Determinants of rural female work participation in West Bengal- A study of North Bengal Region

Participation of women in economic activities is an important area of research as it has been linked to welfare of the individual along with long term benefits to society. Female work participation rates have been found to be determined by a wide range of factors with non-economic factors being more important than economic factors. In the present study an attempt has been made to identify the correlates of female work participation rates in the rural areas of North Bengal region of the state of West Bengal using village level Census data for 2011. A multiple regression analysis has also been conducted to determine the socio demographic variables that may have an effect on rural female work participation rates. Though separate set of factors have been found to be important in the different districts of the region, female literacy rates and the percentage of female SC/ST population are found to be important determinants of rural female work participation rates in the different districts of the region.