Diversification of Women Employment towards Non-Farm Sector: A District Level Study of Rural Gujarat

The rural women constitute one of the most vulnerable sections of our society but have important role in the rural employment. This study has examined the district-wise temporal changes in female rural employment during the period 1981 to 2001 by using district level data collected from various published sources for the state of Gujarat. The results have revealed that the female workers were mostly engaged in the farm sector in rural Gujarat, but their share has decelerated in the rural farm sector, and increased in the rural non-farm sector in the year 2001 vis-a-vis 1981. The growth rates of female workers in rural employment in both the rural farm and rural non-farm sectors were registered positive for the period of 1981 to 2001 in most of the districts. It is thus evident that female workers were diversifying towards rural non-farm sector in most of the districts of Gujarat. The encouragement to micro-agricultural enterprises and extension priority to female labour-friendly farm equipments are the major suggestions that have emerged from the study.