Unpaid Care Work and its Effect on Gender Equality in Northern Ghana: Evidence from the Jirapa Municipality

Abstract

Globally, women are said to be disadvantaged in the world of paid and/or unpaid work. The study aims at examining the implications of unpaid care responsibilities on gender inequality in the Jirapa Municipality of the Upper West Region, Ghana. The mixed method approach was used for data collection and analyses. In-depth interviews using a questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The questionnaires were analyzed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 while the interviews were analyzed using the thematic analysis. Findings from the study revealed that inequality caused by unpaid care work is noticeable in the areas of governance, education and paid employment. For instance, whereas the informal sector employs more women, the formal sector employment is largely dominated by men who tend to have sustained jobs. In all these situations women in rural areas tend to be the most affected by gender inequalities. Interconnected variables of vulnerability and suppression including residential status (rural or urban settings) intersect with gender to make rural women worse off in terms of gender inequality. The study recommends cash remittances to unemployed ‘ housewives’ in rural areas and massive infrastructural development of rural communities to guarantee gender responsive public service to women.