The Socio-Economic Conditions of Women Agricultural Labourers in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu in India

Abstract

The seasonal nature of agriculture and low productivity reduce demand for female labor and as a result, forced idleness is higher among women than men. Women’s productivity in agriculture also suffers from uneconomic holdings and subsistence nature of agriculture in which the family consumes the produce. Tasks performed by women are labor-intensive and mostly done by hand. This has reduced the work efficiency of women. Regardless of these variations, there is hardly any activity in agricultural production.