Women in Agriculture: An evaluation of the Central scheme in Palakkad district (Kerala)

Abstract

The Human Development Report for 1995 published by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) made a striking revelation that there was not a single country where women enjoyed equality with men. The estimates showed that women performed $ 11 trillion worth of unpaid or invisible economic activity worldwide. According to the findings of the 31- country study, women work longer hours than men do. On an average, women put in more time on work than men: 13 per cent more in developing countries and six per cent more in developed countries. Women bear 53 per cent and men 47 per cent of the burden of work in developing countries; the corresponding figures are 51 per cent and 49 per cent in developed economies. Women, in fact, contribute more than half the wealth of a nation; yet, they are denied economic, social, and even legal rights and privileges that are granted to men.