Call for Proposals for Short-term Research Grants
Proposals are invited for short-term research grant (5 grants) on the theme ‘Reading the Changes in Rural Women’s Employment’ by the Vina Mazumdar Memorial Fund, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi. The concept note for the research grant is given below. Proposals in approximately 3000 words stating the problem, research objectives, research plan and methodology are invited from registered doctoral students for a grant of up to Rs.1 Lakh for the year 2025-2026. 30% of the this Rs. One Lakh grant component will comprise reimbursement for field work related travel and stay. Post-doctoral students with institutional registration who are not recipients of any other fellowship grants are also eligible to apply. The proposals will be vetted by a Research Committee comprising experts and senior faculty from CWDS. The grant shall be disbursed in three instalments with monitoring of progress on a periodic basis.
Interested candidates may send their research proposal along with an updated CV to: vmmf@cwds.ac.in
latest by 20th August 2025.
If you have any questions/queries please feel free to contact:
Prof. Neetha N.
Co-ordinator
CWDS – VMMF Short-term Research Grants
Email: neetha@cwds.ac.in
Concept note
Reading the Changes in Rural Women’s Employment
Agriculture has always occupied a critical position in women’s employment. The discussion on women in agriculture in the initial phase centred mostly around the issue of women’s invisibility, marginalisation, segregation and volatility in agricultural employment. The changes in agriculture such as introduction of high yielding varieties, improved irrigation facilities, shifts in cropping pattern, changes in technology were noted as leading to declining shares of women in agriculture, though its intensity varied across regions. Women’s role in agriculture, as cultivators or as farm workers has also been a subject of much debate and discussion, given the limited ownership of land among women. The larger crisis in agriculture from the 1990s accompanied by structural changes in the economy, saw a shift in the discourse around women’s employment in agriculture. Macro data since late 1990s show an overall decline in women’s work force participation rate, with a decline in the share of agriculture in women’s employment.
Recent data, however highlight a reversal of the overall trend with an increase in the work force participation rate of women accompanied by a rise in the share of agriculture in women’s employment. Work participation rates among women in rural areas increased from 24.8 percent in 2017-18 to 47.6 percent in 2023-24. This increase was on account of a rise in self-employment in agriculture which saw an increase from 53 percent in 2018-19 to 80.7 percent during the period. A large chunk of self employed in agriculture are unpaid workers (51 percent in 2023-24) and the rest are mostly own account workers (29.9 percent). Another dimension that needs attention is the rise in the proportion of women own account workers (largely unpaid) who are undoubtedly mostly into subsistence farming. The unexpected increase in the importance of agriculture in women’s employment at a time when there is a decline in male employment in agriculture and days of employment in agriculture remains a paradox. Given the wide variation in agro-climatic conditions and diverse socio-political and economic contexts, it is important to nuance the macro data through field level studies for better insights.
Keeping the above context in mind, CWDS with the support of VMMF invites proposals from young scholars to undertake research studies that may probe the following question/s:
- Is the increased share of agriculture in women’s employment a sign of distress in rural employment or a larger change in the women’s role in agriculture?
- What are the nature of tasks in agriculture that is driving increases in women’s employment?
- With increased work in agriculture, what, if any, changes are taking place in gender relations within household work and responsibilities?
- How are women in agriculture relating to changing cropping patterns and new technologies in agriculture?
- What are the nature of engagement of female headed households in farming?
- How do we locate the recent shift in women’s roles from helpers to smallholder cultivators?
- What are the caste and community features of present day rural women’s employment, and how does caste and community background affect the changes taking place?
- How do climate change and the increased risks in agriculture explain and affect the increased presence of women?
- How and whether increased rates of enrolment of girls in school education is affecting/changing young women’s understanding of and role in agriculture and other employments, and how is generational difference influencing women’s relationship with agricultural work?
- Does access to non-farm, urban based employment leading to young women’s withdrawal from agriculture?
- How are state policies and the formation of women’s collectives promoted through various state programmes operating as factors in driving changes in women’s role in agriculture? What are the challenges of sustenance of women farmer producer’s collective?
- Given the highly gendered social relations and poor ownership of land among women how does one nuance these micro changes from the perspective of the larger goal of social and economic transformation, and gender equality?
State or region specific micro-studies, in depth macro-data analysis, village studies, oral histories, and other modes of research are all welcome.