Women in wage employment : a study in their opportunities, needs and problems in Tanzania
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Date
1980
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University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
The thesis has been divided into six major divisions dubbed chapters. Chapter one puts the problem or research topic in perspective by giving: (I) the purpose and importance of the whole study and the underlying hypotheses; (ii the geographical limitations within which the research was carried out; (iii) The methods used in data collection; and (iv) the definitions of some of the operational terminologies and/or concepts used in the study. This chapter thus as would be expected sort of opens the gate to let the reader through to the main body of the study. Chapter two gives the historical and cultural framework of the problem of female employment in Tanzania. It has outline the social values and other facts about women which have a bearing in their belatted entry in the world of employment. It then goes on to trace and analyse the factors that influenced their entry into wage employment during the early (1900-1930s) and latter (1940s-1961) colonial eras. It does this by examining the role of : (I) historical setting; (ii) socio-cultural setting; and (iii) techno-economic setting in (a) retarding or accelerating the entry of women in the world of work during the two colonial eras, and (b) determining the type of occupations available to those who ever took up jobs. Finally the chapter examines the colonial labour laws which were in force then, in its attempt to establish the position of women in wage employment prior to independence in 1961. Chapter three picks up from where chapter two left. In a form of recent history of female employment, it has divided the period between independence in 1961 to 1976 into two major periods (1961-1966 and 1967-1976) each with major factors or events which together with socio-cultural practices and values of the people in the society had some impact on the entry of women wage employment. In the first period the factors that positively or negatively influenced the expansion of female employment were mainly two: (I) the political ‘revolution’ independence; and (ii) the educational ‘revolution’ reforms in the educational system and practice. In the second period the main factor that had an appreciable influence on the size and structure of female employment was socio-economic ‘revolution’. That is, the relative expansion of the manufacturing industry and the Arusha Declaration with its policy of nationalization and self reliance that came with it, acted as catalysts for female employment by (I) creating more openings for women in the modern economy and (ii) creating an atmosphere in which any attitude or cultural norm that was against the employment of women seemed to be anachronistic, anti development and unsocialistic. In chapter four the factors that limit the opportunities of women in the labour market have been identified and assessed, and the problems and needs of those already in wage employment have been analysed. It has been established for example that public attitudes in the country are not wholly facilitative to female employment or their advancement; and that some of the problems working women face to-day are the result of those attitudes. It has shown also that education alone cannot be the means to improve the lot of women in wage employment; what is required is a complete change in the society’s (i.e. government officials’, employers’, men’s and women’s) socio-cultural values and attitudes towards the present sex-role stereotypes. There should be arrangements and/or facilities for example, to help working women lessen the load of house making chores and child care problems. Chapter five deals with the question of the workers’ behaviour and attitude towards their jobs such as satisfaction/ dissatisfaction with one’s job and the resultant behaviour such as absenteeism, turnover and commitment to work.. It analyses the proportion of workers satisfied and dissatisfied with their jobs; the proportion of those who liked and disliked certain job factors; the proportion of those who quit their jobs and/or absented themselves from them. It does this by using several variables such as sex, age, marital status and length of service; for the underlying assumptions were that workers with similar educational achievements will exhibit similar behavioural and attitudinal trends; and that a satisfied worker will exhibit desirable behaviour and/or attitude towards her work. This chapter has, however established that these assumptions are not wholly valid. For it has shown that: (I) Although education is an important factor, it is not the only one that moulds and/or determines a worker’s behaviour and/or attitudes towards her job. There were other factors that influenced such behaviour and attitude. (ii) Job satisfied workers do not necessarily exhibit desirable behaviour and/or attitude at their places of work, nor is it true that dissatisfied workers always exhibit undesirable behaviour and/or attitude. The whole question of a worker’s behaviour and attitude thus depends on a complex interaction of complex factors; and no simple prediction based on any one factor can be valid. Finally chapter six summarizes the main findings, arguments and recommendations made in the study. One argument emerging out of this study for example, is that: socio-economic, political and techno-cultural situations of the country affected and still affect the female employment and/or advancement opportunities in it, much more than those of men. The second argument is that education though an important factor cannot singly be used to make a valid prediction of a worker’s behaviour and/or attitude towards her job. From the whole body of findings and discussions the chapter has then drawn out possible implications for policy and action and identified four groups of people, the government officials, the employers, the men (husbands) and the women themselves to which recommendations for measures to adopt those policy and action has been made. This chapter in other words puts in a brief form what the society should do among others to improve the lot of WOMEN IN WAGE EMPLOYMENT
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Keywords
Women, Wages, Employment, Tanzania
Citation
Chijumba, B. J (1980) Women in wage employment : a study in their opportunities, needs and problems in Tanzania, PhD dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at (http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx)