Title: Gendered decision-making and division of labour in Cambodia and Thailand

Authors: John Walsh

Addresses: SIU Research Centre, School of Management, Shinawatra University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Abstract: Although agricultural households operate on the basis of the gendered division of labour, it is not clear whether a similar division of labour occurs with respect to decision-making when it comes to agricultural activities. This paper reports on three empirical studies conducted in Cambodia and Thailand with a total sample size of 520 respondents. The sample consists entirely of women, many of whom were heads of households. The surveys discovered information about gender and decision-making in terms of new inputs into production (e.g. insecticides and fertilisers) and in livestock management. It was observed that different decision-making processes were followed when a woman was head of the household rather than a man and factors contributing to this result are explained. Implications and recommendations are discussed, along with the necessary limitations to the research in terms of time and space.

Keywords: Cambodia; female decision making; gender; household survey; Thailand; division of labour; agricultural households; agriculture; women; insecticides; fertilisers; livestock management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2015.074104

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2015 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.209 - 227

Accepted: 18 Sep 2015
Published online: 08 Jan 2016 *

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