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COMPENDIUM, IEEC-2023   ( ISBN : 978-81-967860-4-5 )
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Theme-4: Advances in Social Management in Agriculture and Allied Sciences

Women’s Economic Participation and Decision Making: A Review from Rural India

Ekta, Preeti Sharma and Lokendra Singh Kishnawat

PAU, Ludhiana.
ektamachra9510@gmail.com

Abstract

Women form the backbone of agriculture and allied activities in India, but their contribution has often been overlooked and undervalued. Their role has evolved from being a homemaker to a multifaceted personality who actively contributes to social and economic development worldwide. Promoting women's economic empowerment is crucial for achieving gender equality and reaping benefits for individuals and communities. This review paper aims to explore whether women's increasing role as economic producers in agriculture and allied fields in India leads to an increase in their decision-making power at household level. A total of 20 articles which were published in last 15 years (2008-2023) were included in this review. The literature for review was taken from journals which were indexed in Web of Science and Scopus or were NAAS rated. Appropriate keywords were used to capture all the relevant articles, and the screened articles were selected on the basis of their titles and abstracts to ensure that they were pertinent to the research question. Opinion pieces or conceptual papers were excluded. The extracted data was analyzed to identify patterns or trends in the literature. It was revealed that women's increased economic power does not automatically lead to increased decision-making power. Study revealed that there are many factors such as the ownership of productive resources, SHG membership, education, age, and socio-economic class at play which significantly affects the decision-making power of the women. Patriarchal structures, psychological factors, low financial accessibility and lack of vocational training were identified as major factors responsible for restricting the women from exercising their power in decision-making. Empowering women economically has benefits that extend beyond household and community decision-making. It can also lead to improvements in health outcomes and education, both of which are essential for the holistic development of communities and nations.

IEEC-2023 at RARI (SKNAU, Jobner), Jaipur, Rajasthan organised by Society of Extension Education, Agra, India