The Gendered Burden of Liberalisation: The Impact of India's Economic Reforms on Its Female Agricultural Labour

Abstract

India has experienced unprecedented growth in the last two decades-a development largely attributed to economic reforms initiated in the early 1990s. India's approach to liberalisation has been commended for its gradual implementation and its sympathy for poor rural workers. Studies examining the relevance of this claim generally use national survey data, which are seriously limited. So far little effort has been focussed on understanding what reforms actually mean for the rural poor using primary data. In this paper, we use data from a household survey carried out in the villages of Andhra Pradesh. We ask what impact India's reforms have had on its female agricultural labour-who are arguably among its poorest. Specifically, we investigate the impact of three developments considered fundamental to India's economic transformation: a sectoral shift in favour of industry, credit market reforms and poverty alleviation strategies. We argue that despite having a beneficial impact overall, economic reforms have resulted in further marginalising rural women into badly paid and socially debasing waged work.

The feminization of agriculture or the feminization of agrarian distress? Tracking the trajectory of women in agriculture in India

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Competitiveness of Food Crop Commodity in Developing Countries: A Semi-Systematic Literature Review

“…Several analyses of developing-country agricultural resources back up the IMF's concerns. According to Garikipati and Pfaffenzeller (2012), the agricultural labor force in developing nations is comprised of unskilled employees, particularly underpaid or unpaid women. Kannan (2015) shows in his analysis of crop performance and agricultural expenses and revenue for developing nations that, despite a considerable increase in agricultural income from 1981-1982 to 2007-2008, farm employees' actual pay grew only modestly.…”

Climate Change, Agrarian Distress, and the Feminization of Agriculture in South Asia*

“…Research from South Asia suggests nuanced effects of the feminization of agriculture on women, complicated by differences in the mechanism of feminization, household status, and socioeconomic status. Studies demonstrate that women-particularly poor women-are bearing the brunt of the heavy workloads, instability, risk, and psychological stress of agricultural livelihoods, without radical or sustained increases in agency and empowerment (Adhikari and Hobley 2015;Bhandari and Chinnappa Reddy 2015;Garikipati and Pfaffenzeller 2012). Women entering agricultural wage work generally lack resources and opportunities to pursue alternative livelihoods, largely due to limited formal education, and these jobs have not only low pay but also low status (Garikipati 2008;Pattnaik et al 2018;Srivastava and Srivastava 2010).…”