f3. Barriers/constraints for women’s equitable care by intersectional categories.
The analysis of household members’ time allocation to different activities such as household chores, family farms, wage-earning activities and social events is essential for understanding the behavioural and distributional consequences of economic policies. Gender differentiated time use patterns are affected by age and gender composition of household members, seasonality in farming systems, geographic factors, availability of infrastructure, and distance to key economic and social services. Gender differences in time use are common in Ethiopia, where household members undertake domestic works, farm activities, wage employment, community management, social events and childcare, as well as leisure activities. A better understanding of time use is essential for designing policies for poverty alleviation and provision. In regard to this (Yadeta & Fojo, 2019, 183 – 194) investigated gender differences in domestic and agricultural activities and results showed that rural women had higher participation in agricultural activities than men, and there was an association between gender and participation in decision making.
(Yadeta & Fojo, 2019, 183 – 194) found that land preparation and sowing were the activities undertaken by men exclusively while women participated in land preparation and sowing to some extent with their husbands. (Yadeta & Fojo, 2019, 183 – 194) confirmed that farmers in the area have different roles in both productive and reproductive work. Women dominate domestic activities such as fetching water, collecting firewood, house cleaning, caring for children, cooking, and taking care of family members, while men dominate productive activities. In addition, (Desta, 2017, 208) examined the theoretical prediction that labour market participation decreases for mothers with a large number of young children and increases when children are adults and showed that when all households are considered, children seem to have positive effects on the probability of the mother’s work participation. The results of this paper vary by household lifecycle and rural-urban location and the finding from the study revealed that maternal hours of work decrease with an increase in the number of young children, and increases when children become more adult.
The prevalence of household enterprises and the traditional nature of farming in rural areas of poor economies means that more rural women have to work longer compared to urban women. (Desta, 2017, 208) indicates that Ethiopian mothers with many young children typically work longer hours in productive activities, although it is asserted that the contribution of children to a rural mother’s participation in hours of work is typically viewed positively, as (Desta, 2017, 208) stated this may have been achieved at the expense of poor child care services, low school enrollment and education of low quality, and increased reliance on child domestic labour, all of which are likely to have significant health, social, and economic implications.
Besides, (Kassa & Eniyew, 2018, 108 – 114) analyse gender roles, gender and youth challenges and opportunities and found the presence of gender based discriminatory practice and unequal contribution of men and women in the division of labour. Gender roles are socially defined tasks, responsibilities, and behaviours that are appropriate for men and women. In Ethiopia, gender inequality is a serious concern, with women and girls being subordinated to their husbands, families, and vulnerable to gender based violence. The agricultural sector in Ethiopia shows disproportionate exertion of labour and imbalanced control over products between men and women. (Kassa & Eniyew, 2018, 108 – 114) provides details on this matter and found that women participation in productive activities was minimal due to domestic workload, cultural norms and beliefs, and their perception. Reproductive activities were mostly done by women, with the participation of men below average.
Women in developing countries are highly time constrained due to their engagement in unpaid house work, which impedes their decision making over labour intensive technologies and participation in human capitals such as training on agriculture and rural development. Women are the backbone in social activities such as providing help during emergency cases. However, women’s participation in meetings and training is not as promising as men due to their time constraining.(Yadeta & Fojo, 2019, 183 – 194) found that time allocations between husbands and wives in agricultural and domestic activities were significantly different due to gender based division of labour. Gender inequality in participation and division of labour at the household level was manifested, limiting their participation in decision making and training programs on agriculture. (Yadeta & Fojo, 2019, 183 – 194) suggested that policy makers and NGOs should allocate resources to introduce labour-saving technology and create an enabling environment to challenge unfair gender roles. Raising awareness of gender equality in agricultural production is essential.
Additionally, according to (Tefera, 2020), men handle the majority of farm activities while women handle almost all domestic duties and care. While also attending school, women and female children are in charge of milking cows, processing dairy products, fetching water, gathering firewood, and caring for livestock and small ruminants. According to (Tefera, 2020), the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s completion and the electrification of rural communities could have a positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of rural women. The lack of basic infrastructure and high market prices reportedly intensify the daily burden of women and female children.
