The Dimensions Of Womens Contribution To The Workforce In Agriculture: The Turkey Case

Abstract

In less developed and developing countries, women make less use of the benefits resulting from development. Women take part in every stage of production and also shoulder the difficulties of life loaded onto them by their roles within and outside the family. However, the use, distribution, and management of the income created in the family is unjust, and women do not have access to sources such as loans. Women are negatively affected by both the traditional social class structure and the inequality between the socially defined gender roles and statuses. This situation becomes more apparent for especially women who work in agriculture in rural areas. Although women’s contribution to the workforce is high due to the fact that they work as unpaid agricultural workers in rural areas, the employment of women in agriculture decreases due to the general decrease of employment in this sector. Women working in agriculture cannot continue taking part in the workforce when they leave the sector or when they move to another region. Women who do take part in the workforce, do low status work requiring no qualifications and without any job security.  This may result in women being isolated from work life as well as social life. In Turkey, where social gender roles are shaped by social factors, that is, social gender based distribution of responsibilities, women are usually considered to be responsible for housework and raising children.  To a large extent, the domestic responsibilities of women prevent them from searching for a job and joining the work force. Women are expected to first be a housewife and mother. In rural areas, women are unpaid family workers who do agricultural work as an extension of their domestic work. These features of women’s life in rural areas make it necessary to study, discuss and find solutions to the problems of women in rural areas, and to develop relevant strategies.