Synopsis In recent years, empowerment of women has been recognized as a central issue in determining the status of women. Empowerment of women would mean equal status and opportunities.

Empowering women socioeconomically through increased awareness of their rights and duties as well as equal access to and control over productive resources is a decisive step towards greater security for them. It is gender which determines the roles and functions of a female in the family. How gender affects the access to and control over resources for the female require elaboration.

Women are engaged in collection of fodder, dairy, poultry, and household activities within the family. Consequently fundamental decision-making regarding vital issues such as education, health care, expenditure of income on necessities, marriage of children, investment for permanent assets, earning from land are all taken by men. Therefore, the women left with little or no access to resources.

Here, an attempt has been made to asses the gender participation in productive activities, gender wise actual access to and control over and their perception about access to and control over productive resources. Impact of differential access and controlling power on empowerment of women and factors affecting differential access and control have also been studied.

This book will be useful for the policy makers, extensions workers, social workers, scholars and all those who are linked with gender sensitization and working for the cause of women empowerment.