Furthermore (Tefera, 2020) triangulated his results with the most recent nationally representative Ethiopia socio economic household survey and found that women and female children spend up to 60% of their daily time (14:00 hours) on household chores, while men and male children contribute for gathering firewood and marketing, while women and female children engage in farm activities such as milking cows and processing dairy products, weeding, threshing, and land preparation. School age children in rural Ethiopia spend a lot of time tending livestock, fetching water, and gathering firewood, which can have a negative impact on their time for school, study, and homework. To change this, (Tefera, 2020) recommend that development programmes should focus on providing women with technologies to ease their workload, such as access to electricity and clean water, and better infrastructure such as local road network connectivity.
(Dessalegn et al., 2020, 4592) analysed gender context in the Afar region of Ethiopia and proposed strategies to improve adolescent and youth health. It revealed that younger and older women are the most disadvantaged groups due to their high workload, lack of control over resources, limited participation in socio-economic practices, and child and early forced marriage.
The Afar region continues to have poor SRH indicators, with a high total fertility rate, teenage childbearing, and the lowest percentage of women who want to limit childbearing (Dessalegn et al., 2020, 4592). Early childbearing can limit women’s future employment opportunities as well as have detrimental social and economic effects on their families, communities, and families. According to (Dessalegn et al., 2020, 4592), the low utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services by women in Afar is a result of their high workload, lack of knowledge, difficulty accessing specialised services, way of life, and cultural and religious considerations. Governments and stakeholders are advised to make developing a coordinated intervention a top priority in order to address gender inequalities and raise the educational attainment of young women, according to (Dessalegn et al., 2020, 4592).
Moreover (Dessalegn et al., 2020, 4592) stated that in Afar, gendered division of labour is shaped by economic and social structures. Younger and older women participate in mostly unpaid, domestic and external responsibilities, while daughters spend most of their time engaged in activities beyond their capacity. Women have low control over resources at the household and community levels, as schooling is a priority for sons and daughters are encouraged to marry early. Women are unable to acquire their own capital and most family assets are under the control of men.
The other issue is that as more educated and employed women enter various public arenas, their gender roles and social standing change, placing them under a double burden. Education is a crucial tool for empowering married academic women because they are involved in the formation of families and their own development. Accordingly, (Telayneh, 2019) discovered that 15% of women are found to be employees, but social and natural circumstances prevent them from being fully occupied and competing with male coworkers. Married academic women face many obstacles to making a positive impact on society, according to (Telayneh, 2019), including the belief that society discourages girls from pursuing higher education and culturally and naturally based child-rearing obligations. (Telayneh, 2019) stated that unless the patriarchal structure of unbalanced gender roles is changed, women employees will continue to suffer from double/triple burden and their contribution to education or other development aspects will not be worth mentioning.
- What do Ethiopian Women want for an Unpaid care solution?
Gendered analysis help programmes understand patterns of care work and identify how unpaid care affects women’s participation in and ability to benefit from markets. Time, mobility and agency are all important factors for women’s participation in and ability to benefit from markets. Time poverty affects their ability to participate in community or cooperative decision-making bodies, while time poverty affects their ability to buy labour-saving equipment. (Yorke et al., 2023, 1 – 22) explores the extent to which intersecting inequalities in rural areas disempower young women, and how migration and education become important strategies for improving their lives. It also reflects on how the ability of rural young women to achieve better futures is limited due to their status as poor, rural, female migrants, and how many wait in the city in the hope of a better future. Increasing numbers of rural girls and young women in Ethiopia are migrating to urban towns and cities and taking up employment as domestic workers.
As reported by (Yorke et al., 2023, 1 – 22) poverty and hardship in rural communities, with limited access to basic resources such as food, water and electricity impacted girls and women due to economic inequalities and restrictive gender norms. Domestic work was seen as the primary responsibility of girls and women, making it even more onerous. Economic inequalities and gender norms negatively impact rural girls and women, leaving them vulnerable to poverty and disempowerment. Migration provides the opportunity to escape these inequalities and pursue better futures in the city.
