Women in Agriculture: Breaking the Grass Ceiling

By: Ashok Khandelwal and Shipra Deo

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Synopsis: The lives of women in rural India cannot be visualized without agriculture and allied activities. As per census 2011 figures, four out of five women workers in rural India work as agriculture workers, as owner cultivators or as wage workers. This research monograph is about women farmers—women who are engaged primarily in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits and predominantly belong to small and marginal land holdings households. It is the outcome of a baseline survey done in the year 2010-11 in three districts of Uttar Pradesh as part of an action intervention project. Based on the survey findings, it discusses the structural and other factors that promote and perpetuate gender inequality and prevent women from realizing their full potential as farmers; presents the struggles, positive experiences and practices; explores possible interventions at different levels for different stakeholders; and suggests a framework keeping the women's agency/empowerment at center stage while simultaneously enhancing their wellbeing. This title is co-published with Aakar Books. Print editions not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)