Publication: The Contribution of African Women to Economic Growth and Development in Post-Colonial Africa : Historical Perspectives and Policy Implications
Date
2013-07
ISSN
Published
2013-07
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper draws on history,
anthropology, and economics to examine the dynamics and
extent of women's contribution to growth and economic
development in post-colonial Africa. The paper investigates
the paradox of increased female enrollment in education and
the persistence of gender discrimination in labor force
participation; it also considers the overwhelming importance
of the informal economy in female economic activity. The
first axis the paper studies is whether reducing educational
gender gaps enhances growth in per capita gross domestic
product and reduces female fertility rates and infant
mortality. The question is, why would some African countries
resist this pattern? The second axis examines agriculture
and home production. Women's economic activities in the
informal economy largely represent the commercialization of
domestic skills and dependence on social networks. The
shunting of female production to the informal sector in the
male-dominated colonial economy is easy to understand, but
why has the informal economy persisted where female
production is concerned well beyond the colonial period? The
paper attempts to explain these trajectories by using
country case studies on Senegal, Botswana, and Kenya.
Although women's contribution to growth and economic
development seems to be positive and significant in
predominantly Christian and mineral-rich economies, it is
more constrained in pronounced Muslim dominated countries
and agrarian economies. At the same time, impressive uniform
growth in informal sector production in recent years
suggests that occupational job segregation and gender
inequality remain strong across the region, despite the
apparent loosening of traditional norms and cultural
beliefs, most notably illustrated by the reduction in
educational gender gaps and increased female labor force
participation rates.
Citation
“Akyeampong, Emmanuel; Fofack, Hippolyte. 2013. The Contribution of African Women to Economic Growth and Development in Post-Colonial Africa : Historical Perspectives and Policy Implications. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6537. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15895 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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