38 research outputs found
Combining work and child care: The experiences of mothers in Accra, Ghana
Work-family research has focused predominantly on Western women. Yet the forms of economic labour in which women are typically involved and the meaning of motherhood are context-specific. This paper aims to explore the experience of combining economic activity and child care of mothers with young children using urban Ghana as a case study. Semi-structured interviews (n=24) were conducted in three locations in the Accra Metropolitan Area. Transcripts were analysed using the general inductive approach. The results found women’s experience of role conflict to be bi-directional. With regard to role enhancement, economic activity allowed women to provide materially for their children. The combination of work and child care had negative consequences for women’s wellbeing. This research questions policy makers’ strategy of frequently targeting women in their roles either as generators of income, or as the primary care-takers of children by highlighting the reality of women’s simultaneous performance of these roles
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A social policy framework for Africa
African Union Commission (AUC) asked the HSRC to formulate a Social Policy Framework with a brief that it should be comprehensive, analytical and clearly reflect Africa's key social development challenges and suggest strategies to effectively address them. ZITHA MOKOMANE, who led the HSRC team, reports.
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Socio-economic and demographic transformations in South Africa: implications for work-family conflict and gender inequality
Recent studies have revealed an increase in the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector in South Africa. However, this increase does not necessarily indicate that the welfare of South African women is improving. Like in many parts of the
world, even as they enter formal employment the women continue to be primarily responsible for the care of minor children and elderly members in their households and families. This chapter illustrates how the prevailing socio-economic and demographic
changes in the country have the potential to result in widespread work-family conflict among working women and, in the process, perpetuate gender inequality. Existing labour legislations and collective agreements are also critically explored to determine their gaps in addressing this issue. The chapter concludes by proposing a research agenda, the findings of which at could assist in enhancing working women's ability to adequately balance their work and domestic roles.
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Book review: Bradby, H. & Hundt, G.L. (eds). 2010. Global perspectives on war, gender and health: the sociology and anthropology of suffering. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. 157 p. ISBN 9780754675235
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Work-family balance: issues and considerations for the post-2014 agenda
As part of its 2011 resolution on the "Preparations for an observance of the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, the United Nations Commission for Social Development has identified work-family balance as one of the three critical areas that member states need to pay particular attention to, and develop appropriate policies to address (the others are family poverty and social exclusion).
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Adoption: who is going to look after the children?
Foster care is the most widely preferred form of alternative care in South Africa for children whose families have abandoned or relinquished them. Yet research shows that adoption is the best possible alternative for children. ZITHA MOKOMANE and TAMSEN ROCHAT looked into why people do not want to adopt children. Adoption is the least popular childcare choice, and there are indications that less and less people want to adopt, leaving children for whom there is no immediate alternative care within their extended family exceptionally vulnerable to the devastating long-term effects of putting them into an institution.
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Social protection as a mechanism for family protection in sub-Saharan Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the extended family has for generations been the basis for the sustenance of society, offering material, social, emotional and care-giving support for its members in times of need and crisis. Over the years, however, this institution has been affected by demographic and socioeconomic transformations that have continued to take place in the region. This article illustrates how these changes have contributed to family circumstances that are characterised by economic fragility, debilitating poverty and weakened family support for household chores and care-giving responsibilities. The article argues that the development and provision of more comprehensive social protection policies and programmes in SSA can help mitigate the impact of the changes on families and their members.
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Family policy in South Africa
South African like many other African countries, does not have an explicit family policy. What the country has, though, is an enabling legislative and policy framework. This chapter discusses this framework within three broad categories, that targeting marriage, that related to child-rearing and work-family balance and that aimed at supporting families at risk. It is shown that the latter, provided in the form of social grants, is the government's key initiative in addressing the livelihood challenges of vulnerable family members, specifically older person, children and people with disabilities. The social assistance system is not, however, without weakness and challenges. These are discussed and the recommendations to address them as proposed.
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Guiding the care of child-headed households
Welfare institutions have struggled to come to terms with child-headed households. In particular, how to deal with the complex and varied nature of these households that requires the involvement of several sectors and co-operation between all spheres of government and civil society. Stanley Molefi and Zitha Mokomane recount a new approach to this issue.
The nature of families is changing all over the world. In sub-Saharan Africa this involves high levels of labour migration with parents leaving their children behind; high levels of poverty; the impact of HIV and AIDS, and political instability and conflict that often force children to migrate alone to seek asylum.
Child-headed households are one of the most documented family structures to have emerged in recent years as a result of these changes. These households are characterised by the absence of a parent/caregiver, and by a child or youth assuming the role of primary caregiver in respect of another child or other children in the household, providing basic needs such as food, clothing and psychological support.
Child-headed households have profound implications for the wellbeing of children.