Inequality and Determinants of Female Workforce Participation in Agriculture of Uttar Pradesh, India

The gender inequality in workforce participation in the agriculture sector is easily visible. There is a high participation of women in some specific tasks and some others are recognized as male dominated work. However most of the female workforce is engaged in the agriculture sector only, it is seen unequally distributed in various operations. According to NSSO 68th round data, female participation in various agricultural operations is just 17% in Uttar Pradesh of India. The diverse socio-economic status of rural Uttar Pradesh affects participation in different ways. Female participation as agricultural laborer is high in lower caste and low in high caste societies here. Participation ratio is having an increasing trend from 01–14 to 30–44 years age groups, later declining to older age groups. It is increasing from small to medium-sized households, after which it has declined sharply. Almost half (46%) of the women participation in agricultural is coming from households which derive at least half of their income from their own farming. Education level and female participation is inversely associated. Participation is found highest in families with marginal size of land holdings (74.61%), followed by small (12.66%) and medium land holding size. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been used to identify the key determinants for various operations. It has been found that household type, education level and size of land owned are most important among many other factors. This study will be helpful in suggesting ways to make the participation of women easier and more effective.