Globally, women encounter substantial obstacles in owning and controlling land due to discriminatory laws, cultural norms, and limited access to financial resources. Given that land is a crucial asset for agricultural production and economic stability, particularly in rural areas, the lack of ownership directly impacts women’s ability to earn a livelihood and participate in decision-making processes. Without secure land rights, women are often forced into precarious labour markets, including low-paying informal jobs or wage labour, further marginalising them in household and community structures. The absence of land ownership also restricts their transition into non-agricultural employment, limiting their economic independence and overall economic contributions.
Recently, LEAD collaborated with the Open University, UK, on a study that delves into understanding the nuances that shape women’s trajectories around migration and participation in the workforce, resulting from land inheritance discrimination in agriculture. To gather inputs from experts, we hosted a consultation workshop on Land Ownership, Migration and Its Implications for Women’s Labour Force Participation.
The workshop brought together researchers, practitioners, and policy experts (from The World Bank, UNIDO, ISST, IOM, and FAO, among others) for a rich and engaging discussion, led by Dr. Ece Kocabicak (Open University, UK) and Dr. Sabina Yasmin (LEAD at Krea University), and moderated by Preethi Rao (LEAD at Krea University). The dialogue focused on how gendered inheritance patterns affect women’s movement from agricultural to non-agricultural sectors and their broader participation in the labour market.
Key Insights from the Workshop
Dr. Ece Kocabicak highlighted the challenges women face in employment and migration across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Gendered property and labour relations in agriculture influence women’s participation in the labour force, especially in non-agricultural sectors. She discussed how the lack of land ownership reduces their bargaining power and decision-making authority, further marginalising women in both household and community spheres. And she also highlighted how marriage migrations significantly impact employment, with many women forced into informal or temporary jobs due to childcare and elderly responsibilities. This was supported by a quantitative analysis that underscored how patriarchal control over women’s labour restricts access to education and economic independence, and global experiences from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. It was observed that when women own land, there is a generational shift towards prioritising education and employment opportunities, whereas when men own land, they tend to view women as cultivator labour and focus on arranging their marriages. Migration patterns also revealed that marriage migration and post-migration experiences significantly impact women’s employment opportunities. Due to childcare responsibilities, many women who migrate post-marriage are forced to take up informal and temporary jobs.
The current policy framework addresses land inheritance discrimination and supports rural women as farmers and petty commodity producers, but overlooks their rights beyond the village. While some policies, like those in China, promote moving women out of agriculture.
The discussions raised several important questions: Who stays on the farm, and who migrates? Who decides to migrate? How do women transition to urban areas? etc. These questions were explored through a follow-up qualitative study in India. Dr. Sabina Yasmin from LEAD shared the preliminary insights from the study, which delved into the complex dynamics of marriage migration and rural-to-urban migration through qualitative interviews conducted in three states: Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The interactions with two groups of women 1) women working as unpaid labour in non-subsistence agricultural households in rural areas 2) women who have migrated by marriage to urban areas from rural agricultural households brought forward experiences on how patrilineal land inheritance patterns limit women’s economic independence, with many women voluntarily transferring inherited land to male siblings despite of awareness about their rights around inheritance. It also highlights that men tend to have greater migration opportunities either for education or for work compared to women, who face several socio-economic barriers like limited infrastructure, care responsibilities, lack of education and skills, along with discriminatory gender and cultural norms. The key enablers for women’s employment include better mobility, support for care work, and access to education and skilling. Another interesting insight that emerged was the contrast in aspiration among women: young, unmarried and educated women expressed strong desires to transition to non-agricultural jobs, whereas married or widowed women with children focused more on securing better opportunities for their children rather than pursuing employment or having aspirations for themselves.
The experts highlighted some ideas for implementation, organisational agenda, issues and challenges as well as potential solutions as highlighted here:
- Women as agents for driving economic growth: There was a strong emphasis on unlocking the economic potential of women as a critical part of the future workforce. Reforming land inheritance laws was identified as a key lever to advance women’s economic empowerment.
- Agriculture and the future of rural women: While agriculture alone may not offer a sustainable livelihood pathway for rural women, integrating them into broader agri-food systems can unlock new economic opportunities.
- Technology, market access and skill development: Training women in emerging technologies was seen as essential to enhancing agricultural productivity. Experts also recommended integrating women into agri-processing value chains to help them overcome market access barriers and tap into global opportunities.
- Social network and economic participation: Though informal social networks—particularly in rural settings—can offer limited support (e.g., childcare), they are insufficient to bridge the larger gap in women’s economic participation.
Policy & Future Research Implications
The workshop consultation also opened up a conversation on potential opportunities for the participant organisations to add value in the role of public contributors, offering their expertise and guidance for the research and its scale-up. In the next leg of the project, a collaboration with global partners investigates how women’s unpaid agricultural work limits their access to non-agricultural employment, making significant advances in theories and policies on gender and development.
Photo Credit: EqualStock IN/Pexels
About the Authors
Sabina Yasmin is a Senior Research Fellow at LEAD and was also a Bharat Inclusion Fellow. Her research interests include agricultural economics, rural finance, development economics and applied microeconomics. Sabina is immensely passionate about using her work to uplift marginalised people. Before joining LEAD, she taught economics to engineering and social science students at SRM University-Amravati.
Ojasvi Bhardwaj is a Research Associate with the Financial Well-being and Social Protection vertical at LEAD. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Her research interests are focused on the intersection of development economics, climate economics, and behavioural economics.
Vandana Mohandas is a Research Associate with the Financial Well-Being and Social Protection vertical at LEAD. She has a Master’s degree in Economics from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. A passionate researcher, she is drawn to the themes of gender, behavioural economics and game theory.