Women in Agriculture: A Micro-Level Study on Women's Participation in Agricultural Work in Rohtak District of Haryana (India)

Renu, Ram Kishan

Abstract: Women equally take part in agricultural work, particularly in rural India, but they are mostly unpaid, unrecognized, and limited by economic and social constraints. This paper focuses on the amount of women's involvement in agricultural activities in the Rohtak district of Haryana and how the factors affect their involvement. This paper relies on primary data that will be gathered from 107 women who are involved in farming and associated practices in chosen villages in various blocks of the district. The patterns of participation and the role of different socio-economic factors are understood by means of descriptive analysis and a multiple linear regression model. The results reveal that the level of education, social category and size of landholding are the primary factors that determine the level of participation of women in agriculture. The effect is negative and significant implying that the more educated the women are, the less likely they are to engage in manual agricultural work as they seek better non-farming employment. There is a positive impact of social category, with women in Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes being more engaged in farm labor because of economic necessity and lack of alternative sources of livelihood. The size of land-holding also has a negative correlation, with women of small and marginal agriculture families more engaged in agricultural activities than those of large landholding families with hired labour, and commonly used machines. There is no significant impact on other factors like age, marital status, household size, distance to workplace, and per capita income. In general, the research findings indicate that the involvement of women in agriculture in Rohtak is a matter of need and not choice. The results imply that there should be policies to aid in skills development, access to resources and income-generating opportunities to enhance the role and well-being of women in agriculture.

Keywords: Women's participation, Agriculture, Socio-economic factors, Rohtak district, Haryana

How to Cite?: Renu, Ram Kishan, "Women in Agriculture: A Micro-Level Study on Women's Participation in Agricultural Work in Rohtak District of Haryana (India)", Volume 15 Issue 1, January 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1458-1462, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26124152908, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26124152908