ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the differences in the use of men's and women's time in various agricultural and other activities in rice-based farming systems, based on evidence from farm-household surveys. It focuses on data collected from farm and household surveys in six villages in the district of Nadia, West Bengal. There are: Barasat, Nagarukhra, Simulpukuria, Bhandarkona, Singa, and Chanda. Modern rice technology seems to have exerted a significant influence upon farmers in these villages. The study villages are dominated by rice production that is the most important agricultural activity and the major avenue for income, employment, and work. Since the concept of "work" or "economic activity" remains elusive, it is difficult to analyze the gender dichotomy of the labor market. Time allocation methods are used to redefine total activity into "economic production" activities and "home production" activities, the latter encompassing not only such activities as education, child care, and domestic work, but also activities that may be called "expanded economic".
