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The process of development the world over has marginalised women and deprived them of their control over resources and authority. Weaker Sex´ is subjected to abasement, humiliation, exploitation and violence in different degrees. The society has never given credence to crucial and veritable roles that the Weaker Sex plays - productive, reproductive, familial and other. The deliberate neglect of women´s role has been the cause of the apathy shown to women concern and ill treatment meted out to them. Against this backdrop the present work makes an attempt to measure the rural-urban variation in the direct & indirect contribution women make in a developing nation taking Bhutan as an example. The primary survey result gives startling fact about strong contribution of the weaker sex. Women in rural Bhutan are the main bread earners and besides playing the familial or household role they are active partners in the income generating processes. The book traces how urbanisation in the mountain nation is resulting in diversification of women´s role and making them the most valuable constituent of the household and national economy.

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Rakesh Raman, PhD (Economics) is presently working as Associate Professor of Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (India). He specialises in macroeconomics and has been working on women issues & informal sector workforce. He has done research projects with UNFPA, UGC & ICSSR and written extensively on areas of his interest.

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