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P R E F A CE

The  Institute  of  African  Studies  is  happy  to  present  the  f i r st

volume  of  the  new series  of  i ts  Research  Reviexf.

Much  attention  has  been  focused  over  the  past  decade  on  the  role

of  women in  sooicties  the  world  over,  not  only  in  academic  circles  but

also  among policy  making  bodies  at  national  and  international  levels.

'2his  issue  addresses  itself  to  the  problems  of  economic  and  social

development  in  emergent  African  nations.

This  volume  brings  together  a  number  of  research  findings  of  women

researchers  working  on Ghanaian  women.  The  publication  of  the  papers

presented  in  the  late  seventies  has  unfortunately  been  delayed  due  to

insurmountable  technical  problems,  We believe  however  that  they  s t i ll

have  points  of  interest  to  our'  readers,

Christine  6kali,using  the  results  of  research  carried  out  on  a  cocoa

farm  camp  in  the  Brong  Ahafo  region,  discusses  the  issue  of  division  of

labour'between  various  members  of  the  labour  force.  She  concentrates  on

comparing  and  contrasting  in  detail,  work  done  by  men and  women  especially

wives  of  male  cocoa  farmers.  Some  of  her  conclusions  confirm  previous

findings  carried  out  in  Ghana  and  Nigeria  while  others  relate  to  findings

in  the  Third  World  in  general.

In  her  article  on  women  in  the  history  and  culture  of  Ghana

Agnes  Aidoo  gives  an  animated  account  of  the  role  of  women  in  both

traditional  and  transitional  Akan  society.  She  assesses  the  role  and

impact  of  women  on  the  social  structure  and  the  economic  and  political

life  of  their  people. 

' Aidoo  proceeds  not  only  by  describing  cultural

norms  but  also  by using  a  large  number  of  detailed  illustrations

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from  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  onwards  showing  historical

moments  at  which  women  made  a  significant  nark.  She  finally  con-

cludes  that  the  colonial  era  had  a  negative  effect  on  the  substantive

position  and  impact  of  women  in  society.

Eugenia  Date-Bah  tackles  the  relatively  new  phenomenon  of  the

Ghanaian  woman  in  industrial  employment.  Basing  her  discussion  on  a

case  study  of  a  group  of  factory  workers  in  the  early  seventies,

Date-Bah  looks  at  their  characteristics  especially  in  comparison  with

their  male  counterparts.  Among  other  things,  she  is  able  to  conclude

that  the  relatively  erratic  xirork  behaviour  of  women  workers  can  be

blanBd  on  their  domestic  obligations.  She  also  shows  the  problems  posed

to  female  employees  both  by  the  nature  of  factory  work  and  the  attitude

of  employers, 

iis  many Ghanaian  women  are  self  employed,  she  contrasts

women  in  the  factory  and  in  self-employment. 

. 

,

Prudence  Berger  contributes  a  note  on her  research  in  progress  on

the  role  of  women  in  social  and  economic  change. 

In  pursuance  of  the

aim  of  contributing  to  a  wider  comparative  project  whose  ultimate  goal

is  to  generate  hypotheses  on  the  nature  and  basis  of  women's  participa-

tion  in  social  and  economic  life  in  various  parts  of  the  works,  Berger

has  conducted  field  research  in  a  rural  town  in  the  Dormaa  area  of  the

Western  Brong-Ahafo  region.  Her  progress  report  shows  an  accumulation

of  relevant  data  on  the  changing  roles  of  rural  Ghanaian  women in  the

economic  and  social  l i fe  of  their  society.

The  issue  of  migrancy  and  rural  change  is  taken  up  from  several  dif-

ferent  angles  by  Patricia  Leyland  Kaufert,  basing  her  discussion  on  data

collected  from  one  town  (Tsito  in  the  Volta  Hegion).  The  effect  of

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exploring  a  wide  variety  of  variables  in  such  a  compact  context

is  to  focus  a t t e n t i on  in  an  intense  manner  on  the  many  implica-

tions  of  out  migrancy  on  a  small  coimrunity.  Among  many  others,

she  emphasises  the  broad  question  of  the  migrant  as  communicator

and  in  t h is  context  makes  several  inferences  about  the  woman  as

an  agent  of  change  in  the  community.

SSI  SUTHERLAKD-/J2)Y