In a fascinating new paper, Per Fredriksson and Satyendra Gupta find that areas with low irrigation potential have higher female labour force participation and female property rights.

Elsewhere, men cooperated between close kin, battled against outsiders for control over valuable irrigation, captured the gains of greater productivity, developed tight bonds of kinship, while women stayed at home.

These irrigation societies also tended to become authoritarian, which constrains feminist activism.

Paper: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/225005/1/GLO-DP-0681.pdf

Blog with pictures of irrigation systems: https://www.draliceevans.com/post/did-irrigation-entrench-the-patriarchy