Men's leisure and women's multiple role involvement in rural, agribusiness: Implications for gender sensitive management approaches

Abstract

The research is premised on the realisation that when farm-family members have adequate psychological wellbeing, they will enjoy good health, experience good interpersonal relations within and outside the family, participate productively in agribusiness, and contribute meaningfully to development. The study set out to gain insight and understanding of the farmers' life experiences; since farm-families are gendered institutions with peculiar needs, problems and aspirations. Although women are revealed as active participants in agribusiness, the study further reveals that the socio-cultural constructions of their gender roles, feminization of domestic roles and men's leisure at the expense of their role accumulation, increasing responsibility for children upkeep and family maintenance, causes gender disparities in effective participation in agribusiness, and thus pose serious threats to the women's psychological wellbeing, and optimum productivity. Findings provide the much-needed information useful for gender analysis and development of gender-sensitive and gender-specific management approaches for the enhancement of the psychological wellbeing in farm-families, effective participation in agribusiness and optimum productivity. Gender and Behaviour. Vol. 4 (2) 2006: pp. 882-895