Yellow helmets : work and worth of women workers on construction sites in northern India

Abstract

The participation of women in the building sector is an exception rather than a rule. Inmost countries of the world the building industry is almost exclusively the domain of men. In India a large number of women are actively involved in the construction process itself. According to 1993-94 Statistics, the construction sector in India provided employment to 6% (5.9 million) of all employed women, constituting about 20% of the total workers in the industry. In spite of their large numbers, women construction workers are seen as secondary/ temporary workers with seldom any opportunities for training, upward mobility, wage guarantees, fringe benefits or social protections. My research has been an exploration and an inquiry of this widely observed phenomena of women construction workers and how it operates from the perspectives of the various role players in the industry, namely, the workers, contractors, intermediaries etc. The purpose is to map the existing know ledge base on the role of women workers and to identify from this mapping key issues that need to be critically examined if opportunities for women in the industry are to be enhanced. The idea has been to make vivid the experience that women have on a construction site and draw from their account implications, issues and problems that one needs to address while formulating a public policy and modifying the practice. The construction industry remains one of the least researched industries in India. There is very little research published or reliable data on numbers, working and socio-economic conditions and the position of women workers within the construction industry. Through my research I attempt to create a knowledge base and fill the lacuna in the existing literature on the subject and contribute towards a "different" understanding of the role of women workers in the construction industry.