• E-ISSN 2583-6811
  • Follow us

Journal of Contemporary Politics

Article

Empowering Rural Women: An Assessment of MGNREGA’s Impact on Generating Employment and Independence for Women
  • VIEWS 407
  • PDF 31

Journal of Contemporary Politics

DOI: 10.53989/jcp.v4i1.7

Year: 2025, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 33-40

Original Article

Empowering Rural Women: An Assessment of MGNREGA’s Impact on Generating Employment and Independence for Women

Pihu Porwal1,∗

1Neerja Modi School, Shipra Path, Shanthi Nagar, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:22 February 2025, Accepted Date:15 May 2025, Published Date:10 June 2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

MGNREGA is one of the most revolutionary social welfare programs devised for India, aimed at ensuring livelihood security by providing a legal guarantee of 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to any rural household. The paper assesses the impact of MGNREGA on the socio-economic condition of rural women in terms of employable opportunities, financial freedom, and gender roles as perceived by the world at large. It explains how the scheme helps women become empowered through equal wages, arrangements for childcare facilities, and issuing payments through direct bank transfers to develop financial understanding and control. It places the policy within a broader discourse of how to reconcile democracy and development, with the contention that MGNREGA represents a model for participatory governance that intersects structural inequalities directly. Anchoring the right to work in a democratic framework, inclusiveness is promoted with infrastructure development and local resource management bonuses. It points out how democratic ideals of self-determination and equality interact with economic development's imperatives and addresses the tension between market-driven development and state-driven social welfare. But despite such successes, delayed payments at worksites with poor childcare provisions, coupled with deep-rooted societal norms, continue to be barriers. This study reflects on the two-way impact: economic and social strengthening of women and the failure of the system to achieve its objectives.

Keywords: MGNREGA, Women's Empowerment, Rural Employment, Financial Independence, Gender Equality

References

  4. Bhattarai M, Viswanathan PK. Introduction. In: Employment Guarantee Programme and Dynamics of Rural Transformation in India, India Studies in Business and Economics. (pp. 1-28) Singapore. Springer . 2018.
  5. Kajale J, Shroff S. From EGS to MGNREGS in Maharashtra: Were the Programme Potentials Achieved? In: Employment Guarantee Programme and Dynamics of Rural Transformation in India , India Studies in Business and Economics. (pp. 155-173) Singapore. Springer . 2018.
  6. Singh RK. Mgnrega: The History of an Idea. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 2017;78:1070–1077. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26906185
  7. Sen A. Employment, Technology and Development. New Delhi. Oxford University Press. 1975.
  8. Bardhan P. Awakening Giants Feet of Clay. New Delhi. Oxford University Press. 2010.
  10. Sanghi S, Srija A, Vijay SS. Decline in Rural Female Labour Force Participation in India: A Relook into the Causes. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers. 2015;40(3):255–268. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0256090915598264
  13. Das D. Role of MGNREGA in Rural Employment: A Study of Barpeta District of Assam, India. International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies. 2016;2(6):241–248. Available from: https://www.ijhsss.com/files/24_172o5717.-Darshana-Das.pdf
  14. Klasen S, Pieters J. Push or Pull? Drivers of Female Labor Force Participation During India's Economic Boom. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2012;p. 1–36. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2019447
  15. Bardhan P. Labour supply functions in a poor Agrarian economy. American Economic Review. 1979;69(1):73–83. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1802498
  17. Dasgupta P, Goldar B. Female labour supply in rural India: An econometric analysis. Indian Journal of Labour Economics. 2005;49(2):1–21. Available from: https://iegindia.org/upload/publication/Workpap/wp265.pdf
  19. Khera R, Nayak N. Women woerkers perceptions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Economic and Political Weekly. 2009;44(43):49–57. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25663707
  20. Ravindar M. Empowerment of women through MGNREGS: A study in Warangal District of Telangana State. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Modern Education. 2016;2(1):309–321. Available from: https://rdmodernresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/176.pdf
  22. Keerthi K, Kamala S. Socio economic empowerment of women under MGNREGA: A review. Paripex Indian Journal of Research. 2016;5(10):281–283. Available from: https://www.worldwidejournals.com/paripex/
  23. Mani S, Behrman JR, Galab S, Reddy PP, . Impact of the NREGS on schooling and intellectual human capital. GCC Working Paper Series 14–01. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. 2014;p. 1–50. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a089f0e5274a31e0000330/wp122_mani-et-al_impact-of-nregs-on-schooling.pdf
  24. Afridi F, Mukhopadhyay A, Sahoo S. Female labor force participation and child education in India: evidence from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. IZA Journal of Labor & Development. 2016;5(1):1–27. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40175-016-0053-y
  29. Mukhopadhyay HA, Sharan MR. NREGS in Rajasthan: Rationed Funds and Their Allocation across Villages. Economic and Political Weekly. 2015;50(6):52–60. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24481364
  32. Literacy and Education. In: Women and Men India. (pp. 37-56) 2016.

Copyright

© 2025 Published by Bangalore University. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 

  • 10 June 2025

Year: 2025, Volume: 4, Issue: 1

Article Metrics

More articles

DON'T MISS OUT!

Subscribe now for latest articles and news.