Women in Construction - Diverse Perspectives Will Drive Progress

India’s construction industry is advancing and embracing new technologies, and thereby throwing up exciting opportunities for women to grow professionally in traditionally male-dominated roles. With the advent of robotics, digital twins, and remote controlling, the field is becoming more accessible to women as the focus shifts from labor-intensive tasks to tasks that require mental agility.


However, construction companies need to increase gender diversity in their employees in order to foster a culture of inclusivity, and provide their women workforce an enabling environment wherein they can strive to become leaders.

While there has been a significant increase in the number of women entering the construction industry in recent years, gender bias still limits their representation in technical areas, including at job sites, with only a few getting managerial positions.

NBM&CW interviews some of these women who have overcome several challenges to achieve success. Their journeys reveal that companies that encourage different perspectives and values create a better work environment, and are likely to achieve greater success along the way.

Dola Roychowdhury - Founder Director, GCube Consulting Engineers LLP The pay parity issue is very subtle and fragmented. It doesn't exist at entry levels any longer - but tends to widen as you go up the chain and hit that invisible ceiling. Compared to the global gender ratio of about 12%, India's female ratio is much lowe ... Read More Minimol Korulla - Maccaferri ISEAP The global Infrastructure Construction industry currently has a female workforce ratio of 10% to 14%, while in India it is 8% to 12%. However, the representation of women in senior managerial roles is less than 2% - both globally and in India. The lack of ... Read More Rubee Kongbrailatpam - Public Works Department, Manipur The shift in perspective towards women's roles in the construction industry and the de-genderization of roles is a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce. Stereotypes and prejudices against women in construction ... Read More Dr. Ambika Behl - CSIR-Central Road Research Institute Gender-based discrimination, the harsh work environment of construction sites, lack of knowledge about the industry, and a shortage of successful women in construction as role models, present significant barriers to entry for women. In India, the ... Read More Atasi Das - G R Infraprojects, Gurugram It's time to change the myth that "the infrastructure industry is a man's world and that it is not really a place for women." By promoting equal opportunities and gender sensitivity in the workplace, we can encourage more women to pursue a career in ... Read More Shruti Choudhari - BL Kashyap and Sons Over the past decade, we have witnessed significant changes at BL Kashyap, including women-led planning, design, and HR departments. We have a majority of women in the tender and contracts department as well as women on-site in key roles during ... Read More Sandhya Rasakatla - Hindustan Zinc Gender-based bias and stereotypes continue to be prevalent in many industries, including the construction industry, where women often face challenges due to the perception that they are less capable than men. However, it is important to recognize ... Read More Yogeshwari Rane - Hindustan Zinc As we are moving towards highly mechanized mines, the overall perception of mining industry as a male-dominated industry is changing since it is no more about just physical labour. As the mining industry has traditionally been considered a physically ... Read More