Perception and Valuation of Men and Children on Women Unpaid Carework in Nabdam: An Analysis

Abstract

Women’s unpaid care work continues to be a major setback to the socio-economic development of women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, this study sought to examine the Perception and valuation of men and children on women’s Unpaid care work in Nabdam. The study adopted a quantitative research approach, and two hundred and sixty-nine (269) men and children were selected randomly from four communities, namely Palegu, Tindongo, Sakote, and Zeringu, in the Nabdam district of the Upper East region of Ghana. Self-prepared questionnaires, which were structured in both close-ended and open-ended format, were used to collect the data. The study then adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey as the main research design. The study found that most men and children agreed that women should be paid for their unpaid care work. The study also found that most of the men who indicated women should not be paid for the unpaid care work they performed primarily indicated that it was their basic responsibilities as wives. Finally, the study also found out that most respondents valued the women’s unpaid care works to be $39.22 or less per month, which ironically was higher than what the women valued their unpaid care works according to earlier studies.