GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM

COURSE: CSJN 404: GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

THESIS ESSAY
COURSE GROUP: GROUP TWO (2)

LECTURER: MRS EWURADJOA S. TABBICCA

TOPIC: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER: ITS IMPACT ON WOMEN IN THE

DIVISION OF LABOUR

GROUP MEMBERS (THE BRAVADOS)

INDEX NUMBER NAME
BACS20604 AYISHATU SULEMANA

BACS22177 EDWARD GYASI

BACS22288 MATILDA SARFO YEBOAH
BACS22088 ANITA ANTWI
BACS22383 NIHADATU S. DEFFOR

WORD COUNT: 1899 WORDS

22ND OCTOBER, 2022

LEVEL 400
(END OF SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION)
 Social Construction is a sociological theory that emphasizes the fact that social life or

social reality, that is, what we understand or perceive as reality, is socially constructed (Okere &

Anah, 2019). Our perceptions and how we see the world around us are based on social

constructions. The social construction of gender is predicated on the idea that gender is culturally

and psychologically produced (Okere & Anah, 2019). This means that as individuals grow up in

society, they adopt cultural traits that shape their unique personalities. Society plays a pivotal

role in individual upbringing and development and according to Kamiri (2017), society assigns

masculine or feminine identities through studying behaviour. Gender is socially constructed

because it forms an integral part of any social group’s structure of domination, subordination,

and division of labour in the family and economy (Lorber & Farrell, 2001). Gender division of

labour is defined by Reeves & Baden (2000, p. 8) as the socially determined ideas and practices

which define what roles and activities are deemed appropriate for women and men. Roles

typically designated as female roles are almost virtually less valued than those designated as

male roles.

Across the world, women are treated unequally and less value is placed on their lives

because of their gender (Reeves & Baden, 2000 p. 7). A woman’s identity is constituted by the

socio-cultural perceptions that define her and how these perceptions eventually force her to

conform to socially sanctioned and acceptable norms of her society (Ebila, 2015, p. 145). The

extent to which women and men are unequal varies by society, but where there is inequality,

women are invariably devalued and assigned devalued work, whether in the family or in the paid

workforce (Lorber & Farrell, 2001, p. 2). This denotes that there is a high level of discrimination

against women in society. Discrimination against women in various forms has continued to exist

in certain African societies like Ghana, and Nigeria, to mention a few, despite the global and

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regional efforts at ensuring gender equality between men and women (Ajala, 2016). The United

Nations adopted the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) between 1979 and 1981 to help promote gender equality across the globe. The

creation of CEDAW and its monitoring body was in response to a call for greater visibility of

specific disadvantages faced by women, which were otherwise largely obscured in the broader

human rights landscape (Vijeyarasa, 2021). The Convention's goal is to eliminate all attitudes,

practices, distinctions, exclusions, or preferences based on gender that disadvantage women in

comparison to men (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2005). Countries

that align themselves to this treaty are therefore monitored by a committee on the progress made

in the status of women through the consideration of reports (United Nations, 2003).

In this essay we will argue that gender constructions about the division of labour have

resulted in male domination over females, subjugating females and limiting their abilities. This

essay seeks to address the imbalances and biases in the division of labour against women and

how it has led to female subordination in society. Furthermore, our essay will also look at how

the social construction of gender has led to inequality in job opportunities for women in the

labour market. The essay will finally explore other aspects of the interaction between the gender

division of labour in the household and the division of labour in the broader labour market and

how it impacts women’s labour in recent times.

In several households across the globe, the family unit is headed by males. Society places

men in a position superior to women (Sultana, 2012), creating the impression of male domination

over females. Holding a job and earning a salary has been considered to be a man’s traditional

family obligation while taking care of the home and children tends to be the primary obligation

of women (Coltrane & Shih, 2010, p. 401). It is the duty of the man to work and provide for the

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financial needs of the home whiles that of the woman is to do all household work and take care

of the family. In other words, domestic chores have become more common, with women

performing the majority of them while men serve as breadwinners (Akanle, Adesina and Ogbimi,

2016). Society expects a woman to cook, clean and take care of her husband and children

(Kamiri, 2017, p. 37). Women are perceived as help mates to their husbands and their family and

although modern women work and provide for their families they are still dependent and

submissive to men (Kamiri, 2017). This idea extends to even religion. From the religious

perspective, women are expected to be submissive to the men or husbands while the men are

those who give instructions and are the sole decision-makers in the family. A typical example is

the Christian religion where the Bible (Genesis 3:16 - King James Version) states that as a

punitive measure to Eve, God stated that the woman’s desire shall be to her husband and that the

husband shall rule over her. This interpretation of the Bible has been used as justification for

gender roles and attendant gender inequality (Okere & Anah, 2019 p. 84).

