Publication

This paper analyzes the role of gender-segmented labor markets in increasing the demand for female labor, as well as the significance of women’s increased participation in wage labor for female empowerment. Further, the author explores the causes of the increased feminization of smallholder production, as growing numbers of rural women become the principal farmers. The paper associates this phenomenon with an increase in the proportion of rural female household heads; male absence from the farm, related to growing male migration and/or employment in off-farm pursuits; and the decreased viability of peasant farming under neoliberalism.