TO WORK OR NOT TO WORK: FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT AMONG REANGS OF TRIPURA

Abstract

Amidst growing concerns of declining work participation of women in India, an area of further apprehension has been the rapidly dropping work participation of women from the tribal communities. According to official data, there has been a sharp decline in women’s work participation among the tribes of Tripura, and among the Reangs in particular. Reang women’s work participation rate plummeted from over 56 per cent during 1961 to just around 36 per cent during 2001 and further to 35 per cent during 2011. The present paper investigates the factors associated with both farm and non-farm (salaried) employment among the Reangs. Primary data has been collected from 400 Reang women residing in twenty villages distributed over South Tripura and Gomati districts. We carry out non-parametric as well as parametric analysis, specifically, chi-squared tests and multinomial logit regressions. Nearly thirty per cent of the surveyed Reang women in their prime ages were found to be non-working. The proportion of non-working women is almost twice among those with higher education, above primary level. Women with lower education are more likely to work in both farm and salaried employment. Age is a deciding factor for work, with a statistically significant positive relationship between age and every kind of work. Other significant variables affecting the decision to work are husband’s education level, household standard of living, family size, household structure and women’s mobility. It points towards the distinct possibility of socioeconomic segmentation of women’s occupational choices and that Reang women with higher education may not be working for lack of suitable job opportunities.