Livelihoods, well-being, and decision-making among women in the Mid-Himalayan region of Uttarakhand: a cross-sectional study

Background Women of all ages play a critical role in rural Uttarakhand, they have diverse and different kinds of work to do. For the women of Uttarakhand Jameen, Jungle and Jal or land, forest and water have been three very critical essentials to meet a mundane family requirement. In addition to the tough geographic and climatic conditions most people know the hard work and dedication of the women of Uttarakhand, particularly rural women. This paper examines the socio-economic status, livelihood patterns, decision-making participation, self-rated health, and life satisfaction of women in the Mid-Himalayan region of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive-cum-exploratory design was used. A three-stage purposive sampling procedure selected development blocks, villages, and respondents, yielding 580 ever-married women across ten villages. Data were collected through a structured interview schedule covering socio-demographic profile, livelihood activity, household and community decision-making, self-rated health, and life satisfaction, and were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages). Results Literacy stood at 93.10%, yet only 0.86% of respondents held formal employment; women were engaged principally in household work (55.86%) and agriculture, with 39.66% balancing multiple roles. A majority (56.9%) participated in both household and economic decisions, but only 20.17% took part in social or political decision-making, and 1.2% reported no decision-making role at all. Self-rated health was stable or improving for 96.73% of respondents, and 82.76% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with life, despite a heavy and largely unpaid workload. Conclusion Women’s high subjective well-being coexists with structural constraints on economic and political agency, a pattern this paper interprets through the capability approach’s concept of adaptive preference rather than as evidence of substantive empowerment. Livelihood diversification, healthcare infrastructure, and avenues for women’s political participation are needed to convert social stability into substantive well-being. The paper closes with an agenda for inferential and longitudinal follow-up research.