Female construction workers take a group photo at the workers dormitory. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"In fact, the room for promotion for these women is small, and management positions are held by men. There is also gender discrimination. They're not paid the same as men even though they do the same kind of work," Liu said.

"Male workers can earn 170 yuan for 10 to 11 hours of work placing rebar at a construction site, but women can only earn 150 yuan for the same work."

Women should also be treated differently when they are pregnant or after they give birth, but the reality is that they aren't given any special treatment, Liu added.

"Besides, the rate at which female workers sign a labor contract is very low - less than 20 percent. In other words, many of these workers' rights aren't guaranteed, and their employers may suspend their salary."

Zhao Wei, a professor at the School of Philosophy and Social Science at Beijing Normal University, said women are not physically built for the high-impact work on construction sites and they should coordinate with their husbands to take on lower impact jobs, such as painting.

She added that the workers' living quarters were squalid and often didn't have a bathroom.

"Their living conditions are terrible. These workers can't bathe in their dormitories," Zhao said.

She told China Daily that more middle-aged women are following their husbands into construction work in recent years because their children have gone off to college or have started their careers and don't need their parents' care as much.

Zhao suggested that female construction workers older than 40 years old consider changing jobs.

"They are not qualified for the work due to their declining physical strength. They should go into business for themselves or look into jobs in housekeeping."