Competing priorities: Women바카라 사이트™s microenterprises and household relationships
This study among microentrepreneurs in Ghana examines connections between women바카라 사이트™s businesses and households바카라 사이트™ management of economic resources
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that women바카라 사이트™s business decisions are influenced by members of their household, especially their spouse, and that these intrahousehold dynamics contribute to gender gaps in entrepreneurship outcomes. This in-depth qualitative study among microentrepreneurs in urban Ghana sought to understand the connections between women바카라 사이트™s businesses and their households바카라 사이트™ management of economic resources.
The findings show that women바카라 사이트™s business decisions are influenced by: 1) a desire to reinforce their partner바카라 사이트™s responsibilities as a primary provider; 2) attempts to fulfil normative expectations of meeting the daily basic-needs of the family; and 3) a need to prepare for long-term security. To reinforce their husband바카라 사이트™s responsibilities as a provider, women hid income and savings, and sometimes explicitly limited business growth. To ensure their ability to smooth household consumption and respond to emergencies, women prioritized savings over business investment. And, to plan for their long-term security, women opted for cautious business investment, instead maintaining pressure on their partner to meet current needs and investing in children and property for the future. Previous studies document gender differences in microenterprise business management.
This research builds on those studies by examining how intrahousehold inequalities affect women바카라 사이트™s business decisions. The findings demonstrate the contextual importance of social relations for understanding women바카라 사이트™s business decisions. More broadly, the findings illustrate that interpersonal interactions concerning the management of economic resources are an integral part of how household members negotiate their rights and responsibilities in relation to each other.
This work is part of the Closing the Gender Gap in Africa: evaluating new policies and programmes for women바카라 사이트™s economic empowerment programme
Citation
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Sophia Friedson-Ridenour, Rachael S. Pierotti, Competing priorities: Women바카라 사이트™s microenterprises and household relationships, World Development, Volume 121, 2019, Pages 53-62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.04.008.
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Friedson-Ridenour,Sophia; Pierotti,Rachael Susan.2018. Competing priorities: women바카라 사이트™s microenterprises and household relationships (English). Policy Research working paper;no. WPS 8550 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.