A man’s world
Straining under the weight of bricks, buckets and metal bars, a faceless army carry their loads from trucks to a massive building site on Penh Penh’s Diamond Island. Hidden beneath wide-brimmed hats and kramas masking their faces from dust and the sun, the battalion of construction workers is turning this stretch of reclaimed land into a concrete paradise on the city’s southern ‘riviera’. …
“Of the 700 people working here, 300 are women,” said Neang, a 21-year-old woman who has been constructing the building’s drainage unit for a couple of years. “We prepare the cement and carry the materials on the ground floor. In my team, we dig holes. There are only ten women who paint ceilings or cement bricks with men.” …
Their work is vital to the island’s development, according to Lim, the site manager. The women are responsible for tying together ribbed bars and making reinforced concrete slabs to bolster the dams that protect the buildings from the eddies of the Mekong and Bassac rivers.
“Women probably represent up to 40% of the private construction sector workforce,” said Van Thol, vice-president of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia (BWTUC). “I say ‘probably’ because there are no solid data on the issue. Most do not have contracts and are seasonal workers. But 30% to 40% seems a fair estimate.” …
This is a leap forward for women, who seven years ago represented 20% of the workforce in construction-related industries. Yet while these women represent feminine capability, it may be too early to celebrate them as Cambodia’s ‘Rosie the Riveter’. On-site, these women are delegated lowly tasks such as cement preparation, steel fixing and brick transportation. They are also asked to cook and clean. …
A massive shortage of workers in the sector means that women can find work relatively easily on construction sites. …
“Many subcontractors are happy to hire for the single reason that they are cheaper than men,” BWTUC’s Van Thol said. “Wage discrimination against women is illegal, but it is a harsh reality on the vast majority of construction sites in Cambodia.” …
Frédéric Janssens
http://sea-globe.com/female-construction-workers-cambodia/
