The traffic intersection in Karwi is the busiest in the morning. Daily wage labour, numbering in a few hundreds, congregates there seeking work. Men outnumber women at the chowk; men are called labour while women are called rangers. The differences are not restricted to just job titles, women are not hired quickly, they are hired in more labour-intensive jobs and lower paying ones. In fact, they are hired on contractual basis at per hour rates, for example a group of five women hired by a contractor for an hour at 1000 rupees to empty a truckload of sand. While men are hired to make cement and mortar mixes, or operate heavy machinery, or in curing, women are hired for all sorts of hauling jobs - carrying sand, cement, mortar, bricks. Women have little choice in the type of job, work conditions or pay. They also have little choice when it comes to workplace harassment, which is an everyday occupational hazard.

Women found it difficult to talk openly about workplace harassment, some women told us that getting work was also dependent on how forward they are willing to be. Women are propositioned and objectified on their job - 'you look good today', 'that bindi looks good on you', 'your bangles are beautiful' - seemingly innocuous statements that cause deep discomfort and are employed not only to differentiate between women workers, but also used to violate women’s personal spaces.

Many women told us how men would touch them and brush against their bodies on the pretext of handing over cement masala. If women protest, which they do daily, they're told off for creating unnecessary problems at work, 'if you can't handle this, why don't you sit at home.' Women are asked to run personal errands for men such as frequenting pan shops to buy gutka, tobacco, beedi, paan, which gives men more opportunities to touch and grope them. In our brief conversations, women said they find it shameful to talk about everyday workplace harassment. They are also apprehensive to talk about this in their homes as families tend to hold women primarily responsible for inviting abusive behaviour.