THEME: Female-headed households are a large and important target group in Grenada.
Causes Migration takes place from rural to urban areas and to other countries. According to the 1991 Census, 61 people per 1 000 were migrating. Data culled by FAO in 1998 shows that among those who migrate, 48% are male and 38% female. Only in 14% of cases do both spouses migrate together. The few opportunities for employment or social life in rural areas are encouraging a rural-urban drift, particularly of young males. Some eventually migrate overseas. While teenage pregnancy appears to be declining in Grenada (from 23% in 1980 to 19.7% in 1991), it still represents a significant social problem. As elsewhere in the Caribbean, males gain peer status and self-esteem based on the number of women with whom they have sexual intercourse and the number of children they produce. Other ways for either males or females to prove themselves are difficult to find: Grenada has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Caribbean (15% in 1998). Rural youth are reluctant to take over the family farm because of lack of incentives in agriculture. Gender stereotypes limit women's occupational horizons and opportunities. Profile Statistics on female-headed households in Grenada include:
Information from a number of countries worldwide shows that female-headed households have a harder time escaping poverty than male-headed ones. Given the age profile and social structure in rural Grenada, it is useful for development programmes to differentiate between two main groups of female household heads:
For many young mothers, pregnancy is the end of their schooling and the beginning of their attempt to provide food, clothing and housing for themselves and their children. Child-care responsibilities add to these women's constraints in accessing business opportunities or holding jobs. While day care centres and pre-primary schools exist in Grenada, they are insufficient in number. In spite of this, fully 45.4% of female heads of households are in the work force. Presumably, these are younger females. Although existing legislation gives women equal access to employment in all sectors, traditional norms and attitudes still influence women in seeking and being recruited into traditionally "female" and lower-paying jobs. The second group, older female heads of households, are without child-care responsibilities, unless they are caring for their daughters' children. In theory, these women would have more time available for undertaking income-generating activities and limited farming. In recent years, the number of female heads of household who farm has been increasing. The average age of female farmers is 54. Female-headed households in Grenada are an important and identifiable targeting group, including in rural areas. However, the average age and low education level may limit their opportunities for escaping poverty. Adapted from: IFAD. 2000. Grenada: Rural Enterprises Project: Formulation Mission Report. Working Paper I, "Socio-economic and Gender Equity Aspects of the Target Group." Rome. |
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As
in much of the Caribbean, Grenada also has a large number of female-headed
households (estimated at around 45%). The report of a 2000 IFAD
mission to Grenada shows that the number of de facto female heads
of household is increased by outmigration. De jure female heads
of households are largely single mothers. In spite of the constraints
women face, poverty is only slightly higher among female than male-headed
households. According to the Poverty Assessment Report of 1999,
52% of poor households were female headed and 48% percent were male
headed.