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More broadly, social norms generally assumethat women will take primary responsibility fordomestic chores and the care of young childrenand other family members. This limits theirparticipation in the labour market compared tomen or confines them to lower quality and lowerpaid jobs and livelihoods that can be ‘reconciled’with unpaid work, but often at great cost towomen themselves.The power of social norms is such that womensometimes do not claim their legal rights dueto pressure on them to conform to societalexpectations. For example, even where womencan legally inherit land on an equal basis withmen, a woman may forego this right in order tomaintain good relations with her brothers, whosesupport she may rely upon in case of maritaldispute, widowhood or economic need. Thispractice is prevalent in many parts of South Asia,especially when women are married far awayfrom their birth villages. 32In 2005, India took a major leap forward byamending the Hindu Succession Act (1956) togrant daughters and sons equal inheritanceshares to agricultural land at the national level.In practice, a number of factors have hamperedimplementation of these provisions on theground. These include: resistance from brothersagainst their sisters inheriting parental land; thebelief that the dowry constitutes the daughter’sshare of her natal family’s property; complicatedadministrative systems; and women’s ownfragmentary understanding of their legal rights. 33Even though most women reported wanting toinherit land, they were reluctant to upset theirnatal families, especially brothers.To address the gap in the implementation ofthis important law requires efforts at multiplelevels: legal literacy campaigns are needed toraise women’s awareness of their entitlementsand erode discriminatory social norms; andlegal procedures need to be simplified andgovernment functionaries trained to increasetheir responsiveness to women’s land rights. Jobcreation and social protection measures wouldalso help reduce women’s dependence on familynetworks for their economic security.Structural constraintsWhere women have secured access to land, thisdoes not always translate into remunerativelivelihoods due to various structural constraintsthat they face. Even subsistence farmingrequires some capital to buy seeds and tools,but more remunerative cash-crop farmingrequires more generous outlays. Research fromsub-Saharan Africa suggests that the sums ofmoney required to make farming viable arebeyond the reach of many women farmers.In addition, women face barriers to theirengagement with markets (see Chapter 2). 34Gaining equal outcomes from equal rightslegislation is particularly hard for poor workingclass, ethnic minority or indigenous women.Lack of awareness of their rights and socialbarriers may prevent such women fromcoming forward to pursue cases through theformal justice system. 35 For example, poor Dalitwomen in the Indian state of Uttar Pradeshare more likely to experience abuse by serviceproviders, or to come under pressure to paybribes, compared to wealthier or highercaste women. In such cases, they rarely lodgecomplaints due to fear of victimization andfurther abuse. 36 Similarly, migrant domesticworkers face frequent violations of their rightsat work. However, national labour laws oftenexclude them from coverage and residencylaws stipulate that they have to be sponsoredby their employers. Financial costs, languagebarriers and discriminatory attitudes amongthe judiciary further hamper their recourse tojustice. 37In political life, women’s equal rights to vote andto stand for political office are now recognized