Social protection and rural livelihoods in the Wa west district of Ghana: a gender analysis.

Abstract

Social protection is critical for enhancing agriculture livelihoods and sustainable development in rural economies. Social protection affects the social and material situations of women and men, shapes gender relations, vulnerabilities and livelihoods. Yet, many studies on social protection in sub Saharan Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the North Africa regions that have relatively large informal economies have neglected gender relations. It is in line with the gender, social protection and rural livelihoods gap that the thrust of this study is defined. The study explored the gender implications of the existing social protection mix in Ponyentanga and Dorimon in the Wa West District of Ghana. The study utilised a qualitative approach and exploratory study design. The maximum variation and homogeneous purposive sampling techniques were used to select research participants for the study. Evidence was gathered through observations, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and documentary review. The open coding method was used to categorise common trends from the data. The narratives from the data were organised into three central themes: first, the gendered nature of economic and social vulnerabilities; second, the coping strategies and social protection structures; and third, the effects of the existing social protection schemes. The main finding of the study was that the differential social roles and responsibilities of women and men are reflected in their coping strategies. The study concludes that progress towards the transformative goal is minimal given the gendered complexities. State interventions complemented by non-state efforts, therefore, need to be directed at interventions that empower vulnerable rural women and men.