User:Realtalk3657/Black women

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Black women are women of sub-Saharan African and Afro-diasporic descent, as well as women of Australian Aboriginal[1] and Melanesian descent. The term 'Black' is a racial classification of people, the definition of which has shifted over time and across cultures. As a result, the term 'Black women' describes a wide range of cultural identities with several meanings around the world.

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Women in Ghana have been experiencing poverty at higher rates than their male counterparts as a result of less educational opportunities, elevated unemployment rates, and gender inequality. Historically, Ghanaian culture has created the role of women to be in the home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children. Ghanaian women, on average, complete only primary school as a result of these societal expectations. Men are primarily regarded as breadwinners, and have more economic mobility as a result of their ability to carry on the family name and amass ownership of land, one of the highest forms of capital. These societal conditions originated from European colonization of Ghana from the 15th century up until the 20th century. The structural frameworks set up during that five century time period favored Eurocentric beauty standards, work ethic, and culture. This fractured Ghanaian identity and customs, leading to harmful practices such as providing space for only men to further their education, secure a well paying job, and be politically active. As well as only teaching women how to be suitable for men, and promoting skin bleaching among women to become closer to whiteness. After Ghana gained their independence in 1957 from Britain, women were not compensated for their inability to own land and gain foundational skills under colonial frameworks, creating the cycle of poverty.

Ghana's patriarchal society, stemming from colonialism, has been impacting women not only economically but relationally as well. Abuse is a prevalent component of polygamous and monogamous relationships in Ghana. This normalization of domestic violence lends itself to the topic of sex trafficking in Ghana and how women are objectified through the male gaze and ultimately abused. Sex trafficking in Ghana is very common as a result of poverty and lack of education and employment skills. It can be hard for women to get out of being a sex worker because it might be viewed as the only way to provide for their families or themselves. The criminalization of sex work in Ghana also makes it difficult for women to escape abuse from their pimps and customers and seek help.

Another factor that plays a role in the susceptibility of women being in poverty is the rise in female headed households as a result of divorce, women becoming widows, or women being separated from their partners. This has exacerbated the issue of poverty among women because they're unable to have access to the benefits of the socio-economic status men hold in Ghana.

Economically, the majority of Ghanaian women are in the informal sector of Ghana's economy, meaning they are mostly self employed. Self employment doesn't always guarantee a stable source of income, making it hard for women to make enough money to support themselves and their families. Some of the prominent entrepreneurial jobs women take up in Ghana are hairdressing, dress making, market trading , and agriculture. Market trading, especially, has been a good way for women to better their chances of getting out of poverty because they are given the opportunity to take part in credit services, acquire insurance on their personal items, and build their savings. According to Wrigley-Asante in her journal article, "Market women are considered the backbone of food distribution, ensuring food security for the urban economy". Ghanaian women are very important contributors to Ghana's economy despite not having access to steady wages.

Ghana's government has made strides to address the inequalities present within the culture by creating the WID (women in development) initiative in the 70's to cater to women's welfare, SAP (structural adjustment programs) in the 80's to help women in their productivity, and PAMSCAD (Program of Action to Mitigate the Social Costs of Adjustment) in the late 80's and early 90's to help boost the socioeconomic status of Ghanaian women. These initiatives and programs ultimately failed because they were not addressing the root cause of poverty among women, and colonialism's lasting impacts has rendered the Ghanaian government ill prepared to give the necessary resources to such complex programs.

Women play a modest role in Ghana's two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NP), as well as in the Convention People's Party (CPP). The first president, Kwame Nkrumah (CPP), made Ghana the first African nation to introduce a quota in 1959, reserving 10 seats for women in Parliament. Ghana has recently been laggard, however, with a representation of 11% women after the election in 2012 and 13% after the election in 2016.