Holding up half the sky on India’s farms, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• In 2023-24, at least 117.6 million women were engaged in agriculture, comprising a significant portion of the agricultural workforce.
• Women's participation in the rural workforce rose to 46.5% in 2023-24 from 35% in 2011-12, yet remains lower than global averages.
• A majority (73% in 2023-24) of rural women workers are self-employed, reflecting limited wage employment opportunities.
• Women's daily agricultural wage averaged less than ₹300 in surveyed villages, with a significant gender wage gap.

Detailed Insights:

• Official statistics often undercount women's agricultural contributions due to the informal, unpaid, and intermittent nature of their work, intertwined with care responsibilities.
• The rise in self-employed women in agriculture indicates a lack of alternative wage-based employment, with women comprising nearly half (47.2% in 2023-24) of self-employed agricultural workers.
• Women constitute the primary workforce in livestock rearing, with approximately 40 million women engaged in animal rearing activities across rural households.
• Despite their significant contribution, women's wages in agriculture remain low, with implicit earnings from livestock rearing estimated at around ₹100 per day in Uttar Pradesh villages.
• While women constitute about half of the agricultural workforce, only 10% of rural women own land, highlighting disparities in asset ownership.
• Women agricultural workers (21.7 million) now outnumber male workers (19.7 million), marking a shift in post-Independence India, yet wage disparities persist.

Feminization of Agriculture

Key Concepts Involved:

• Self-employment: Individuals working for themselves rather than as employees of a business or organization.
• Gender Wage Gap: The difference between wages earned by men and wages earned by women.
• Informal Economy: Economic activities that are not regulated or protected by the state.