however increased time does not guarantee women s ability to pursue economic opportunities but also depends on social and gender norms and existing paid work opportunities thus even if women have more time to dedicate to paid work it may not be social acceptable for them to pursue employment opportunities outside the home or there may not be sufficient opportunities in the labour market the project aimed to promote rural women s economic empowerment through increased income assets and employment opportunities and their social empowerment which involved addressing women s time constraints and improving opportunities for rural women to pursue both personal and community development adb women s groups and cooperatives were instrumental in the design and implementation of the project