Gender and the Labour Market in Ghana: The Relationship in Terms of the Family, the Market and the State

Abstract

The phenomenon of sex-segregation in the labour market continues to exist in a growing economy such as Ghana. The sex-based traditional occupational system of the economic sector is deeply rooted in the beliefs systems of the people. And so, the gender division of labour continues to define gender relationship among people in the society. Consequently, gender division of labour finds meaning and interpretation within the labour market in Ghana. However, for some reasons, people do overcome this occupational segregation by engaging in jobs that are by custom not meant for their sexuality. This statement reveals an inherent assumption about gender and the labour market; which needs further reflection and critical analysis. This paper focuses on gender and the labour market in Kumasi (a commercial town in Ghana); focusing on the gender identities, ideologies as well as symbols that affect the whole gamut of the labour market as a gendered institution in Ghana. Similarly, how the labour market interacts in the context of the family and the state respectively, will also be given a fair attention. The argument is categorised into ten steps: first; introduction of the subject matter, second; the region of Kumasi; the unit of analysis, third; methodology, fourth; an overview of the labour market in Ghana, fifth; the mode of entering/gaining access into food vending industry by men, sixth; challenges men face in the food vending industry in Kumasi, seventh; gender in food vending business verses socio-cultural practices, eighth; gender-labour market nexus; implication on the family and the state and finally, what the State, civil society organisations as well as the individuals or groups, need to do to improve this sector are recommended.