FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN THE FORMAL SECTOR AND DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Journal of Third World Studies, Fall 2003 by Njoh, Ambe J, Rigos, Platon N

Increasing female participation in the formal sector is likely to reverse these negative trends. This is because, as mentioned above, meaningful strategies to include women in the formal sector invariably call for efforts to reduce female illiteracy rates. Conceivably, promoting female literacy invariably results in women spending some of the time that would have been dedicated to reproduction in school. Thus, it follows that efforts to promote female literacy are likely to also result in significantly reducing fertility rates. With fewer children, households are likely to enjoy improved living standards as they will be fewer mouths to feed. This may explain why countries with 'high' female participation in the formal labor market tend to have higher HDI scores.

The importance of improving the income-earning ability of women by, for instance, increasing female participation in the formal labor sector can be further appreciated in the light of recent developments in the economies and other sectors of sub-Saharan African countries. As part of the IMF/World Bank-imposed structural adjustment programs (SAPs), the incomes of formal sector employees, who are mostly men, have been drastically curtailed. Consequently, the need for women to assume family responsibilities, such as defraying the cost of tuition for the children, traditionally reserved for men has significantly increased. In Cameroon, for instance, a World Bank study noted that women must now "pay for school fees for the children, pay medical bills and even give pocket money to their husbands who are out of work."36 It is therefore arguable that the well-being of the family is in jeopardy or likely to be seriously threatened where the female parent has no source of income.

Finally, it is noteworthy that deaths of adults as a result of HIV/AIDs complications have increased tremendously in sub-Saharan Africa in the recent past. This has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number of singleheaded families, as well as the number of orphaned children. The resultant problems are more severe in instances involving female-headed households, given that most women are often without any insurance policy and have no retirement benefits since they have traditionally depended on the informal sec tor for their income. Thus, as the study reported in this article suggest, it makes social and economic sense to strengthen the income earning ability of sub-Saharan African women, especially through increasing their participation in the formal labor sector.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

There is no shortage of works attesting to, or documenting, the gender-based discriminatory practices prevalent in the formal labor market in sub-Saharan African countries. We note that the practice is rooted in aspects of the African continent's 'triple heritage,' which has African indigenous tradition, Islam, and Western/Christian belief systems as major components. One upshot of the gender-based discriminatory practices occasioned by these three traditions is the conspicuous under-representation of women in the formal sector of economies in sub-Saharan African countries. The implications of this phenomenon are not well-understood. What are the effects on the national economy of excluding women from critical sectors of the economy such as service and industry? The study reported in this article was designed to address this important question.