Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The worker-population ratio of rural women is higher than that of urban women in India.
Reason (R): Compared to females, more males are found to be working in India.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): The worker-population ratio of rural women is higher than that of urban women in India. — True. About 35 of every 100 rural women work, against only about 21 of every 100 urban women.
Reason (R): Compared to females, more males are found to be working in India. — True. In India, more men than women take part in economic activities.
Why R does not explain A?
R compares men with women. It says nothing about why rural women work more than urban women.
The real explanation of A has two parts. In rural areas, people cannot stay at home as their economic condition may not allow it. Where men earn high incomes, families discourage women from taking up jobs.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.3 Participation of People in Employment … Urban people have a variety of employment opportunities. They look for the appropriate job to suit their qualifications and skills. In rural areas, people cannot stay at home as their economic condition may not allow them to do so.” “6.3 Participation of People in Employment … Compared to females, more males are found to be working. The difference in participation rates is very large in urban areas: for every 100 urban females, only about 21 are engaged in some economic activities. In rural areas, for every 100 rural women about 35 participate in the employment market. Why are women, in general, and urban women, in particular, not working? It is common to find that where men are able to earn high incomes, families discourage female members from taking up jobs. Going back to what has already been mentioned above, many household activities done by women are not recognised as productive work. This narrow definition of work leads to non-recognition of women’s work and, therefore, to the underestimation of the number of women workers in the country. …” |