Sociological Study on the Economic Invisibility of Women Agricultural Labourers: A Descriptive Analysis

Women agricultural labourers, a major part of India's workforce, are essential for both agricultural productivity and rural health. They undertake soil preparation, sowing, seed insertion, weeding, crop picking, post-harvest treatment, animal care, and ensuring a family's food supply. Their efforts, though considerable, are overshadowed economically because their work is frequently unpaid or underpaid, and they are often excluded from official statistics and decision-making. The current descriptive sociological study examines the economic disregard faced by women agricultural labourers in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka. The study relies on primary data obtained from 300 agricultural labourers through structured interviews. For data analysis, methods such as frequency distributions, percentages, and cross-tabulation were employed in the descriptive research methodology. The findings indicate that economic invisibility is closely associated with landlessness, lack of education, wage gaps, and limited access to productive resources. Insufficient participation in household matters and limited access to governmental assistance programmes. Multiple participants indicated that their agricultural activities were not properly acknowledged either within the family or by governmental bodies. The research suggests that improving women's access to land, ensuring wage parity, and boosting social security benefits are crucial. To effectively combat economic invisibility and promote gender-equitable rural development, efforts should focus on strengthening welfare access programmes and formally recognising women's roles as agricultural labourers.

Economic Invisibility, Women Agricultural Labourers, Gender Inequality, Rural Livelihoods, Ramanagara District, Karnataka.

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