In 2011-12, 60% of rural women workers were classified as self-employed; the proportion rose to 73 per cent in 2023–24. As mechanisation has progressed and aggregate demand for labour in agriculture has declined, so has the demand for women’s labour. The majority of rural women were self-employed workers, but only 10% of rural women owned land, the primary asset for a cultivator. Women workers hold up half the sky in rural India. The Indian state has failed to correctly record the number of women workers, and to ensure that they receive decent wages and all rights as workers.

Source: The Hindu March 12, 2026 01:30 UTC