Recognizing and Advancing Women’s Livelihood in Construction

Women's Livelihood in Construction

Construction is India’s second-largest job sector after agriculture, and it is predicted to grow substantially in the coming years. It is an important source of jobs for the poor, especially women, who constitute more than half of India's construction labour force. Women are predominantly employed as unskilled laborers, serving as diggers, cement mixers, stone breakers, and head-loaders. A skill training program that improves women’s livelihood in construction market is a pathway to their social and economic growth.

We assist women’s livelihoods by repositioning them in the construction job market as competent skilled workers and advancing their workplace rights through skill training, job placement, and promotion of better workplace facilities.

The Karmika programme for construction workers

Since 1999, we have trained more than 21,124 men and women workers in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and New Delhi to develop their construction skills. The training centers of the Karmika programme are decentralized, and new centers are opened in areas that have a high need for training and are easily accessible to trainees. At the end of the training, they are tested by the Construction Industry Development Commission (CIDC) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). We then link the trainees to small and large contractors.

Recognizing that women construction workers are highly vulnerable to air pollution and climate change, MHT has launched a campaign with Purpose India to mobilize women construction workers to understand the impact of air pollution on their health and the health of their children.