This all-women team is not just breaking ceilings, it’s building them too, ETHRWorld

Civil engineer Kanagambihai T has been part of several construction projects in her career spanning two decades. Now she will be heading the construction of a 13-storey multistorey building (MSB) at L&T’s Manapakkam campus in Chennai. What’s more, all 17 of her team members are women.

The project executed at a financial outlay of ₹ 500 crore is an example of women breaking barriers to enter the hitherto male dominated construction sector. The team members, who come from different engineering streams such as civil, electrical, mechanical, mechatronics and architecture, do everything from planning, quality assurance and control, safety, accounts and administration.

Their day begins with a meeting inside a container-turned-office at the worksite. After that each one goes to supervise their respective teams, while some check the inventory and review design and quality. One of the engineers ensures all workers follow safety practices such as wearing helmets, gloves and other gear.

Kanagambihai, project manager, says the 18-member women’s team is relatively young, its members aged between 22 and 42. “It is the first job for seven of our team members. The advantage of having an all-women team is that they are in a comfort zone,” she says.

Besides employing their core engineering skills, the women have…