IEA: You recently did some research on how the introduction of new technology (mechanization) affected women’s employment in rural India. Can you tell us what you found and why it matters?

Kanika: This study was motivated by a decline in male and female labor use in agriculture over time in India, with the latter experiencing a larger decline. In this research we look at how increased adoption of machines in the tilling operation of agriculture, due to soil characteristics that make an area more amenable to deep tilling using machines, affect male and female labor use on farms. We find a negative, though insignificant, impact on male labor use while female labor use falls significantly per unit area cultivated due to increased mechanization. This is explained by a fall in labor demand in downstream tasks like weeding, mostly performed by women, since deep tillage reduced weed growth and at the same time male labor more likely to be used for tilling as this task became mechanized. Theoretically, we showed that a change in technology can have gendered impacts when male and female labor are imperfect substitutes and the incoming technology has differential complementarities with male and female labor.

IEA: Researchers based in developing countries sometimes face serious obstacles in accessing research networks that are based largely in advanced countries. For women, the challenges can be even greater. What has been your experience in this regard? Would you have some advice for young scholars who are starting off their careers outside those established networks?

Kanika: This was one of the major hurdles I faced after my PhD. In fact, my PhD was from Indian Statistical Institute in Delhi, which made it even more challenging. Exposure to international networks during one’s PhD can play an instrumental role in developing fruitful collaborative partnerships with other researchers in the field. However, over time I realized that the only way to overcome this potential handicap was to present my work in as many well accepted international conferences as possible in the field. This gave my work recognition and enabled me to travel and meet other researchers.

I even emailed my paper to people working in the area to get feedback. Some responded while some did not, but this is okay. One should not be hesitant to reach out when required. Sometimes the feedback was very useful in giving shape to my final research. As I attended international conferences, it also helped shape my collaborative work with other researchers internationally. I would advice young scholars to be more pro-active in participating in conferences and undertake more collaborative research. We learn so much from each other in a team and one should be ready to share one’s thoughts and ideas with others and develop them further. The result is often better and helps one develop a network of co-authors.