The male/female divide

The construction industry is notorious for it’s dominance as a “male” industry. In the USA it would be rare to have a female roofer, plumber or an electrician bid for a job.

But in Bali one interesting area where females work side by side men in the construction industry is as concrete helpers. Here the male/female divide is that women move the concrete and the men apply it to brick walls etc.

The surprise is that pound for pound (or rather kilo for kilo) the women move way more weight as men do the finer motor-skilled application work. I guess I’m falling for my own stereotyping by thinking that only men do heavy lifting. Go figure…