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The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network April 2014 | Vol. 8, No.1

Economically Empowering Cambodia Women Road Workers by Karin Schelzig1

A unique ADB project is empowering Cambodian women by ensuring they get their fair share of work building up to 1,500 km of rural roads across the country. The Promoting Women’s Access to Jobs in Rural Road Construction and Maintenance subproject was funded

by the Gender and Development Co-operation Fund (GDCF) and implemented by CARE Cambodia, and social marketing firm 17 Triggers.

It aimed to increase access for Cambodian women to rural road rehabilitation and maintenance jobs created by the Rural Road Improvement Project (RRIP) project financed by the ADB. The subproject successfully developed and tested gender training manuals and behavior change materials, conducted Training of Trainers for national and local government

officials, worked with road contractors and rural community members, and supported communes develop registration lists for local residents interested in rural road construction jobs. More than 700 women signed up, illustrating the success of the project in opening the

eyes of participants to the opportunities available to them. Changing contractor attitudes toward what women can do was a key issue. Together these activities will help achieve RRIP’s target of women having access to 40% of the unskilled labor days created, thus giving them access to income and supporting women's economic empowerment.

Some women with RRIP road construction jobs have said that the subproject has allowed them to earn money without having to work far away from their homes and families, such as at garment factories. Another woman said her work as a grass planter and road

maintainer, earning US$109 per month, has enabled her to pay for food for her family, cover part of her mother’s medical treatment and the costs of sending her children to school. Other women have gained confidence to do non-traditional work. One woman said

that bringing an income home had brought about household changes - “...the most significant change from my new job is that my husband now helps me with housework and other tasks around our home while I am busy or working overtime on road construction." View video.

---------------------------------- The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development

Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this

paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as

to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

1 ADB Senior Social Sector Specialist, ADB Cambodia Resident Mission