GENDER STUDIES

Today’s woman standing and roles has gradually changed significantly from the
period where according to Ghampson (1973) women’s role in society was similar to that of
the queen bee; that is eating, fattening and multiplying whiles the soldier bee does all the
work. The status of women today varies dramatically in different countries and, in some
cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes.
Laying emphasis on the discussion above, Ghanaian women are no exception to the degree of
change in the roles of women globally. The changes in the roles of women can be evaluated
on three basic broad scopes. Namely;
 Social changes,
 Educational changes and
 Cultural changes.

SOCIAL CHANGES
Social changes refers to the changes that are associated to relating to the way in which
people in groups (community) behave and interact. In the past, Ghanaian rural areas had non-
commercial agricultural production as the main economic activity; women worked the land.
Women on the coast also sold the fish caught by the men. Financial benefits generated from
the activities of these women went basically into the up keeping of the household while that
of the men were reinvested into an enterprise that was often perceived as belonging to his
extended family. This traditional division of wealth placed women in a position subordinate
to men. The cliché that women do not follow a career is obsolete in many societies today.
Current global trends towards men and women sharing similar occupations and jobs suggests
that the fact that one is born a male or female does not necessarily directly determine one’s
abilities. Thus, unlike the past, today’s Ghanaian woman is now accepted by the majority of
society to be capable of taking on leadership and occupational roles previously presumed to
be the male gender. For instance, women are now actively enrolled in the profession of
medicine, law, and engineering, amongst others.

In recent decades women around the world have made strides in political
participation. Women have contributed and exhibited positive traits immensely to the
governance processes, political and public arenas of the Ghanaian economy and the world as
a whole. By the 1980s women could vote virtually everywhere in the world, except for a few
Muslim countries. The right to vote usually included the right to run for elected office. In
2005 there were 12 female national leaders in the world, including 8 heads of state (3
monarchs and 5 presidents) and 4 heads of government (prime ministers). In 2005 women

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made up almost 16 percent of legislative bodies worldwide, compared to 11 percent in 1999

and 9 percent in 1987. Despite these advancements, women’s role in governmental decision-
making remains limited. Women’s contributions to the socio-economic and political
development of Ghana cannot be over emphasized. They have played and continue to play
prominent roles in the development of our beloved nation, Ghana. This could be attributed to
the fact that majority of the men folk were more on the chauvinistic stand and were of the
view that decision making were for the men folk and women were instructed on what to do.
For example the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Mrs. Bamford-Addo, was the first woman
appointed by the Mills-led administration, followed by others such as Betty-Mould Iddrisu,
the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice; Hannah Tetteh, the Minister for Trade and
Industry; and Hanny-Sherry Ayitey, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology
Others are Zita Okaikwei, the Minister for information; Ama Benyiwa Doe, the Central
Regional Minister; Akua Sena Danso, the Women; and Juliana Azumah Mensah, the Minister
for Tourism. Despite the difficulties faced by women in politics, they continue with their
political ambition, contributing enormously to political and national development in their
own way as the challenges militating against them are not present, although Ghana is yet to
have a women president. It is in the right direction that the President is set to appoint 40% of
women in top government positions.

Also, there was a societal accepted norm that women were not supposed to acquire
properties on their own but they were basically supposed to cater for the household and what
the man had been able to acquire. Modern society trends acknowledge women who have been
able to acquire assets for themselves leading to the empowerment of women to be daring in
their chosen ventures just as their male counterparts.

EDUCATIONAL CHANGES
Education refers to the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and
learning, especially at a school or similar institution. Education is widely recognized as the
gateway to economic security and opportunity. In the past, it was only a hand full of women
who were enrolled in schools. It was believed that, women would certainly end up in the
kitchen. Thus, there was no need to acquire any formal education. An educated woman has
the skills, the self-confidence and the relevant attributes to become a better parent, employee
and citizen. It was due to this that James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey said, “if you educate a
man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate the nation”. These
days’ women and men are about equally represented in the educated elites. This booming

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numbers can be attributed to the education on parents to send their girl child to school
campaign initiative. Of the more than 100 million children who drop out of school before
completing the fourth grade, two-thirds are girls. On the other hand, women are entering
colleges and universities in increasing numbers. In Ghana, more women than men enrolled in
institutions of higher education in recent times.

Due to the education currently impacted to women, they are currently able to stand up
for their rights. Unlike in the ninety’s where women were restricted from voicing out their
rights, recent awareness and consciousness has led to women been able to stand for their true
values and rights. For example, a woman who is violated by her husband now is informed on
how to resolve such issues.

CULTURAL CHANGES
Culture is the patterns of behaviour and thinking that people living in social groups
learn, create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human group from others. It also
distinguishes humans from other animals. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of
behaviour, language, rituals, art, and technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and
cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems.

Women today are now fashion dynamic. Fashion and dressing in another area which
illuminates the change in culture among women as there is a significant move from the more
conventional and traditional method of dressing to a much more bold and daring way of
dressing in their approach to fashion. Thus, they are now taking on many fashions earlier
traditionally reserved for men, for example women’s trousers. This has led to men becoming
more restricted compared to previous eras, while women’s fashion has become broader.

The age ratio of women in the past as to the time they get married in relation to the
present when women get married later in life in pursuit of education and career. The same
can be said for family as a result of education and awareness, women have become more
conscious of family size as the idea of large family size home has become archaic and more
mortifying as compared to the past here it was held in high esteem.

In a gist, these are the principal variations by which the roles of women including
Ghanaian women have changed over the past decade.

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REFERENCES
1. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
2. Nora Judith Amu,The role of women in Ghana’s economy,(2000), Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung, Ghana
3. www.allafrica.com
4. www.viewpaper.net