Like their counterparts in the Federal Republic, women in the GDR often were limited to subordinate or menial positions as unskilled or semi-skilled laborers. Lacking other opportunities, although gradually more vocational and educational opportunities were intentionally opened up for women in the GDR, many single women had to do physically demanding work in sectors such as construction. Construction work, though, at least paid well in some cases. In 1959, the construction industry in the GDR employed around 39,390 women; they accounted for approximately 8.7 percent of the industry’s total workforce. In the Federal Republic, only 2.7 of construction workers were women.