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Beyond Gender Roles? Conceptualizing the Social and Economic Lives of Rural Peoples in Sub‐Saharan Africa

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  • M. W. Warner
  • R. M. Al‐Hassan
  • J. G. Kydd

Abstract

The repeated failure to design and appropriately target policies and interventions which address the needs of rural peoples in Africa suggests that something may be wrong with our understanding of the way that these peoples live their lives. Perspectives which focus on intra‐household processes, and on gender issues in particular, represent useful advances in the way that the social and economic lives of Africa's rural peoples are conceptualized. However, this article questions the value of adopting development planning, policy and project approaches based on the rigid identification of `gender roles'. By reference to field research undertaken in northern Ghana, the paper aims to demonstrate that other social constructs, such as marital status and seniority, may be as important as gender in determining the roles and status of individuals in African rural societies. The article concludes by highlighting a number of practical implications of this finding in terms of the structuring of development‐oriented research and the targeting of policy and interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • M. W. Warner & R. M. Al‐Hassan & J. G. Kydd, 1997. "Beyond Gender Roles? Conceptualizing the Social and Economic Lives of Rural Peoples in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 28(1), pages 143-168, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:28:y:1997:i:1:p:143-168
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-7660.00038
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    Cited by:

    1. Margareta Amy Lelea & Lydia Madintin Konlan & Rashida Chantima Ziblila & Lara Elena Thiele & Araba Amo-Aidoo & Brigitte Kaufmann, 2022. "Strategies to Promote Sustainable Development: The Gendered Importance of Addressing Diminishing African Locust Bean ( Parkia biglobosa ) Resources in Northern Ghana’s Agro-Ecological Landscape," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Amy Quandt, 2019. "Variability in perceptions of household livelihood resilience and drought at the intersection of gender and ethnicity," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. James Heintz & Lynda Pickbourn, 2012. "The Determinants of Selection into Non-agricultural Self-employment in Ghana," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 6(2), pages 181-209, May.
    4. Carr, Edward R., 2019. "Properties and projects: Reconciling resilience and transformation for adaptation and development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 70-84.

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