Last Tuesday should have been an ordinary workday for 20-year-old Amber Czech, who worked as a welder at a manufacturing facility in Cokato, Minnesota.

She loved her craft and taught welding at her old high school on days she had off. But she was also a rarity. Women make up just 6 percent of welders in the country, and, as with other male-dominated occupations, it came with the risk of isolation and bullying.