Survival or escaping poverty: The perspectives of poverty and well-being among Ghanaian women in cross-border trading

Abstract

Trading is one of the strategies that Ghanaian women have adopted to overcome poverty and improve their well-being. Using in-depth interviews, this study examines the specific commercial activities that are undertaken by women in cross-border trading, the coping strategies that they use to address the difficulties that confront them, the impact of women's trading activities on their lives, and how these are linked to their subjective understanding of poverty and well-being. The analysis shows that women can lift themselves out of poverty through informal cross-border trading activities in spite of the challenges and risks they face. Such trading activities have enabled them to support themselves and to meet the needs of their households, and this has created a sense of life satisfaction, happiness, and self-fulfilment. The study recommends that trade and trade-related programmes developed at a national level must include the needs and concerns of female cross-border traders. This should include educational and sensitization programmes on trade laws and women's rights issues. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.