Mapping Women Trade Networks in West Africa
Author: Olivier Walther
Publisher:
Published: 2018
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis paper maps the distribution of activities and the movement of goods between producers, traders and wholesalers in Niger, Nigeria and Benin, three countries where women traders are important actors in markets and play a significant role in forging ties beyond borders. Using an innovative approach known as social network analysis, the paper identifies gender roles and sheds light on the nature of relationships between men and women. Gender along with age, race, and ethnicity Ő is indeed a powerful factor structuring social relationships on the continent, where male and women labor contribution to food systems are often gender-specific. The paper first verifies to what extent women and men tend to sell different types, volumes and qualities of products along food value chains. It then explain how gender inequalities are reproduced through social norms that limit women's choices and opportunities. Women's participation to markets, the paper shows, is significantly shaped by a gendered system of relationships, at the household and community level, that provide them access to information and agricultural resources.
