English - IFAD

204
Rural Poverty Report 2011
and non-farm work across regions and sectors vary significantly; and typically in the
wages paid to women and men in the same context. Many jobs that are available to
poor rural people are insecure, require low skills and offer low wages and minimal
prospects of development. The vast majority are in the informal sector, and they
typically benefit from little or no protection either from labour laws and inspections,
or from social protection, except where there are non-job related schemes in place.
Many of the most precarious jobs have been ‘feminized’. Women account for
60 to 80 per cent of workers in the horticultural agribusiness, where they are
concentrated in low-skilled jobs and rarely receive the training that would allow them
to move up to jobs requiring qualifications. The work is seasonal and often with very
long hours. Women are frequently paid half as much as men, who have a monopoly
on skilled activities such as operating machinery, applying pesticides and maintaining
equipment – all jobs that are secure and bring social benefits. Women are also
over-represented among low-paid or unpaid home-based workers. 337
Informal employment in local segments of global agricultural value chains is an
important source of opportunities for non-farm jobs in some regions. On the other
“Then my husband went out of the
village for labour. Some days he
would get work and some days he
would not. He would earn a little
money and with that we would run
the household needs… That time
was difficult.”
Rawela Jan,
female, 40 years, Pakistan
“When we do labour outside, then
we can only earn when we work. And
they stand on our heads to make
sure we work. We have to work for
12 hours. They also give salary at
their own discretion. We do not
receive salary on time. Sometimes
they give after a month. Sometimes
10 to 15 days after month-end.
The household is not run this way.
We need money every month to
run the household.”
Muhammad Naveed,
male, 22 years, Pakistan