Examining Intra-household Access to Productive Resources and Decision-making to Promote Gender Equality in Karnataka*

Abstract

Women play a central yet under-recognized role in India’s agricultural economy, contributing significantly to farm production while continuing to face deep-rooted inequalities in access to productive resources and household decision-making. This study examined gender differences in asset ownership and participation in decision-making among farm households in Karnataka. Data were collected in 2022–2023 from 480 individual respondents—one woman and her male counterpart from each of 240 farm households—through gender-segregated, multistage random sampling. A multinomial logit model was used to identify the determinants of three levels of decision-making involvement—limited, substantial and high—derived from a composite decision-making score (1–3 scale) across eight key agricultural and household activities. The results revealed pronounced gender disparities: only 32.5% of women owned land compared with 85.8% of men, and women’s mean decision-making score (1.72) was substantially lower than men’s (2.54). Greater access to land, agricultural information and membership in organizations significantly improved women’s likelihood of participating in household and farm decisions, confirming the strong relationship between resource access and empowerment. The study underscored continuing structural asymmetries in intra-household bargaining power, and suggested that policies promoting joint land titling, equitable training programmes and gender-inclusive institutions may contribute to advancing rural gender equality and sustainable agricultural development. JEL Classification: J16, D13, Q12, O15