EMERGENT GENDER RELATIONS IN FEMALE EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN RURAL INDIA

The paper has presented an empirical picture of inequalities, both within and outside the labour market for women, from gender relations emerging within the framework of overlapping social stratification in rural India. Analysis is based on secondary data, where the emphasis is not only on measurement of quantitative variables, but also on the interactions between various qualitative, socio-economic and socio-cultural variables. Main finding of the present study is that the participation of women in labour force varies across economic classes, social groups, religions, regions and the rural urban divide. Factors determining labour supply decisions of women are different from those of men. Interconnectedness of female employment with other social parameters which are outside the realm of the standard labour market analysis gets highlighted in the study.