The Role of Women in Rural Home Services: Expanding Inclusion

For many centuries women have been the hidden labor engaging the everyday life of rural people. They cook, clean, care for families and keep communities on-task. Their contributions were often so hidden, undermined and unpaid that no value was attributed to them.

In this high-speed world, women in rural home services is being valued not just as a critical aspect of household survival but also as an engine of rural development, income and community sustainability. 

This piece examines the way inclusion is widening, the way that programs and policies are changing women’s roles and why getting women empowered in rural settings benefits all. 

Why the role of women in rural home services matters 

Women’s work in the rural areas is way more than “home services.” It encompasses: 

• Domestic Care Work – food preparation, getting water, housework and child/elder care. 
• Agricultural Work – planting crops, reaping, animal husbandry and food processing. 
• Community Services – conducting health camps, local self-help groups or teaching. 
• Economic Services – operating small shops, homestays or handicraft units.

 Even after this, the majority of such contributions are unpaid and not included in official economic indicators. Widening inclusion implies acknowledging, valuing and enabling women’s rural work so that they gain access to opportunities, income and dignity. 

Recent Trends: Women Leading Change 

1. Rural Tourism and Homestays

 In Goa, a government-run homestay scheme is turning rural women into tourism entrepreneurs. By hosting travelers in their homes, rural women are gaining regular incomes while maintaining local culture and hospitality. This model is not only increasing rural tourism, it is reconstructing gender roles by inserting women as visible earners. 

2. Formal Rural Employment 

In Prayagraj (U.P., India), 46.71% of the workdays in MNREGA were contributed by women during 2024–25. This indicates that when policies offer organized employment, rural women emerge to join the economic life at large. 

3. Expanding Access to Social Services

 Leaders in Ulster County, New York are working to remove access barriers to health, food and welfare for rural women. By addressing transportation access and language barriers, they are also expanding the notion of inclusion to encompass health, safety and dignity in addition to access to jobs. 

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Challenges Women in Rural Home Services Still Confront

• Unpaid Care Work – Research stipulates that rural women’s unpaid housework is four to six hours each day, leaving little to no time for income generating activities. 
• Limited Mobility – Many rural women are temporally constrained in terms of transport or they cannot travel far from home for safety reasons, making accessing educational and employment opportunities and accessing medical services challenging. 
• Health Disparities – There is a disproportionate risk to rural women’s maternal health as there are fewer OB/GYN specialists and the travel times to access treatment and specialists can be much longer. 
• Social Norms – Women’s work is often still undervalued and decision making is male oriented in many communities.

How Inclusion is Expanding 

1. Policy Support 

• MNREGA (India) ensures rural women have access to wage labor. 
• Pension schemes for domestic workers offer social protection. 
• Women’s cooperatives such as Kudumbashree (Kerala) provide collective bargaining power and economic independence to women.

2. Skill Development

 Skill training of women in hospitality, crafts, digital skills and health services has created new avenues of income particularly through homestays, tailoring and agri-businesses.

3. Recognition of Care Work

 International agencies such as FAO and IADB stress the need to recognize care work as a contribution to the economy, so policies will be able to provide time-saving infrastructure (e.g. provision of water, clean cooking fuels). 

4. Technology and Digital Access

 AI lent micro-learning, online business platforms and mobile banking enable rural women to learn new skills, market their products and access services from their homes. 

5. Community-Led Governance

Programs such as the Lado Panchayat in Rajasthan are building women-led councils that provide gender balance in local governance. 

Case Studies: Stories of Change

•  India’s Kudumbashree Mission – A women-led cooperative movement enabling thousands to operate businesses ranging from food processing to IT services.

•  SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) – Empowering domestic workers, artisans through collective bargaining and microfinance. 

• Latin America’s Care Initiatives – Initiatives focusing on unpaid domestic work, offering childcare centers and enhancing rural women’s coverage of formal labor. 

These examples serve as a testament that with women included, rural economies flourish. 

The Role of Personalization and Storytelling 

One of the most empowering aspects of inclusion is personalization. AI-based learning platforms now create customized learning trajectories for rural women, allowing them to enhance skills alongside household management. Parallel to this, influence is being remade by storytelling. 

Similar to social media influencers, rural women are leveraging platforms to present their stories, be it instructing cooking heritage or advocating for local artisanship. In all senses, digital platforms are the new reigns of influence where rural women are able to have the leadership without having the land or property.

 Future Outlook 

Expansion of women’s work in rural home services isn’t simply about equality, it’s about reframing development itself. An alternate future where rural women are: 

• Acknowledged for paid and unpaid work alike. 
• Part of decision-making at the family, community and policy levels. 
• Endowed with technology, education and health care. 
• Empowered to turn households into engines of growth. 

Conclusion 

The position of women in rural home services is changing from unseen work to valued and empowered contribution. From homestays in Goa to jobs supported by policy in Prayagraj. Indian cooperatives to outreach in the U.S., rural women are showing they are not just caretakers, they are builders of sustainable and just futures. 

• What do you think? 
• Should governments formally recognize unpaid domestic work in GDP?

• Which model (skill training, cooperatives, homestays) do you find most effective? 
• Local tales of rural women changing the world, do you have any? 

We invite your feedback in the comments! 

FAQ’s

1. What is the role of women in home services in rural areas?

 Women work in the rural economy as domestic care, farm workers, community services and even informal small businesses where they generate economic activity like homestays or crafts. Their efforts support families and communities. 

2. Why should inclusion be used in rural home services?

 Inclusion provides women with adequate remuneration, appreciation, access to services and equal chances of lessening poverty and enhancing community growth. 

3. What are the challenges rural women encounter? 

They encounter restricted mobility, unpaid caregiving, poor health access and social assumptions that devalue their contributions.

4. How does technology empower rural women? 

Web-based platforms enable women to sell products, learn skills and even manage finances, bringing city-based opportunities straight to rural residences. 

5. Can rural women actually spur economic growth?

 Yes! Research suggests that when rural women have the skills, credit and visibility, improvements were seen to household income, nutrition, health and overall wellbeing of their communities. 

6. Are there effective models of women’s inclusion?

Yes, India’s Kudumbashree and SEWA, Latin American care programmes and government-supported homestay schemes have revolutionized women’s lives.

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