Even when women receive conventional wage payments in factory work, minimum wage and safety legislation may be
flagrantly ignored. Similarly, rural women have less access to the resources necessary to generate stable incomes and are frequently subject to laws that further compromise earning potential. Legislation and social custom often prohibit women from owning property or signing financial contracts without a husband’s signature. With a few notable exceptions, government employment or income-enhancing programs are accessible primarily if not exclusively by men, exacerbating existing income disparities between men and women.