"On the road with the women building Myanmar", 25 Jan 2016

…The political transition to democracy is accompanied by a construction boom, with new roads winding through the countryside and buildings springing up in the biggest cities. Women make up a striking portion of the labour force – a position that empowers them, but also exposes them to the risks of a loosely regulated environment…

What makes female workers appealing to the industry is very straightforward: they are cheaper. “Women are being exploited,” says Mar Mar Oo. “If a man gets 2,500 kyats [£1.35] a day, a woman would get 2,000.”…