Who Does What? Analysing Gender Division of Labour in Cocoa Households in the Asante Akim North Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

In a typical cocoa farming household, the question of who among the different genders does what needs to be assessed. This is because it is often thought that males do the majority of work in the household. In bringing balance to this argument, this study used the Caroline Moser framework to assess the gender division of labour in cocoa households in the Asante Akim North Municipality in Ghana. In using a mixed methods approach, questionnaires were administered to three hundred (300) respondents and a focus group discussion was organized for a group of 12 (six males and six females) in the Municipality. The study found that most of the women were responsible for performing the reproductive roles whilst the males performed the majority of the productive roles and the community management roles. Limiting women to the performance of reproductive roles can be detrimental to the development of society at large, most especially in a situation where few women take part in productive and communal development. Women should therefore be encouraged and allowed to partake in all community activities and decision-making procedures to ensure there is no gender inequality.

Keywords

• cocoa farmers
• community managing roles
• gender division of labour
• productive roles
• reproductive roles
• households