Role of Women in Household Decision Making: A case study of Bokova Village in the Buea municipality.
Department: Gender Studies
No of Pages: 61
Project Code: GS3
References: Yes
Cost: 5,000XAF Cameroonian
: $15 for International students
ABSTRACT
The
absence of women from political life and leadership positions undermined democracy
and women’s empowerment, the Commission on the Status of Women heard during
discussions on the enhanced participation of women in development and on the
equal participation of women in decision-making processes.
In
a meeting chaired by the Commissions Vice-Chairperson Dicky Komar (Indonesia),
the discussion was focused on the need to create a more conducive environment
that fully enabled women to participate in development. Therefore, this study
seeks to determine role of women in household decision making in Bokova village
in Buea Cameroon.
Objectives
for this study include; to describe the demographic characteristics of
respondents, to examine women’s role in decision making positions within the
households, to identify the determinants of women’s contribution to decision
making in household, to examine the effects of women’s participation in
decision making position on household and to identify challenges with women’s
decision making at household levels.
Data
for this study was collected with the help of questionnaires and a sample of 30
was used. Findings show better decisions are being taken in households with the
involvement of women in decision making in households.
Recommendations
such as: the increased involvement of women in the decision making of
households which will lead to more relevant decisions and less stress for the
man with a helping hand (the woman) by his side,
Women
being given better education and improving husband’s education because
educational attainment exposes husbands to necessary information in evaluating
the importance of women’s involvement in decision making in the household.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the
Study
The
absence of women from political life and leadership positions undermined
democracy and women’s empowerment, the Commission on the Status of Women heard
during discussions on the enhanced participation of women in development and on
the equal participation of women in decision-making processes.
In
a meeting chaired by the Commissions Vice-Chairperson Dicky Komar (Indonesia),
the discussion was focused on the need to create a more conducive environment
that fully enabled women to participate in development.
He
noted that the 2005 World Summit reaffirmed that gender equality was essential
to advancing development and peace.
Measures for enhanced education, health and work for women were among
the strategic priorities identified.
Stressing
that education of women still lagged behind that of men, Bernadette Lahai,
Member of Sierra Leone’s Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Food
Security, noted that women were more likely to be illiterate than men, and
girls were less likely to access schooling than boys. No country could develop if it failed to tap
women’s talent for full participation in society.
It
had been generally found that the returns to educating women were higher than
those of men; hence the adage, “If you educate a man, you educate an
individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate the nation.”
Underrepresentation
of women in senior leadership is problematic for several reasons. First, a lack
of women in senior positions may discourage the lower-level women to aspire to
an upper level position, because they feel that it is un-tenable at all.
Highly
qualified and experienced women may thus not apply for upper level positions.
As a result, organizations lose the opportunity to capitalize on the skills and
talent of a portion of their workforce.
Further,
when employees perceive a lack of women in upper management, they may form
ideas about the implicit values and culture of the organization, such as it is
an ‘‘old-boys club,’’ or discriminatory in its hiring and retention practices.
Therefore,
there are so many reasons that barriers women from moving to upper managerial
position and from those factors some of them are described as follows:
There
exist few women in decision making positions both nationally because of gender
stereotypes. These are generalized beliefs about the characteristics and
qualities attributed to men and women in a society.
In
general, men are characterized as aggressive, risk-taking, decisive, and
autonomous (agentic attributes), whereas women are characterized as kind,
caring, relational, and humble (communal attributes) (Collins & Singh,
2006; Sikdar & Mitra, 2008).
Gender
stereotypes can be described as the characteristics, attitudes, values and
behaviors that society specifies as appropriate for the particular gender. The
differences may have arisen not just from biological differences but also from
sex role socialization during childhood and the way in which men and women
develop psychologically.
Gender
stereotypes have consistently demonstrated that men are generally seen as more
agent and more competent than women, while women are seen as more expressive
and communal than men (Duher and Bono; Sczesny and Stahlberg, as cited in
Ginige, 2007).
Gender
stereotyping also explains why women and men are over-represented in particular
types of jobs. Women dominate in “care” occupations such as nursing, teaching,
social care and especially child-care.
Men
tend to be concentrated in construction and management areas associated with
physical strength, risk-taking or decision-making. Such gender biases are also
reflected in organizational practices.
Male-dominated
sectors tend to be more unionized, and men are more frequently selected for
managerial positions because, some argue, they are perceived to be more willing
to work longer hours and supervise others.
Occupational,
sectorial or time-related segregation can also be explained by women’s
preferences for job security or the manner in which societies force them to
balance work and family responsibilities. These factors, among others including
structural and legal context, could help explain the over-representation of
women in public sector jobs and/or part-time work.
Also,
organizational and managerial values in some organizations tend to be
characterized by stereotypical views of women's roles, attributes, preferences
and commitments. These in turn influence decisions about who is suitable for
particular positions, which is seen to have potential and so forth.
When
women find themselves selected or assessed on the basis of group membership
rather than on their experience and abilities, they experience gender
discrimination. According to Eagly & Johannesen (as cited in Miller, 2006)
leadership and management continue to be the domain of men that is ‘thinks
manager, think male’.
