Mapping Women Trade Networks in West Africa

Posted: 22 Mar 2018 Last revised: 13 Aug 2018

See all articles by Olivier Walther

Olivier Walther

University of Florida

Marie Trémolières

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

This paper maps the distribution of activities and the movement of goods between producers, traders and wholesalers in Niger, Nigeria and Benin, three countries where women traders are important actors in markets and play a significant role in forging ties beyond borders. Using an innovative approach known as social network analysis, the paper identifies gender roles and sheds light on the nature of relationships between men and women. Gender along with age, race, and ethnicity – is indeed a powerful factor structuring social relationships on the continent, where male and women labor contribution to food systems are often gender-specific. The paper first verifies to what extent women and men tend to sell different types, volumes and qualities of products along food value chains. It then explain how gender inequalities are reproduced through social norms that limit women's choices and opportunities. Women's participation to markets, the paper shows, is significantly shaped by a gendered system of relationships, at the household and community level, that provide them access to information and agricultural resources.

Suggested Citation

Walther, Olivier and Trémolières, Marie, Mapping Women Trade Networks in West Africa (2018). ASA 2018 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3145421

Olivier Walther (Contact Author)

University of Florida ( email )

3205 Turlington Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
United States

Marie Trémolières

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) ( email )

2 rue Andre Pascal
Paris Cedex 16, 75775
France

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