Writing primarily in Marathi, her works have often been hailed as a critique of social discrimination and the savarna exploitation by commentators and media outlets.

[1][2] Pawar's short stories including "Kavach" and "A Childhood Tale" are widely read and form the part of the curriculum at various Indian universities.

Pawar's autobiography Aidan (Weave), which was one of the first of its kind account by a dalit woman, won her acclaim and numerous accolades.

[6] In her foreword to the English translation, Wandana Sonalkar writes that the title of the book The Weave is a metaphor of the writing technique employed by Pawar, "the lives of different members of her family, her husband's family, her neighbours and classmates, are woven together in a narrative that gradually reveals different aspects of the everyday life of Dalits, the manifold ways in which caste asserts itself and grinds them down"[7] MotherWit is a collection of short stories in which Urmila Pawar blends fictional and real-life elements to depict the challenges and experiences of the Dalit community.

In a letter to the Parishad, she explained that the intent to start the programme with a prayer to goddess Saraswati indicated an attempt to project symbols and metaphors of a single religion.