Women’s preference in occupational choice for their income diversification
Sl.
|
District name
|
Occupation
|
Preference
|
1.
|
Bovel
|
Selling (Khmer noodle, fruit, petrol, lottery, clothes, wood)
|
1 st
|
Tailoring
|
2nd
| ||
Beauty salon, hair dressing
|
3 rd
| ||
Raising chicken and livestock
|
4th
| ||
Moto-dop and taxi-driving
|
5th
| ||
2.
|
Rattanak Mondul
|
Tailoring
|
1st
|
Selling (Khmer noodle, fruit, petrol, lottery, clothes, wood)
|
2 nd
| ||
Business (rice, cow, pig, chicken, vegetable)
|
3 rd
| ||
Beauty salon, hair dressing
|
4th
| ||
3
|
Thmar Pouk
|
Collection and selling non-timber forest products (grass, tree, creeds, rattan etc.)
|
1 st
|
Tailoring
|
2nd
| ||
Raising livestock and chicken
|
3rd
| ||
Business (rice, cow, chicken, vegetables)
|
4 th
| ||
4
|
Phnom Srok
|
Raising livestock, chicken
|
1st
|
Tailoring
|
2nd
| ||
Selling/vending noodle, fruit etc.
|
3rd
| ||
Beauty salon, hair dressing
|
4th
| ||
5
|
Angkor Thum
|
Selling noodle, fruits, gasoline, etc.
|
1st
|
Tailoring
|
2nd
| ||
Raising chicken, livestock
|
3rd
| ||
Beauty salon, hair dressing
|
4th
| ||
Mushroom cultivation
|
5th
| ||
6
|
Soutr Nikum
|
Raising animals
|
1st
|
Selling noodle, fruit, gasoline, lottery etc.
|
2 nd
| ||
Medical and Veterinary doctor
|
3 rd
|
Women in different provinces chose a particular occupation with different preferences. Difference in preferential choice of occupation for income diversification is further revealed by district within single province. For example, selling (Khmer noodle, fruit, petrol, lottery, and clothes, wood) was preferred as 1stoccupation by the respondents in Bovel district in Battambang province. Same occupation was preferred as 2nd choice by women in Rattanak Mondul district in the same province. Similarly, tailoring was chosen as 2ndoccupation in Bovel district and 1st occupation in Rattanak Mondul district.
However, the commonly preferred/chosen occupations for income diversification by women in the target areas are (i) selling noodle and other food products, (ii) beauty salon and hairdressing, (iii) tailoring, (iv) raising animals (livestock and poultry), business (of local products), (v) mushroom cultivation, and (vi) Medical and veterinary doctor. In fact, these are the emerging occupations in the localities that the respondents have preferred for engagement for income diversification.
2. Supports needed for local women to engage in the preferred occupations for income diversification
The respondents were asked about what kinds of supports and services they need to engage in the preferred occupations for income diversification. The most commonly identified supports that women irrespective of their geographical locations need are: (i) credit, (ii) skill training, and (iii) market facilities. Most of the preferred occupations require start-up capital. They lack capital. Once capital becomes available they need training to improve their skills on particular area of occupational interest. They need to improve their skills to produce high quality and value-added goods and services. And in third stage, they need market facilities, including market information and physical existence of market. Marketing is a problem in rural Cambodia. Because of market facilities, producers in rural areas are deprived of market prices of their produces. However, other supports that women need to engaged in preferred occupations are technology (such as make-up and salon appliance), infrastructure, material inputs (medicine, vaccination and feeds for livestock and poultry) Some of these supports such as credit, skill training, material inputs etc are locally available in some areas. Local NGOs, government departments, bank and local self-help groups make these supports available in limited scale. Bank and self-help groups particularly provide credit. On the other hand, NGOs and government departments provide skill training, but however, not in all areas of preferred occupations such as mushroom cultivation.
3. Income diversification vis-à-vis women’s workload
Traditionally, women are overworked with triple roles – productive, reproductive and community roles. Overwork of women has long been disputed as a debate. Long working hours can affect women’s health and wellbeing. Engagement of women interviewed in this study in preferred occupations can potentially increase workload of women. For diversification of income, women have to engage in more than one occupation –current occupation as well as in the chosen new occupation(s). The respondents were asked whether any attempt of diversification of income through engaging in the new occupation would increase workload.
The figure shows that 58.3% respondents believe that engagement in any new occupation for income diversification can potentially increase their workload. They will have to work longer hours. Contrarily, 41.7% respondent’s view that engagement in new occupations will not increase their workload. Respondents of this category are probably better in work management. They probably have reserve labor force in the family who can be deployed in time of need. Any programme interventions that target to empower women through income diversification need to be cautious about possible work burden caused due to multiple occupation. Women’s situation will further be precarious, otherwise.
The respondents were then asked about the alternatives to address the possible workload that women might bear in course of multiple occupations for income diversification. They suggested the followings: (1) Allocate work among other family members proportionately. (2) Assign elderly family members to keep the household ƒ Discuss family plan with husband and help each other (3) Give up occupations that are tedious, repeating, and low income generating (4) Send children to day-care center, and Employ others
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