This
has implications for women and men, rightly or wrongly, are perceived in a
particular way in society, which permeates organizations. They are assigned
gender roles, which are shared beliefs that apply to individuals on the basis
of their socially identified sex.
The
ILO firmly believed that action to strengthen the capacities of its tripartite
constituents Governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations, to promote
positive change for gender equality hinged on men’s and women’s equal
participation in meaningful social dialogue.
Social
dialogue also meant creating partnerships and networks with local and national
women’s associations. Organization was
an essential tool for women to gain confidence, increase their representation
and acquire a voice in local, national and international employment
policymaking.
Opening
the afternoon panel on the equal participation of women and men in
decision-making, Commission Vice-Chairperson Szilvia Szabo (Hungary) said equal
access to decision-making and leadership at all levels was a necessary
precondition for the proper functioning of democracy.
Equal
participation in political affairs made Governments more representative,
accountable and transparent. It also
ensured that the interests of women were taken into account in
policymaking. Women, however, had
traditionally been excluded from decision-making processes.
The
human right to full and equal participation in power and decision-making
included, among other things, the right to participate on equal terms with men
in shaping and implementing decisions and policies affecting them, their
families, communities and societies.
Also,
the presence of women in the halls of power was not sufficient. That was mere tokenism. What mattered was the effect of that
presence, (UN, 2006).
The
pace of development in any country largely depends upon the people’s
participation including women. Women constitute almost half of the total
population of the country.
They
can play a vital role in economic development of the family and of the nation.
But in most developing countries, the status of women is domestic in nature.
Women have been considered as a docile daughter, a complacent wife and a
dependent mother.
Women’s
participation in economic activities in general and in agriculture in
particular has remained low. This problem was, perhaps surprisingly,
particularly acute for middle class women who face the greatest social
obstacles in engaging in work outside the home, leaving them few choices to be
full time housewives.
As
a result, many women spend most of their time on housework. Women also perform
as paid labor within their homes, such as taking in piece work or assisting in
family productive activities, such as farm work, running a family business,
etc.
Typically,
however, any work that receives little pay is considered unimportant and
labelled as “women’s work”, despite the fact that such works actually bring
tangible economic benefits to the family.
Having
a greater say in household decisions enables women to influence not only their
own psychological and physical wellbeing, but also that of their children.
Women who have a say in decisions pertaining to family planning and household
expenditure are associated with better outcomes in terms of health and
education (Mason, 2003; Acharya et al., 2010; Hou & Ma, 2011).
This
makes it important to identify the key factors that enable women to make these
decisions. While a number of factors can determine women’s say in household
decision-making (HDM). Chowdhury et al. (2009) observed that women are good
partners of the socioeconomic development of the country in general and the
family in particular.
They
can contribute significantly to the socioeconomic upliftment of the family if
proper environment with facilities can be ensured. So, it is a crucial need to
study into the matter and identify the major factors which the women are acute
to encounter in the process of their work.
This
study therefore sets to investigate the role and contribution of women in
household decision making in Bokova village in Cameroon.
1.2 Statement of the
Problem
In
Cameroon, women account for 49.96% of the total population according to the
World Bank collection of development indicators.
This
percentage is almost half of the entire country’s population thus; any
political, economic and social activity that doesn’t involve and benefit women
cannot be fruitful because such an activity is based on half the manpower, half
the knowledge, and half the effort, of that which is available in the country.
This
numerical strength has not been translated to equal treatment in the society.
Apart from numerical strength, women have great potentials to evolve a new
economic order, thereby helping in accelerating social and political
development and consequently transforming the society into a better one. Since
the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, women’s visibility in public life
had grown, she continued.
In
1995, women represented 11.3 per cent of all legislators. In 2006, they represented 16.3 per cent which
is known to be the highest percentage in history. More women judges had been appointed and more
women had reached the highest executive positions in public and private
companies.
At
the same time, persistent barriers to women’s entry into positions of
decision-making persisted, and equitable participation remained a challenge. Cameroonian
women are contributing their quota to the development of the nation, but their
potentials seem not to have been fully tapped due to some constraints.
Disparities
still exist between men and women in education, employment and income
opportunities, and control over assets, personal security and participation in
the development process.
This
may be as a result of lingering constraints including poor economic condition
of Cameroonian women, lack of adequate legislation and policies to support the
rights of women, unequal access to education, limited access to land, lack of
assertiveness among women etc.
Level
of education, income level, and men’s perception on the need for women’s
participation in development have been viewed as determining factors in women’s
participation in household decision making processes.
Though
some of these empowerment initiatives exist, the effectiveness of these
initiatives in promoting the participation of Cameroon women in decision making
processes has not been empirically examined and documented.
This
dearth of research has created the need for this study. Thus, the key policy
question is: What is the role of women in household decision making in Bokova
village?
1.3 Research Objectives
1.3.1 General Objectives
The
main objective of the study is to examine the role of women in household
decision making in Bokova village in Buea Cameroon.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
The
specific objectives of the study are;
- To describe the demographic characteristics of respondents
- To examine women’s role in decision making positions within the households
- To identify the determinants of women’s contribution to decision making in household
- To examine the effects of women’s participation in decision making position on household
- To identify challenges with women’s decision making at household levels
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