As stated by (Yorke et al., 2023, 1 – 22) education and employment was seen as a pathway to greater social and economic mobility and girls and women viewed economic inequalities as the main factor underpinning their unequal status, so becoming financially independent through education and employment was seen as the key route to empowerment. But (Yorke et al., 2023, 1 – 22) also discovered in his report that girls and women who migrated in urban households faced significant inequalities such as limited access to resources and constrained agency, which negatively impacted their achievements and wellbeing. They are reported to have heavy work burdens, limited access to basic resources, and negative emotional and psychological impacts, such as verbal and emotional abuse.
(Yorke et al., 2023, 1–22) highlighted the need to reevaluate constrained notions of empowerment focused on involvement in education and employment and to return to a focus on the power structures that restrict the opportunities and outcomes of various groups of women. The findings of (Yorke et al, 2023, 1–22) have implications for policy and practise such as challenging the ‘family-like relationship’ between domestic workers and employers, promote viable employment opportunities for various groups of women, and strengthen efforts to address the double-work burden experienced by women. Besides (Admasu et al., 2021)examined variables affecting Ethiopia’s unpaid domestic work and transitions from education to the labour market and found that both men and women perform significant amounts of unpaid work, but women still do less paid work.
Young women’s access to decent employment in rural areas is limited, and they are less likely to be in paid employment than young men at the same age. Admasu et al. argued that the country context plays a determining role in the prospects for young women’s ability to attain good quality education and enter the labour market. (Admasu et al., 2021) reported that gender disparity in labour market participation in Ethiopia showed women’s work is uncounted in the current System of National Accounts definition of labour, and women still undertake less paid work. According to (Admasu et al., 2021) social and migration networks are key drivers of young people’s transitions. Marriage at a younger age is also a key driver of women leaving the labour force.with young women’s employment opportunities still limited.
Social norms are also a factor in determining female labour force participation(FLFP), as women allocate a substantial amount of time to activities that are not traditionally considered economic ‘activities’, such as household chores and caring for other household members. (Admasu et al., 2021) findings suggest that a careful micro-approach to investigating the determinants of FLFP can contribute and educational attainment plays an important role in the probability of being in paid labour for both male and female individuals.
Gender inequality is a major obstacle to human development in developing countries, where power structures are still overwhelmingly male-dominated and patriarchal. Bargaining power is used to understand gender inequality, as it is the agency of young women to make decisions within their marital relations and households. Increased bargaining power has been correlated with better outcomes in terms of health and education. (Chuta, 2017) in his study focuses on bargaining power as a women’s agency due to its strong association with household-level dynamics and gender relations and examined the factors that affect young married women’s bargaining power in marriage and parenthood in Ethiopia.
(Chuta, 2017) argues that intra-household, social-institutional, and individual factors interact to shape young women’s agency towards bargaining power and results showed that girls raised in rural areas and households with lower incomes had a higher likelihood of getting married by 19 years old. (Chuta, 2017) suggests that policies and programs aimed at reducing gender inequality at the intra-household level should take into account the broader contexts in which households are situated, including how cultural beliefs and norms shape marital practices, gender and generational relations, and decision-making.
As reported by (Chuta, 2017) the changes in the bargaining power of a group of young married women before and after marriage was ana;ysed and three main messages from the analysis were that intra-household, social-institutional and individual factors intertwine to shape young women’s agency in different contexts and social status and the urban girl exhibited better agency in bargaining, while the rural women had limited bargaining power due to limited life choices and household shocks. Furthermore (Tadesse et al., 2020, 2348 – 3997) examined the factors that affect rural women’s participation in agricultural activities and discovered that farm income had a positive and significant impact on this participation. This finding suggests that aid and subsidised inputs should be made available to female households. As reported by (Tadesse et al., 2020, 2348 – 3997)rural women’s participation had a significant impact on age, educational attainment, farm income, contacts with development agents, and market accessibility.
