Large-scale surveys show that while rural women's employment has grown over the decades, women are still largely self-employed or employed as casual labour in agriculture. They face various forms of discrimination, including job-typing that pushes them into low-paying jobs. Higher work participation per se does not lead to better outcomes unless accompanied by higher education, and/or assets. Education may not positively influence a woman's participation in work, but for women who are in the workforce, education is the most important determinant of better quality non-agricultural work. Women's autonomy, measured in terms of control over land, mobility, and a willingness to join self-help groups, enables them to move into non-agricultural jobs. The paper argues for policy interventions to increase work opportunities and enhance wages for rural women workers.
