ABSTRACT

In the Botswana Labour Force Survey, agriculture was identified as the fastest growing employing industry with growth mainly driven by the entrance of women into the industry. As such, the purpose of the study was thus to investigate how the demographic profile of farm holders have changed in Botswana over time. Using Agricultural Survey Reports, the paper descriptively analyses changes in the gender and age composition of farm holders in Botswana. The study found that the industry has in fact employed a larger share of women, but that the movement of women into the industry was still largely dependent on those of men. This is evident in the fact that the share of married male and female farmers move in opposite directions. It also found that during times of distress women's share as farmers increased. The movement of men and women in the industry indicates that policies which have historically been geared towards the needs and characteristics of male farmers and their households may require gender mainstreaming to accommodate female farmers and their households. This paper opens up a debate around gendered social assistance which accommodates women not just as ordinary household members, but more specifically farmers.

摘要

在博茨瓦纳劳动力调查中，农业被确定为增长最快的就业行业，其增长主要是由女性进入该行业推动的。因此，该研究的目的是调查博茨瓦纳农场主的人口特征随时间的变化。本文使用农业调查报告，描述性地分析了博茨瓦纳农场主性别和年龄构成的变化。研究发现，该行业实际上雇用了更大比例的女性，但女性进入该行业仍然在很大程度上依赖于男性。这在已婚男性和女性农民的比例相反的事实中很明显。它还发现，在困难时期，妇女的份额随着农民的增加而增加。男性和女性在该行业的流动表明，历来针对男性农民及其家庭的需求和特点的政策可能需要将性别主流化以适应女性农民及其家庭。本文开启了一场关于性别社会援助的辩论，该社会援助不仅将女性作为普通家庭成员，而且更具体地说是农民。