After years of civil war, Cambodia was transforming into a vibrant market economy. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved funding to rehabilitate 500 kilometers of rural roads in seven provinces, one of the key pieces of infrastructure for Cambodia's mostly rural population to access much needed social services and opportunities in economic centers.

ADB’s project team had to consider two policy drivers, which in the end it decided to integrate into a single labor and gender mainstreaming plan. First was the Cambodian government's decision to leverage public work as a key strategy for poverty reduction and social protection in rural areas. As much as possible, local residents would be used for the project's labor needs. Second was ADB's commitment to gender equality and women empowerment in all its projects. To ensure that any economic benefit arising from employment opportunities would also extend to women, a behavior change communication (BCC) campaign was developed. The aim was to encourage local women in taking road building and construction work, and to shift contractors' attitudes on what jobs women can do.

Extensive field research and testing as part of routine BCC best practice were conducted to find out if the original campaign concept would be effective. Results showed that local residents did not respond very well to the initial concept. It had to be modified, therefore. The value of early testing was highlighted in this experience as it provided opportunities for refinement before embarking on a full project rollout.

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