Two women haul steel bars on a construction site. Substandard living conditions and long working hours are challenges for the women working on building sites. Photo: CFP

Women laborers on a construction site smile for the camera. There are an increasing number of women working as construction laborers in Shanghai. Photo: CFP

In Huaqiao village, Jiading district, massive construction sites, soon to become new housing projects, are springing up rapidly. On one site, among a group of construction workers, 30-something Hebei woman Wang Juan (not her real name) was shovelling concrete. Wearing a safety hat and a towel on her shoulder, her clothes were covered in mud and dust and it was hard to tell that she was a woman in this male-dominated area.

In Shanghai, the number of women working as construction laborers is growing. According to a survey conducted by The Little Bird Hotline, a non-governmental organization committed to promoting the rights of migrant workers, in 2013 women comprised 10.18 percent of the construction workers in nine cities.

The survey was based on over 6,000 responses from construction workers in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou and Shiyan. Most of these laborers come from Chongqing Municipality and Hubei, Anhui and Sichuan provinces.

Just a few years ago, women made up only 2 to 3 percent of the workforce on building sites.

Construction laborers are some of the most in-demand workers in Shanghai and, as a result, they command a relatively higher income than other migrant workers. They are also often in short supply, especially after the Spring Festival.

Two laborers move building materials on a site. Women on construction sites earn less than men although they are often doing the same work. Photo: CFP

Rising incomes

On February, ganji.com, a  website offering information on business and lifestyles, told the Shanghai Morning Post that the average monthly income for construction workers in Shanghai had risen to 8,496 yuan ($1,357), although some experts say this figure is highly exaggerated.

Despite the relatively high pay, it is common for women on construction sites to earn less than the men although they are often doing the same work. Zhu Siqin, from Sichuan Province, who works on a construction site in Yangpu district which will become "Oriental Fisherman's Wharf," earns 110 yuan a day for clearing waste at the site and sanding grout from walls, while male workers doing the same can earn 130 to 140 yuan, according to the Youth Daily.

A woman surnamed Wang, who works at a construction site for a new housing project, said she earned 100 yuan a day, while her husband, who did the same job, was being paid 50 to 60 yuan more than she was.

Despite this discrimination, there is one thing about working in construction that most other jobs can't offer - this is where wives can work alongside their husbands and take care of them. Most of the women interviewed came to Shanghai with their construction worker husbands.

"Wives should be where their husbands are. We're a worker couple and we are able to care for each other at work all the time," Liang Xiaolin, a woman from Sichuan Province who was pumping concrete at a construction site on Humin Road, told the Youth Daily.

Another 27-year-old worker surnamed Yang at the site joked, "I can supervise him while working here, in case he tries hitting on other women."

But after a long day's work, many of these women cannot take an immediate break like their husbands and have to then attend to their domestic chores, cooking meals, looking after children and washing clothes. Many don't get to rest until 9 pm or later and their only recreation is watching television.

 "Sometimes I wish for rain. That gives me a good reason to stop working and take a rest. But if it actually rains continuously for days or weeks, I worry about my income. After all, my family depends on that money to survive," a construction worker surnamed Wang told the Youth Daily.

In some cases, entire families work and live on the same construction site, but in most cases the children remain in their parents' hometowns.

Two of the biggest challenges for the women are the substandard living conditions and long working hours. At the site on Humin Road, the dormitory is a shabby, musty room filled with bunk beds. "There are no electric fans or air conditioning, so the room is like a steamer in summer. Some workers prefer to sleep outdoors on the ground than live in here," Liang told the Youth Daily.

A woman carrying steel cables on a construction site Photo: CFP

Money sent home

Liang and her husband together earn 8,000 yuan each month, and 2,000 yuan of this they send home to their child and parents. "We miss our child, but home is far away and we can't afford to be going back all the time. We often make phone calls home though," she said.

Liang said that after she earned enough money she would definitely return to her home in Sichuan Province. "Maybe I'll run a small business. For me, the city is just a temporary place to stay and earn money. I don't have any emotional attachment to it, and I don't like people calling me an outsider."

Some have stronger emotional attachments to the places where they work. Yu Suqing, who works at the wharf construction site, told the Youth Daily, "Sure I would want to come back here after it is completed and see how it turned out. After all, I have worked and lived here for months. There is an emotional tie."

Although they are construction workers, these women still try to maintain their femininity in little ways. Although their hands might be calloused, some wear silver bracelets and some sport gold earrings. And while some have never been to the city center, many occasionally have their husbands accompany them to go shopping in nearby shopping malls.

The article was compiled by Zhang Yu based on a Youth Daily report.