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Item Reflections from Cross-Gender Fieldwork Experiences in Open Markets in Ghana(nternational Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2021) Sowatey, E.A.; Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H.; Hussey, L.K.; Annan-Aggrey, E.; Pinkrah, A.; Arku, G.Fieldwork can be an enjoyable academic adventure producing lifelong experiences of excitement and a sense of academic accomplishment. However, it can be an equally frustrating undertaking, especially when carried out in ‘unfamiliar’ environments. This paper adds to the growing number of studies about fieldworkers’ experiences by reflecting on the complexities involved in the process and proffering ways to respond to them. We share our perspectives as three adult African males conducting research in a predominantly female space in two informal markets in Accra, Ghana. To do this, we engage with five issues related to fieldwork: preparing to enter the field; negotiating access; handling interviews; dealing with ethical dilemmas; and exiting the field. We found that being male is not a barrier to conducting research in a predominantly female space. The success of our fieldwork was a product of our ability to adapt, be creative, appreciate our inadequacies, learn quickly and also take some practical and common-sense steps. Our hope is that the insights shared in this paper will serve as a compass for prospective fieldworkers.Item Understanding masculinities, empowering women: What have boys in Ghana got to do with it?(Global Empowerment of Women: Responses to Globalization and Politicized Religions, 2008-01) Ampofo, A.A.; Boateng, J.Since 1995, the first author has taught two graduate courses in African Studies that have been for her among the most satisfying in her career as a university teacher: ‘Gen- der and Culture in African Societies’ and ‘Gender and Development in Africa’. Although male students normally out-number females in these classes, a function of male/female ratios at the University of Ghana as a whole, in 2004, for the first time, the class on ‘Gender and Culture’ included only male students. Also, for the first time it focused on ‘Men and Masculinities’ and was co-taught with a male faculty member from the English Department.¹ The material we used came from the Social Sciences and Humanities and included novels as well as a significant number of works by male authors. Three variables had changed from earlier years – the class composition, the course focus, and the sex of the co-instructor – and it seemed that simultaneously so did the level of engagement of the male students with the idea of transformative gender relations. However, what was most enlightening for the instructors was how the link between the shift in focus from (a) gender relations and women’s ‘oppression’ (even though we do look at these issues in very concrete ways) to (b) one on how masculinity is constructed, and sometimes operates to ‘marginalise’ women, as well as oppress some men, was associated with a much greater level of commitment among the (male) students to the equal treatment of females. In other words, we presented a shift from a typical oppressor/oppressed concep- tualisation of gender relations. My colleague and I felt that such a binary construction was overly simplistic and not particularly helpful as it reduced masculinities to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ masculinities (Robinson, 2001).²Item Researching women's empowerment: Reflections on methodology by southern feminists(Women's Studies International Forum, 2014-07) Nazneen, S.; Darkwah, A.; Sultan, M.Women's empowerment has gained a central role in development literature and feminist discourses over the last few decades. It is a contested concept, claimed and used by different groups—policymakers, development practitioners, feminist academics, grassroots activists—all promoting different agendas. At present, feminists working in the area of gender and development have a broad consensus on the following understandings of empowerment. First, they largely agree that in mainstream development policy and practice, empowerment has been envisaged as individual, focused on entrepreneurship and self reliance rather than challenging power structures (Sharma, 2008; Wilson, 2008). There is an ongoing critique of this understanding and a call to move beyond this focus and emphasize that empowerment is a transformative process that is predicated upon group solidarity (Kabeer, 1994). Second, they point out that though in recent years there has been a general shift towards recognition of the intrinsic value of empowerment even by actors such as the World Bank in policy discourse1 (World Bank, 2012), the focus of development actors on women's empowerment is still instrumentalist. Third, both feminists and some policy actors agree that the understandings and meanings of women's empowerment are contextually based and that women's empowerment has multiple dimensions (Aziz, Shams, & Khan, 2011; Batliwala & Pitman, 2011; Kabeer, 1999; Malhotra, Schuler, & Brender, 2002; Parpart, Rai, & Staudt, 2002).Item Spaces of resilience, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship in informal work in Ghana(Routledge, 2018-06) Sowatey, E.; Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H.; Mkandawire, P.; Arku, G.; Hussey, L.; Amasaba, A.Further, the study found that in contrast to the notion of unregulated competition typically associated with street vending, market relations among women traders in informal market spaces are marked by alliances between rival sellers that transcended religious, ethnic, linguistic, and generational divides. As well, a strict code of conduct governs market behaviour, underpinned by an ethos of cooperation and mutual assistance among rival sellers. Furthermore, market women in Accra articulate the rationale behind informal entrepreneurship in ways that align with local and national development agenda. In so doing, the market women lend legitimacy to their trade, demand accountability from local authorities, and oppose repressive practices by the state. We highlight the implications of our findings for city planning and development. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupItem Introduction: Why we do Gender in Media Studies African(Africa Media Review, 2013) Gadzekpo, A.