Title: Women working at hairdressing: a case study of a rapidly increasing business among women in urban Ghana
Abstract: For a long time, economic activities have been important for women in south- ern Ghana to support their children and themselves. Among women's activities in urban ar- eas, hairdressing is the one that has flourished recently. The study examines socio-economic and other factors that have resulted in this rapid increase of hairdressing, especially from the perspective of the entrants' reason for occupational choice. Findings show that hairdressing has become attractive to women not only as a source of income but also because of its flex- ibility and compatibility with domestic work. Diffusion of hair relaxing has influence on the increase of salon demand. Institutionalisation of hairdressing training system also has impact on attracting young people who have begun to regard hairdressing as a skilled, fashionable and modern occupation. As a result, hairdressing apprenticeship has became one of the major recourses for women with basic education. Women in Ghana are well known for their high participation in economic activities. A wife as well as a husband would have an independent income and budget, and she shares with her husband the economic responsibilities of the household; and a husband is normally responsible for big expenditures, while his wife bears the day-to-day expenses of running the household (Clark, 1989; Chamlee-Wright, 1997: 122). Both women and men are expected to generate an income to support other family members and build up networks that add to their esteem and prestige within their kin groups and communities. Also, because conjugal relationships tend to be rather unstable, women cannot solely depend on men, but must build up their own resources to support themselves and their dependents. More than 85% of Ghanaian women are said to be self-employed or unpaid family workers, and about half of them are employed in agriculture, animal husbandry or forestry, while 20% are engaged in trading (Ghana Statistical Ser- vice, 2002). Meanwhile, in the Greater Accra Region, trading is the most pop- ular economic activity among women (40.5%), followed by production (19%),
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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