Women's work and gender division of labour in rural hill economy- A study of hill districts in the state of West Bengal in India

The Human Development Report, 1995 mentions that ‘men normally spend no more than a quarter of their work time in unpaid activities – though there are large variations from 13% in Venezuela to 44% in the Republic of Korea’ (Human Development Report, 1995 pp.92). Women in these areas play a very significant and sometimes a dominant role in the sustenance of mountain families through their active involvement in agriculture, maintenance of livestock, kitchen garden and other income generating activities. In Sitong Khasmahal, the principal crops were carrots, radish, broom grass, red round chillies or ‘dalle khorsani, seasonal vegetables like squash, beans, ‘rai saag’ etc. A categorization of participation of the family labour has been done into three categories- “Males” if it is performed only by the male members, “Females” if performed only by the female members and “Joint” if there is no clear cut division of labour in participation in that activity. Other farm animals like goats, pigs or poultry are primarily for self consumption to be used during festivals or special occasions or to be sold off to augment family income during times of distress. Milk and other dairy products also form a steady source of income for most of the families in the sampled villages. Women's higher participation in unpaid domestic work creates a hierarchical system within the domestic sphere with women occupying the subordinate status socially and economically. The private-public dichotomy in men's and women's work relegates women's position to the household making them less empowered within and outside the home.