Creating opportunities for women in construction in India: A call for action

Mumbai, 30 April 2025 - The construction sector in India, accounting for 9 per cent of GDP and employing approximately 71 million people, remains one of the country's most significant sources of employment. However, women's participation in the sector continues to be constrained by systemic barriers, wage disparities, and limited access to career advancement opportunities.

In response, the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the Employers' Federation of India (EFI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), launched a new report titled Beyond Barriers and Biases - Engendering the Indian Construction Industry. The report was released at the CII Centre for Women Leadership's Inclusion and Competitiveness Summit, held in Mumbai on 30 April 2025.

The report sheds light on key gaps: while increasing numbers of women graduate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, only 12 per cent of the construction workforce is female. Even more striking, just 2 per cent of women in the sector occupy senior management roles. Many women are employed in low-skilled, low-paid jobs, earning an average daily wage of INR 412. In the informal sector, women earn 30-40 per cent less than their male counterparts.

To address these disparities, the report outlines practical recommendations for action:

• Education and Industry Partnerships: Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET ) institutions and universities can work with industry to raise awareness of career pathways, facilitate mentoring opportunities, and host job fairs showcasing female role models.
• Government and Policy Support: Authorities are encouraged to implement gender-sensitization programmes and improve workplace safety for women, including better lighting, increased patrolling, and responsive policing.
• Enterprise-Level Interventions: Companies can promote gender-inclusive workplaces by offering crèches, clean sanitation facilities, and ergonomically appropriate safety gear for women.

A Handbook on Good Practices from the Construction Industry, developed as part of the initiative, complements the report by highlighting successful case studies from across the country.

This report was produced under the ILO's "Promoting Rights and Social Inclusion through Organization and Formalization - Phase 2" project, funded by the Government of Japan. The project focuses on improving conditions for informal workers and promoting gender equality in collaboration with governments, employers' and workers' organizations.

In 2025, the project will partner with the Labour Resources Department of Bihar, the Indian National Trade Union Congress, and the Bihar Industries Association to:

• Develop gender-responsive Standard Operating Procedures for the construction sector;
• Deliver training on occupational safety and health for inspectors and workers;
• Facilitate informal construction workers' access to jobs, social protection, and employment contracts through a new digital platform.