Feminization of Agricultural Labor and Women's Domestic Status: Evidence from Labor Households in India (original) (raw)

2006, SSRN Electronic Journal

Women's share of agricultural wage employment is rising across the Indian subcontinent. Studies examining this process of feminization tend to be divided along lines of an ideological debate following either the 'poverty-push' or the 'demandpull' argument. This debate however has largely ignored the institution of patriarchy. This study revisits the debate with a focus on domestic gender relations. We find that, despite increased labor market participation, women's household status remains acutely depressed. Women laborers, with access to productive assets, however, are effectively reworking gender relations within and outside the household. Their experiences, we argue, have implications for transformative policies. * The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from Department for International Development (award number R7617) and Newton Trust (award number INT 2.05(d)). I thank Sara Horrell, Paul Mosley, Hazell Johnson and GN Rao for useful comments on an earlier version of this paper. I am deeply indebted to my field research team: