​Thembisa Shologu
The construction industry has for a long time been perceived as the domain of men but thanks to government initiatives like the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) women are tapping into the sector.
Eunice Khumalo is one of those women with have benefited from the Department of Roads and Transport's EPWP, which provides work opportunities to poor and unemployed South Africans.
"Construction remains a male-dominated industry, but women are starting to become better represented this sector to its full power, but we need to unteach this notion to the youth, especially young women," said Khumalo. 
According to her passion, commitment, confidence, are some of the competencies that women need to get ahead in the industry.
"Women can do construction work just as well as men do and maybe perform those duties more than them. Road construction has taught me a lot of resilience, helped me realized that I could do anything if I put my mind to it.  
"My job includes fixing of potholes, to cover resurfacing, drainage repairs and cleaning of roads and footpaths," said Khumalo. 
Khumalo is part of the project aimed at maintaining the provincial road network.
The national Department of Transport has allocated R 661 213 million for Provincial Road Maintenance Grant for the financial year 2021/22.
​The target is to ensure that 49% of women are skilled during the programme. 
"I would like to encourage young women not to undermine these kinds of jobs or opportunities, treat every job that comes your way with respect, dedication and with love and you will succeed," said Khumalo.
Another participant, Alina Simphiwe Nkuta 's job included road patroller, roadside assistance, cleaning of roads including where there had been accidents and the removal of objects on the road that might cause accidents.
"I also did permanent road patching and a flag person to control traffic during maintenance. This needs good communication skills to ensure that accidents do not happen on your watch. 
"We had challenges working with police who would sometimes be rude to us on accidents scenes, people pretending to have breakdowns on the roadside and then try to hijack our cars in the process and impatient motorists who would drive off (during road constriction) even when there are a stop and cause accidents on the other side where a 'go' sign is up," said Nkuta.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as the lead coordinator of the EPWP created a total of 938 688 EPWP work opportunities during the 2020/21 financial year (from April 2020 to March 2021).
These work opportunities were created through 13 496 EPWP projects implemented across four EPWP Sectors, namely Infrastructure, Non-State, Environment and Culture, and Social.
Through these work opportunities, government has transferred a total of R9.3 billion as income support to EPWP participants in the 20/21 financial year alone. END​