Repost: Women to Storm Construction Sector

Interesting article on closing the wage disparity gap among women in India's construction industry.

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It’s rare to see women in the construction sector doing skilled jobs. You often find them carrying heavy headloads at construction sites. They are also being paid very low wages. But with the Kudumbasree Mission’s project to train women in construction and maintenance work, things may change soon.

Within three months, 150 skilled masons, 15 plumbers and 15 electricians will be trained to take up jobs at various construction sites.“The idea is to help women earn more with skills that are much in demand in this field,” Tani Thomas, the Kudumbasree district co-ordinator, told The Hindu.

The unskilled women workers in the construction sector are now being paid only Rs. 300 per day while their men counterparts demand Rs.500- Rs. 600 a day. The wage goes up to Rs.700 for skilled work.

“We are already receiving many enquiries about skilled workforce. Equipping women with skills will help them earn at least Rs.700 a day,” Ms. Thomas added.

The Rs.1 crore project is being implemented with the financial assistance from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (Hudco) as part of their corporate social responsibility.

The Kudumbasree has set up a women’s team of 10 engineering graduates and 20 civil diploma holders for the project.

The training period is three months. The Kudumbasree mission will provide tool kits for the women labourers. It will also come up with an equipment lending station. “The equipments would be available not only for the women we train but for others as well,” said Ms. Thomas.

KITCO Limited has provided the training capsules for the women and an NGO, Jyothi Jeevika, from Kottayam will be training women in masonry at Manjummel in five days a week. They will get a stipend of Rs.350 a day.

After the training programme, the all-women team will be engaged in small construction projects for a year.

Minister for Panchayats and Social Welfare M. K. Muneer will inaugurate the programme at the Thrikkakara Community Hall on Monday.

View the original article at http://www.thehindu.com.

Repost: Women, minorities to play key role in Vikings stadium construction

“It’s not really just about this project. It’s about creating a pipeline of workers of the future that are going to make up the men and women of the Minnesota construction industry to come.” John Wood, Senior VP, Mortenson Construction

Repost: It’s been a good week for women seeking non-traditional jobs

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it settled a case with a federal contractor, L&M Construction, involving allegations of a hostile work environment including sexual harassment and retaliation against the workers who reported the hostile behavior. This case was filed after the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) of the Department of Labor (USDOL) received complaints of sexual harassment from workers at L&M construction in Arlington, Virginia, including inappropriate touching, sexual gestures, comments and propositions experienced by a female employee in 2012. OFCCP conducted an investigation and discovered that the company fired nine employees for complaining about the hostile work environment created by the sexual harassment and fired five more workers to prevent them from being interviewed by OFCCP. All of the fired workers were Hispanic (7 men and 7 women). As a result of the settlement, L&M Construction will pay $112,573 in back wages to the terminated workers and will make job offers to them as positions become available. This settlement is not only critical in providing justice for the men and women who were victims of the hostile work environment, but also sends a message to federal contractors that sexual harassment and hostile work environments will not be permitted.

Today saw continued progress. With eighteen votes in favor and three opposed, the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed S. 1356, legislation to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), out of the Committee. The bill included specific language that funding authorized by the Act for employment and training activities shall be used to develop strategies to increase women’s participation in high-wages, high-demand occupations in which women are currently underrepresented.

These two seemingly unrelated events represent significant strides for women seeking employment in jobs that are considered non-traditional for women, such as construction. Research conducted by Wider Opportunities for Women has found that significant gender-based occupational segregation contributes to economic insecurity for women across the lifespan. In other words, the top fifty jobs occupied by women pay significantly less than the top fifty jobs occupied by men, resulting in a substantial gap in wages every hour, every month and every year, earned by men and women. To successfully increase women’s earnings and increase their economic security, more women must have access to job training and counseling about nontraditional jobs, such as construction, which pay higher wages.

The bill reauthorizing WIA that was passed by the Senate HELP committee today contains language that will increase access to counseling and skills training for women seeking non-traditional jobs, such as construction. Construction careers in particular are high-paying and women hold less than 2 percent of construction jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. However, orienting and recruiting women to these jobs is only part of the solution. Too often, once in those jobs, women experience barriers to successful careers, often in the form of several sexual harassment. Enforcement of our federal anti-discrimination laws by the USDOL, like the case that resulted in the settlement with L&M Construction on Monday, will protect women from illegal sexual harassment so that they are able to continue their careers free from hostile work environments. And, while there is still much work to be done, this is why this is s a good week for women seeking non-traditional jobs.

This entry was posted on July 31, 2013 by Robin Runge, Esq. Visit the WOW blog to view the original post.