Work and worth | A call for economic justice for women in Uttarakhand

Migration-aware employment models can help integrate women into both rural and urban economies.

The plight of women in Uttarakhand is reflective of the broader malaise of unemployment and underemployment of women in India. Despite constituting nearly half the state’s population, they continue to face livelihood constraints, made even more acute by geographical limitations.

In addition, the state’s Economic Survey 2024-2025 shows that there is overdependence on low-income agriculture, limited formal employment opportunities, regional disparities, limited access to financial resources, low levels of job-oriented skill training, and weak access to productive assets such as land.

The overconcentration of economic opportunities in the Terai/plains region of the state has widened the development gap with the hills.

Despite several policy measures aimed at enhancing income opportunities like the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), there is hardly any significant diversification in women’s work.

Nearly 68% still work in agriculture and allied activities with abysmally low levels of earnings. They earn 45% less in the hills compared to their counterparts in the plains of the state.

As a result, women have been withdrawing from agriculture. This is also fuelled by male outmigration leading to land abandonment, and declining agricultural productivity in the hills.

While some women engage in small-scale horticulture, handicrafts, or informal trade, their efforts are often constrained by limited market access, inadequate training, and financial barriers.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-2024 shows that self-employed women in rural non-farm sectors earn about $82.7 (Rs 6,917) per month, which is 44% less than those working as self-employed in urban areas of the state.

Young women, particularly graduates, the less skilled, and migrants living in urban areas of the state suffer higher unemployment of over 30%.

Migrating does not help young women much in finding jobs faster in the urban labour market. Nearly one-third of women (18-35 years age-group) in Uttarakhand remain in the NEET (Neither in Education, Employment or Training) category, representing untapped potential for economic growth. 

Women are particularly disadvantaged as they face the burden of ‘time poverty’ due to their over-engagement in domestic care in addition to economic activities to support their household income. Despite higher educational attainment, women’s employability remains low due to a lack of technical and industry-aligned skills.

Ongoing research by the authors shows that skill development initiatives under the NRLM and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana have increased women’s employment prospects, yet only 26% of trained women secured stable employment, revealing gaps in industry linkages and employment absorption. 

The skill-employability imperative

Enhancing vocational training is vital to increase women’s employability. Training could include agri-entrepreneurship, Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services, tourism, healthcare, and financial services. 

Agri-entrepreneurship programmes need to cover product diversification, technology use, supply chains, and business management. Women could also be encouraged in sectors such as adventure tourism (rafting, trekking, mountaineering), hospitality, culinary arts, and digital marketing for local tourism promotion.

Given growing infrastructure demand, training in machine learning, project design, sustainable construction, equipment maintenance, solar panel installation, and green building practices is essential. 

The Uttarakhand Human Development Report 2019 shows that programmes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana need restructuring for remote accessibility, better awareness, and sector-specific training, while addressing dropout and employability concerns. Mental health support should be integrated, with counselling in schools, services for the elderly, and training for counsellors as a livelihood option.

Rethinking financial inclusion enterprise sustainability

The state government’s reports point out that strengthening micro and small enterprises (MSEs) is vital for women’s sustainable livelihoods in Uttarakhand. 

An integrated strategy must ensure access to technology, credit, skills, and marketing, with priority investments in horticulture, tourism, healthcare, and skill-based services, particularly in remote areas. 

Expanding infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and ICT, will enhance business viability, while a Rural Development Authority at the block level could co-ordinate multi-sectoral growth.

Improving financial access for women entrepreneurs requires targeted lending, simplified loan processes, concessional financing, tax incentives, and financial literacy programs. Enterprise development could be supported through skill-building in business management, branding, digital commerce, and marketing to help women expand their customer base. Removing regulatory barriers that limit market access is equally important.

A multi-stakeholder approach involving government, NGOs, private sector, and grassroots organisations is essential for strengthening supply chains, co-operative business models, and e-commerce linkages. CSR partnerships can be leveraged to scale women’s livelihood initiatives, while community-based and co-operative approaches can ensure collective resilience.

Supporting grassroots organisations in enterprise development, technology adoption, and skill training will empower women entrepreneurs and foster inclusive growth. Together, these measures can create a robust ecosystem for women-led enterprises in Uttarakhand.

Community-based tourism initiatives such as homestays, trekking routes, winter sunbathing, yoga retreats, and off-season tourism can provide sustainable employment. Convergence with forest and local institutions is essential for product development and promotion. Strengthening backward and forward linkages, cooperative business models, and e-commerce will support rural women entrepreneurs.

Migration and employment integration

Policies must recognise the interdependence between migration and women’s economic roles in hill areas. 

Ongoing research by the authors suggests that the Symbiotic Migration Model (SMM) can harness seasonal migration flows, while the Dual-Pathway Development Model (DPD) can integrate wage employment with self-sustaining entrepreneurship. The SMM leverages seasonal and permanent migration to create a structured, reciprocal economic relationship between urban and rural areas, boosting rural resilience. The DPD, on the other hand, focuses on tailored interventions for urbanised women and those returning to villages, providing them with opportunities to thrive within their respective ecosystems.

Collaboration between different state government departments is needed in vocational training, financial inclusion, and employment generation. Very often such robust policies are marred by the weak inter-departmental co-ordination in their implementation, reducing the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at enhancing women’s economic participation.

Reclaiming livelihoods, rebuilding lives

Promoting remunerative and sustainable livelihoods for women in Uttarakhand requires addressing the economic marginalisation of hill women while expanding opportunities for those in plains and urban areas. 

Policy strategies need to prioritise sectors such as horticulture, fisheries, herbs, MSMEs, handicrafts, small hydro, green energy, eco-services, and forestry as drivers of inclusive livelihoods. 

Reducing regional disparities calls for hill-centric strategies that promote economic clusters based on local niches and ecology. Diversification of agriculture into high-value options — horticulture, floriculture, fisheries, livestock, herbs, and millets — can improve productivity and women’s employment. 

This requires higher public investment in infrastructure, land pooling, co-operative farming, affordable access to inputs, technology adoption, sustainable value chains, and comprehensive crop insurance for coping with risks related to climate change, disasters, and wild animal attacks.

Surekha Dangwal is Professor and Vice-Chancellor of Doon University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Rajendra P Mamgain is a development economist and Professor of Economics at Doon University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

This article was first published under Creative Commons by 360info.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)