Women are treated as inferior to men in their mental and physical attributes and men are

almost always treated as normative human beings from whom women represent a deviation

(Agrawal, 2014, p. 5). Women are expected to portray some particular behaviours and perform

certain functions that are deemed appropriate in some African societies. According to Ebila

(2015, p. 146), in her research to find out what a proper woman should be in the traditional

African society of Kenya, she discovered that women are expected to be quiet when men speak,

respectable by being respectful to men (especially to male leadership), good mothers of the

nation and not to challenge authority in general. Thus, a woman is worthy only if she realises her

potential to play the role of wife, and by extension, mother (Kabaji, 2005, p. 116). Because men

are perceived as the sole providers, it is, therefore, unnatural to see men performing household

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chores since it is an exclusively female role. Many men see household chores as expressive,

supportive, affective, romantic, and understanding behaviours (Akanle, Adesina and Ogbimi,

2016) which may not necessarily be their responsibility.

In the labour market, gender stereotypes against women is very evident when it comes to

job opportunities they get as compared to men. Consequently, men dominate the economic

sphere and political positions of decision-making while the role of women is considered to be on

the domestic front, consisting mainly of menial endeavours that do not yield political and

economic empowerment (Ajala, 2016, p. 2). Lorber & Farrell (2001) noted that “the necessary

work women do – maintaining the household and caring for the family emotionally and

physically, as well as such jobs as nursing, teaching, social work, factory work, office work,

selling, producing, and so on – can be paid for at low rate, or not at all” (p. 2). Others have also

reiterated that:

Women are generally expected to fulfil the reproductive role of bearing and raising

children, caring for other family members, and household management tasks, as well as

home-based production. Men tend to be more associated with productive roles,

particularly paid work, and market production. In the labour market, although women’s

overall participation rates are rising, they tend to be confined to a relatively narrow range

of occupations or concentrated in lower grades than men, usually earning less (Reeves &

Baden, 2000 p. 8).

We can identify that even careers or jobs have been gendered; particular jobs with less pay are

perceived to be for women while well-paid jobs are deemed perfect for men. It is really

disheartening to see that even women’s work is not valued both in household and paid labour.

Work tasks and the area of work have been defined based on presumed suitability, founded on

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notions of gender (Samuelsson, Krekula and Aberg, 2012). Jobs and tasks higher in the

hierarchical structure of the organization are associated with masculinity and men, whereas jobs

and tasks lower in the hierarchy are associated with femininity and women (Benschop, Halsema

and Schreurs, 2001), so men get to fill the managerial or higher positions in the labour market as

compared to the women.

The global sensitization to help promote gender equality is not increasing faster since

some countries still find it difficult to bridge the gender gap. The global gender gap in 2022 is

68.1 per cent (Hausmann, Tyson and Zahidi, 2022) with Ghana having 67.2 per cent of its gender

gap bridged. The global efforts to end gender discrimination and bridge the gender gap is very

low in sub-Saharan Africa due to some socio-cultural values and beliefs. The belief system in

some African societies is such that women are to be submissive to men. In paid labour, women

tend to do the household jobs such as cleaning, doing the dishes and mopping regularly which is

why sometimes an employer may employ a female worker. In terms of domestic chores in the

labour market, women are mostly used since it is already a quality which they possess and may

cost less or have no value (Huws, 2012).

The social construction of gender in the division of labour has led to less representation

of women in the decision-making bodies in the community and in the nation. Women’s lack of

representation and voice in decision-making bodies in the community and the state perpetuates

discrimination (Reeves & Baden, 2000 p. 7). This leads to a situation where men formulate

policies, and plan and execute projects with little or no consideration for women. Such a society

is governed by policies that are so patriarchal. Women are not engaged and involved in the

decision-making process, hence their problems and needs are not fully appreciated. The impact

of gender stereotyping on women is evident irrespective of the level of position women belong to

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in an organization (Tabassum & Nayak, 2021). In a situation where men give orders at work and

are bosses, it is perceived as a normal structure but where a woman is a lady boss and gives

orders she is often perceived as arrogant and proud. That is the level of impact social

construction has created. Men are perceived to have high hopes for success but women are

sometimes associated with fear and failure (Risse, Farrell and Fry, 2018) and this has been the

reason for the low representation and employment of females in the public sphere.

One thing is clear gender is a social construct and based on that society assigns roles

suitable for males or females. Women should be encouraged and allowed to be at the top

management and control the affairs of the state. Women also have the rights to be protected and

their views must be respected and accepted both in the family and in society. Women are also

bogged down with their responsibility as the primary caregivers in the home, thus, putting

constraints on their time (Amu, 2015) but when they are given the opportunity, they can also

contribute massively to achieve results. This has the potential to cultivate unrealistic expectations

of being a "superwoman” – a woman who can do all the domestic and nurturing roles and still

have the time and energy to excel in her career (Kamiri, 2017).

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