Shirley Balicha is a licensed operator employed by a local municipality in La Union province of North Luzon, in the Philippines. When she decided to make this unusual career choice, she enrolled in a government-sponsored program for heavy machinery operators.
The only woman in her class, she completed the course with distinction and passed her qualification tests with flying colors. Having received her operator license, she became the municipality’s first female operator, and now spends her days at the controls of the CASE CX210B, working on road maintenance and rebuild projects.