How can I come to work on Saturday when I have a family?': Ghanaian women and bank work in a neo-liberal era.

Abstract

Changes in the conditions of formal work in Ghana speaks to larger themes of globalization and economic liberalization. While the liberalization of the banking industry in Ghana (a site of formal work) has improved the material rewards of bank work, these benefits are gendered and unequal. Moreover, other conditions of work have become more challenging, including the volume and hours of work. The paper discusses the implications of these changes for female bank workers within a wider social context, and argues that the expansion of work spaces for women may prove to be restrictive as workplace and societal gender norms converge. The paper thus challenges the neoliberal perspective that formal salaried work is inherently empowering to women