Participation of Women in the Economic Activity in Cameroon

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to put forward the explanatory factors of the participation of women in the economic activity in the Cameroonian context characterized by an important and persistent gender gap in terms of participation in the economic activity (more men than women). The authors carried out, on the basis of data resulting from the DHS‐MICS 2011, an analysis using the binomial logistic model. It comes out from this analysis that the significant explanatory variables are the age (which plays at the same time the role of variable of control), the religion, the ethnic group, the size of the household, the relationship with the head of household, the educational level (of the woman and the husband/partner), the occupational status of the husband/partner, the household’s standard of living, and the marital status. According to the results obtained, it would be important to set up policies intended to reinforce the professionalization of the young woman and to fight against the sexist sociocultural norms and practices advocating the “sexual division” of labor