Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 5-1
Percentage of Female and Male Labor Force Employed in Agriculture
(All data is 2008 unless otherwise indicated.)
% of Labor Force
% of Employed
% of Employed
Agriculture
REGION
Employed in
Females in
Males in
as % of
Country
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
GDP
SOUTH ASIA
Bangladesh
65
64.5
40
32
Bhutan
85
98 (02)
92 (02)
19
India
60 (05)
75 (01)
53 (01)
25
Maldives
.04 (04)
5 (02)
18 (02)
.07
Nepal
81
90
75
20
Pakistan
45
79
61
21
Sri Lanka
33
42 (02)
38 (02)
12
EAST ASIA
China
40
38.9
35
13
Japan
4.8
2.6
3.9
1.3
North Korea
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
21
South Korea
.07
12 (02)
9 (02)
3
Mongolia
36
42 (02)
38 (02)
19
Taiwan
.05
n.d.
n.d.
2
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Brunei
.01
n.d.
n.d.
0.7
Cambodia
85
65 (02)
71?
31
Indonesia
40
43 (02)
43 (02)
14
Laos
78
81 (90)
70 (90)
45
Malaysia
14
14 (02)
21 (02)
10
Myanmar (Burma)
70
n.d.
n.d.
49
Philippines
36
25 (02)
45 (02)
35
Singapore
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
0.01
Thailand
39 (07)
41 (07)
44 (07)
8.4
Timor-Leste
33 (07)
93 (02)
70 (02)
25
Vietnam
70
60 (06)
56 (06)
49
Sources: Asian Development Bank; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; International Labor Organization' s Global
Employment T Trends for Women 2009; World Resources Institute/Earth T Trends Organization.
levels of protection in terms of wage levels, employment
security , and health, safety , and environmental standards.
Women' s work in agriculture has become more visi-
ble over the past few decades as women farmers are be-
coming more involved in farming activities, increasingly
assuming the responsibility for household survival and
responding to new opportunities in agricultural produc-
tion. This feminization oagriculture has made rural de-
velopment in Asia considerably dependent upon women' s
capacity being enhanced as they increasingly provide vital
contributions to the development of rural communities.
WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL, RURAL SOCIETIES
By tradition, commercial agriculture is primarily a male
realm. Men prepare the land, irrigate crops, and trans-
port produce to market. They own and trade large ani-
mals such as cattle and water buffaloes. They are the ones
to cut, haul, and sell timber from forests.
T Tradition holds that the primary responsibility of ru-
ral women is maintaining the household. They raise chil-
dren, grow and prepare food, manage family poultry , and
collect water and fuel such as wood or dung. In addition,
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