Perception of gender equality

Gender-based discrimination is a universal phenomenon. Women comprise half of the world’s population, perform two-thirds of the work, but earn only a third of the total income and own less than a tenth of the resources. The most discriminated people in the world are usually the ones who lack economic power. The construction sector is the largest employer in the world and in India. More than 31 million people work in the construction industry, second only to the agricultural sector. More than 35% of construction workers are women, and they get poor remuneration and are discriminated against in the payment of wages. Whereas male construction workers have promotional opportunities, women have no opportunities to acquire skills and become masons or supervisors. They need to be empowered to grow in their profession. This study is an effort to identify gender discrimination among construction workers and to identify the means of empowering women construction workers with special reference to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and India. This study has been conducted among 100 migrant workers employed in various construction sites.