Abstract

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been a transformative policy initiative in India aimed at enhancing rural livelihoods by providing guaranteed wage employment and promoting socio-economic empowerment. Among its various objectives increasing the participation of women has emerged as a crucial goal given the historically low levels of female engagement in formal labor markets and rural economic activities. This research paper investigates the factors influencing women’s participation in MGNREGS encompassing socio-economic demographic institutional and cultural determinants. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis the study evaluates the interplay of household dynamics wage structures availability of work proximity to workplaces literacy levels gender norms and awareness of entitlements on women’s engagement. It also examines how operational factors such as timely wage payments monitoring mechanisms and grievance redressal systems affect