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Empowering women in dairy cooperatives in Bihar and Telangana, India: a gender and caste analysis

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  • Ravichandran, Thanammal
  • Farnworth, Cathy Rozel
  • Galiè, Alessandra

Abstract

Dairy animals enable women to put food on the table and to earn money. India is a leading dairy economy with a vast number of milk producers organized into women-only and mixed-gender cooperatives. We use focus group discussions, interviews, and ethnography to analyze four dairy cooperatives in Bihar and Telangana and to investigate the effectiveness of these cooperatives in including women and in strengthening women’s control over dairy income. In three of the four cooperatives analyzed, gender and caste norms restrict women’s inclusion and limit their control over income. The fourth cooperative emerged from self-help groups and is part of a women-only dairy union. In this cooperative, we find women-only leadership, empowerment of women of all castes, and successful engagement of men as supporters. Our findings suggest that dairy cooperatives can be empowering for women when they emerge from women’s activism.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravichandran, Thanammal & Farnworth, Cathy Rozel & Galiè, Alessandra, . "Empowering women in dairy cooperatives in Bihar and Telangana, India: a gender and caste analysis," Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security (Agri-Gender), Africa Centre for Gender, Social Research and Impact Assessment, vol. 6(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afgend:362661
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.362661
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrea Cornwall, 2016. "Women's Empowerment: What Works?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 342-359, April.
    2. Bidner, Chris & Eswaran, Mukesh, 2015. "A gender-based theory of the origin of the caste system of India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 142-158.
    3. Garikipati, Supriya, 2008. "The Impact of Lending to Women on Household Vulnerability and Women's Empowerment: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2620-2642, December.
    4. Cathy Farnworth, 2009. "Well-Being is a Process of Becoming: Respondent-Led Research With Organic Farmers in Madagascar," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 89-106, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Professor Never Assan, 2025. "Climate-Smart Smallholder Dairy Farming in the Global South: Integrating Gender Equity for Methane Mitigation," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(6), pages 5708-5724, June.

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