Gendered Impacts of Agricultural Mechanisation on Women Involved in Paddy Farming: A Case Study of Gilan Province, Iran

Agricultural mechanisation has become an important strategy for increasing agricultural productivity and profitability in many countries. Although mechanisation has improved farming efficiency, its impacts on individuals involved in the agricultural production process remain complex and not fully explored. Existing research in Iran has primarily focused on the economic and technical outcomes of mechanisation, with limited attention to its impacts on farmers and farmworkers, particularly women. This study aims to examine how agricultural mechanisation affects women who are engaged in rice farming in Gilan Province, Iran, focusing on their productive, reproductive and community roles, as well as their practical and strategic gender needs. This study adopted a qualitative case study design and data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion with women farmers, family farmworkers and wage farmworkers involved in rice farming. Moser's Gender Planning Framework guided the development of the interview guide and the thematic analysis of the data. Findings demonstrate the strong interconnectivity of women’s productive, reproductive, and community management roles as well as their gender needs. Agricultural mechanisation reshapes women’s productive roles, which transforms their reproductive and community roles along with their practical and strategic gender needs. Another finding indicates that the impacts of mechanisation differ according to women's socio-economic positions. While mechanisation reduced physical labour and saved time, enabling women farmers to undertake more managerial roles and diversify their income sources, wage farmworkers experienced declining employment opportunities, reduced income and greater livelihood insecurity. The effects on family farmworkers were more varied and depended on whether they worked exclusively on their family farms or also relied on wage labour. Women who worked only on family farms generally benefited from reduced labour and drudgery, whereas those who also engaged in wage labour did not benefit from mechanisation as they continued to work on both their own family farms and others' farms to supplement household income. The study also identifies gender-blind machinery design, limited access to mechanised technologies and training, and persistent socio-cultural norms as major barriers to women's equal participation in mechanised agriculture. The study concludes that agricultural mechanisation is not merely a technological intervention but a process that reshapes gender relations, employment opportunities and rural livelihoods. It highlights the need for gender-responsive mechanisation policies that promote inclusive technology design, equitable access to mechanised technologies and training, equal employment opportunities, and women's meaningful participation in mechanised agriculture.

Collections

Master-/Bachelor-/Staatsexamensarbeiten

Full item page

Gendered Impacts of Agricultural Mechanisation on Women Involved in Paddy Farming: A Case Study of Gilan Province, Iran

Files

Date

Authors

Advisors/Reviewers

Further Contributors

Contributing Institutions

Publisher

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

License

Quotable link

Abstract

Link to publications or other datasets

Description

Notes

Original publication in

Original publication in

Anthology

Collections

URI of original publication

Forschungsdaten

Series

Citation