# Caste and Class and Women’s Participation in the Labour Force in India Women’s participation in the labour force in India is shaped not only by gender but also by caste and class. Women do not experience the labour market as a homogeneous group. Their access to employment, type of work, wages, working conditions, mobility and opportunities for advancement are strongly influenced by their social and economic position. Caste and class intersect with patriarchy to determine which women work, what kind of work they perform, whether their work is recognised as employment, and how much control they have over their earnings and working lives. Caste has historically organised Indian society through a hierarchical system of social status, occupation and access to resources. This has had a significant influence on women’s economic participation. Women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other historically disadvantaged communities often have higher labour force participation than women from socially privileged groups, but this does not necessarily indicate greater economic empowerment. Their comparatively higher participation is often associated with economic necessity, poverty, limited household assets and dependence on wage labour. They are more likely to engage in agricultural labour, construction, domestic work, sanitation, casual employment and other informal occupations characterised by low wages and limited social protection. In contrast, women from upper-caste households may have lower labour force participation despite possessing greater educational and economic resources. This can be explained partly by social norms surrounding family honour, marriage, respectability and the perceived status of particular occupations. In some relatively affluent upper-caste families, women’s employment outside the household