Upgrading Skills of Construction Women Workers in Ranchi: An Impact Assessment Study (Baseline Assessment)

Aims & Objectives: This baseline assessment captured the status of women construction workers undergoing skill up gradation training conducted by the Karmika School. The purpose of the study was to understand the socio-economic profile of the women who participated in these trainings, the nature and conditions of their work and issues and challenges faced in the private and the public domain i.e. in their family, immediate community and construction work-site. Other important stakeholders involved in this process were also consulted like trainers of the Karmika School, contractors in the area and Karmika personnel.

The primary objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the training program in enabling women such that they can potentially access and command higher quantity and quality of employment. In order to fulfill this goal,the evaluation exercise was designed to appraise the influence of these trainings on women’s employability and working status.

Methodology: This evaluation was carried out in terms of:

• Labour market outcomes which included availability of work, wage rates, number of days of work and reduction in the gender wage gap etc.
• Qualitative aspects of Employment which included the hiring process, working conditions and working hours etc.

Alongside, the impact study also assessed the transformative potential of the training in terms of empowering women and initiating behavioral changes at the individual level, household and community levels.

This study undertook a longitudinal impact assessment using multiple rounds of base line and end line surveys conducted during and post training stages. It captured the changes in employment characteristics by following a cohort of trainees over time using a mixed methods approach. The baseline study involved primary survey and in-depth focus group discussions (FGDs) as the principal tools for capturing both quantitative and qualitative information. The primary respondents were women construction workers (from areas where MHT is already involved in community projects) who were in the process of training i.e. not yet impacted by the training. This entailed a baseline research to present the status of the women construction workers, their socio-economic profile, level of knowledge and skills in the construction sector and source and condition of work. Two end line studies in subsequent years will reflect the changes in the above-mentioned parameters that can be attributed to the training.

Findings:

• There was an overwhelming preference for masonry training and some groups of women in other training modules categorically expressed a desire to learn masonry skills rather than plumbing, toilet construction, and hand-pump repair.
• Out of a total of 190, a large majority of the women surveyed belonged to economically and socially vulnerable sections of the society. Their motivation for working was to add to their family’s income. The women were predominantly engaged in construction work as unskilled and casual both in terms of the nature, regularity and security of work.
• The women employed in construction workers bear the double burden of working and shouldering a disproportionate share of the division of labour in the household. Their reproductive responsibilities sometimes, constrained their productive capacities. This indicated men’s reluctance and resistance to work with women as equals (in skill and wages)while they had no problem when women were working assistants/helpers and laborers/rejas.
• The awareness level of the women in terms of minimum wages and relevant government schemes was woefully inadequate as only 3 percent of women out of 190 (that includes few non-working women and few not working in construction) showed any information.