Women in Agriculture: Counting the Labor Force in Developing Countries

Abstract

Although the undercounting of women in the labor force by censuses and labor force surveys has attracted considerable comment in the past decade, evidence of its prevalence has been sporadic. This paper compares the total counts of men and women in the farm labor force (self-employed, wage laborers, and unpaid family helpers) obtained from population censuses and surveys, from estimates prepared by the International Labour Office, and from censuses of farm holdings coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations--each of which follows different definitions and procedures. Whereas the three sources reveal quite similar counts of men in the labor force on average, they differ remarkably in their counts of women. New estimates based on the more inclusive practices of the FAO censuses substantially raise the proportions female in the agricultural labor force above those reported by the ILO. These new estimates are relevant to agricultural development planning and to theories of gender roles and labor allocation.