Abstract
This paper considers gendered labor access and opportunities in the domains of the rural landscape and agricultural market place of developing countries. By rural landscape we mean women’s time use in non-remunerative activities like fuel and water collection, reproductive care and domestic work, and uncompensated agricultural labor in rural regions. When considering the agricultural market place we focus on women’s ability to engage with local or international markets in obtaining fair value for their labor or produce. In particular, we consider agricultural wage labor in non-farm work, in local and global value chains, and in self-employment (especially small businesses). The rural landscape and the agricultural market place may be gender-contested for a variety of reasons including credit and land market imperfections that have differential consequential impacts by gender, as well as long-standing socio-cultural norms that dictate gender relations and sanction the manner in which women are expected to engage with non-domestic spheres.