the young woman who works metal .
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Daily sexist comments
Beyond the back, it is above all the morale that takes a hit, with comments that are more than derogatory to bear on a daily basis.
"I had the right to reflections 'women in the household, not in workshops' or sexual reflections", explains Georgina Martineau, who admits to having suffered from it: "By dint of having reflections on my way of doing my hair , the way I do my makeup, I totally stopped doing all that."
By leaving her femininity in the locker room, the young woman does not abdicate, and her new employer is warned: she will file a complaint at the slightest suspicion of harassment.