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Ethiopian Women And Girls Find Work In Construction

Published August 12, 2013 at 12:40 PM EDT
Mekedes Getachew, 19, has been working at construction sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, since she was 15 years old. Except for the heaviest lifting, she says, the laborers "all do the same work and we don't really say this is a man's job, but when it comes to salary there's a difference." She earns $1.50 a day. Men earn $2. (Gregory Warner/NPR)
Mekedes Getachew, 19, has been working at construction sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, since she was 15 years old. Except for the heaviest lifting, she says, the laborers "all do the same work and we don't really say this is a man's job, but when it comes to salary there's a difference." She earns $1.50 a day. Men earn $2. (Gregory Warner/NPR)

Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But behind the statistics and the figures is a cultural shift in a traditional society.

The vast demand for construction labor is drawing women into an industry dominated by men.

NPR’s Gregory Warner profiles one young worker and her quest to find a space of her own in the new Ethiopia.

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