Micro, Small and Medium Industries (MSSIs) are essential for developing countries to eradicate poverty and improve living standards. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Sub Saharan Africa due to its high population growth and other related factors. To address these issues, Ethiopia implemented structural adjustment for decentralisation and practised market oriented economies to enhance private sectors. Ethiopia has formulated a National Micro and Small Scale Enterprise (MSSE) Development and Promotion Strategy to foster the capacity of women entrepreneurship and business ownership. (Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, 2016). In line with this (Agenssa & Premanandam, 2021, 1342 – 1354) assessed the general ownership participation of women in micro and small scale enterprises (MSSEs) in Hawassa, Ethiopia and found that MSSEs helped women become business owners and increase their income.
MSSEs are absorbing the labour forces of the less educated, unemployed youths, women, men, they are contributing to increasing income of women and youths involved in the sector and fastening urban development. However, they are facing multi-dimensional problems such as lack of working capitals shortages and poor qualities of raw materials, lack of markets, lack of improved technology, inadequate and shortage of working premises, high interest rates and high collateral requirements with regard to this (Agenssa & Premanandam, 2021, 1342 – 1354) recommended that the government and non-governmental organisations support MSSEs in providing better technologies at reasonable prices.
According to (Tadesse et al., 2020, 2348 – 3997), the amount of education (years of schooling) and age of the women have a positive and negative relationship with the level of women’s participation in agricultural activity. The main causes of low participation were a lack of labour force and husbands’ preference to stay at home. Education increases human capital and improves rural women’s abilities to engage in agricultural activities. An important determinant of the costs associated with rural women’s participation in agricultural activities is human capital development through education. According to (Tadesse et al., 2020, 2348 – 3997), rural infrastructure, particularly road accessibility, is essential for the development of sustainable agriculture. Rural women’s participation is greatly improved and expanded by education and development organisations have reorganised their service delivery methods to ensure that rural women are treated equally.
- COVID 19 and Unpaid Care in Ethiopia
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on adolescent resilience and mental health, with girls being especially vulnerable due to heavy domestic workloads. (Erin et al., 2022) examines the connections between gender, household vulnerability, social protection, and adolescent wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and finds that because of the increased time spent on domestic or care work during the pandemic, adolescents are at risk for negative outcomes in their mental health, education, and social lives. Except for teenagers from the least vulnerable households, (Erin et al., 2022) also discovered that social protection support was not linked to better outcomes and did not lessen the effects of COVID-19 vulnerability.
Social safety nets in Ethiopia have not been effective in protecting adolescent wellbeing, and gendered impacts of COVID-19 on time use suggest additional social protection programming is needed. (Erin et al., 2022) suggests that the increased burden of domestic responsibilities caused by the pandemic may impact multiple domains of wellbeing.
(Erin et al., 2022) findings emphasise the need to pay special attention to those who are most vulnerable, with a focus on social protection that is age and gender responsive as an important policy tool for ensuring an equitable post pandemic recovery for both adolescent boys and girls. The study specifically contends that greater economic support is necessary for the most vulnerable in order to strengthen resilient coping.
Due to lockdown measures, domestic violence has increased for women, who also work as frontline health and food system workers, do unpaid caregiving, volunteer work, and face other additional burdens as a result of the pandemic. During the pandemic, gender asymmetries have gotten worse, with women doing more unpaid domestic work than men and having disproportionately less paid work than men. As a result, mothers provide a larger proportion of childcare than do fathers. In his analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on households in Ethiopia and Nigeria, (Aoyagi, 2021, 1) focuses on gender differences in employment, household income, and children’s educational attainment as well as differences in the pandemic’s effects on rural and urban populations.
Rural women, who already spend more time caring for other family members, find it particularly challenging to support their children’s at-home education during the pandemic, according to (Aoyagi, 2021, 1). Due to agriculture and own-account work, low-income countries experienced less job loss in the initial stages of lockdowns. Policies that help women, like paid family leave, cash-for-care programs, flexible work hours, and childcare options, are essential. The covid-19 pandemic has brought attention to the need for women’s access to social welfare, legal and justice systems, income and employee support, and mental and physical health services. According to (Aoyagi, 2021, 1), local governments and the entire community must be involved in the provision of care, and government incentives can support this change. .
References
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