‘Collective Action Can Lead to Real Progress for Rural Women Everywhere’

Gabriella Leelee Enchill

Photo courtesy of Gabriella Leelee Enchill

Gabriella Leelee Enchill is a third-year student at the HSE University Doctoral School of Sociology. She has a bachelor’s in Integrated Community Development from the University for Development Studies in her native Ghana and a master’s in Population and Development from HSE University. Her current research focuses on gender inequality in rural Ghanaian communities. Gabriella spoke to the HSE News Service about what her studies have uncovered about inequality in the region, how women can gain agency by banding together, and why studying these communities helps empower women around the world.

— Tell us about your research and what inspired it.

— The research is titled ‘Gender Arrangements of Women’s Capabilities in Contemporary Ghana: On the Example of the Kwabre East District.’ The inspiration stems from witnessing the implementation of gender policy initiatives such as Ghana’s National Gender Policy, SDG 5, and the recent passing of the Affirmative Action bills, yet gender issues seem to be prevalent in rural Ghana.

Among the 16 regions in Ghana, the prevalence of gender issues in southern part of the country is understudied.

I collaborated with a community-based organisation (Mama’s Helping Hand) involved in women’s empowerment initiatives (vocational skills training) in two rural communities of Kwabre East District

This led to a social action and a study, targeting two women’s groups in the Bosore and Abirem communities.

— What has your research discovered about gender inequality in rural Ghana?

— The findings can only be tentatively generalised. My study revealed deep-rooted gender arrangements in these communities in terms of cultural norms, traditions, and social structures. Quantitative data from ILOSTAT (1990–2024) showed stagnant labour participation for rural women at 40–50%, with 58–60% locked in agriculture, and a 25% gender gap in vulnerable employment widening post-2020 (after COVID-19).

Qualitatively, the women shared how ‘wise sayings' and upbringings tend to teach strict ideas of what men and women ‘should do.’ Even certain economic activities are gendered—for example, selling food is seen more as a job for women. In addition, traditions and religion tend to push rural women into submissive roles, such as staying at home to take care of the family instead of doing paid work.

In simple terms, it’s a cycle. Culture sets norms (men as leaders), structures enforce them (no skills training, etc), and individuals adapt by avoiding risks, depriving rural women of Nussbaum’s core capabilities such as bodily integrity, practical reason, and control over their environment.

Culture helps to enforce strict gender roles, creating a hierarchy where women stay submissive. Structures like family pressures and community expectations reinforce this and normalise it as ‘tradition’

Most of the families in the communities have men as their heads (patriarchal families), controlling finances and mobility. Unmarried women can get kicked out for working if permission is not granted by their family heads, and married ones face abuse for speaking up. One participant shared her experience of being beaten by her husband, and her family’s response was: ‘that’s how marriage is.’ Individually, the women often internalise this fear, choosing silence to avoid stress, and this traps them in poverty and regret.

Photo courtesy of Gabriella Leelee Enchill

— Does participation in the labour market offer empowerment to women in these communities?

— Women endure the dual burdens of unpaid domestic work and petty trading, as well as low-income farming, owning just 10% of land despite comprising 70% of the agricultural workforce. Participants like Esi, who is 26 years old, shared stories of family pressure prioritising men’s jobs, even during COVID-19 lockdowns in Ghana. This reflects Connell’s gender regime where hegemonic masculinity dominates decision-making, with men as household heads and women as subordinates.

Gender roles also segregate work, leaving the women without skills or support, perpetuating vulnerability despite self-help groups that are present to offer them some mutual aid

Overall, women’s power remains quite limited in these Ghanaian communities; traditions keep most of the rural women’s focus on home duties, with little room for economic independence or leadership. They face stigma and abuse when they try to step out of social norms—one participant shared how her husband and his family accused her of being a witch for asserting independence.

Participation offers a secured position but often traps rural women in vulnerability, limiting broader capabilities like education and health as well, according to some of the Ghanaian experts I interviewed. ILOSTAT data shows 84% of Ghanaian women in precarious own-account or family work, peaking post-2020 amid COVID shocks, compared to men’s lower rates. This aligns with 2025 Ghana Statistical Service trends where over two-thirds of employed persons, especially rural women, remain in vulnerable roles. Here, employment conditions perpetuate deprivation through informality, low pay, and no protections of security, widening a 25% gender gap in vulnerability.

Labour market participation is central but severely limited by gender arrangements, trapping women in vulnerable employment that stifles their capabilities

Women face male job prioritisation, cultural norms demanding spousal obedience, and lack of LAD or credit access. The participants’ stories, like Esi’s mother favouring her brother’s job application, echo cultural norms of male breadwinners and the submissiveness of females. Participants’ reflexive accounts, analysed through Archer’s structure–culture–agency lens, showed the women negotiating change via internal conversations, yet reverting to precarious self-employment (85–90% informal) via petty trading.

— What surprised you most during your research in the Kwabre-East District?

— The most shocking discovery was how deeply entrenched cultural norms force rural women into an 84% vulnerable employment rate, despite some of them having immense agency. And this is something that statistics alone never fully captured until hearing the women’s stories or experiences first-hand. Another surprise was how supportive husbands are being criticised for allowing their wives to work outside their matrimonial homes. Yet another was how the women prefer male leaders to females, seeing women leaders as ineffective. This is reflected in low representation in local governance, and reforms like quotas are needed to boost their voice.

Patriarchal norms are still being transmitted intergenerationally, but resilience through women’s self-help groups hints at ways forward with targeted Africanised interventions

This glimmering of influence within these two communities as resilient agencies is emerging through women’s groups, fostering affiliation and collective action, as Nussbaum’s framework highlights. While those in these two self-help groups are few in number, their collective spirit can offer real optimism for other rural women to consider their own empowerment.

Photo courtesy of Gabriella Leelee Enchill

Initiatives targeting capabilities in the form of public education and networking among rural women to support each other can have ripple benefits in women’s empowerment. True influence requires culturally sensitive interventions addressing Archer’s structure–culture–agency cycles to expand capabilities beyond subsistence.

This is important for people worldwide because these gender issues aren’t isolated to Ghana. They reflect global patterns of gender inequality that hinder sustainable development everywhere, and being a research assistant at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, along with the guidance of my supervisor, Prof. Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, has broadened my knowledge on the scope of these issues.

By understanding how cultural structures in these communities confine women to unpaid care work or subsistence agriculture, international readers will grasp the human cost of ignoring local realities

This understanding will help foster cross-cultural solidarity and collaborations for joint research or further research. It’s about collective action—readers engaging means real progress for rural women everywhere.

— How has your experience in Moscow been, both professionally and personally?

— I moved to Moscow in pursuit of global perspectives and to acquire diverse knowledge and academic experiences during my master’s degree. During that time, I applied to various international academic institutions but only HSE University had the programme I was most interested in—the Master’s in Population and Development. Currently, I’m a PhD candidate of Sociology, and Moscow, with its robust academic ecosystem and intellectual community, has fostered me with advanced experiences and knowledge.

Moscow has been a profound catalyst for my growth. The city’s relentless energy and harsh winter seasons have built my resilience much like some of the rural Ghanaian women I study, who navigate patriarchal structures with unyielding agency.

The multicultural pulse here, from the Ghanaian diaspora community to Slavic traditions, has deepened my appreciation for intersectional identities

Personal joys I have experienced here so far include the bonds I have made in Moscow’s expat circles, finding new friends and new relationships, as well as late-night metro rides and safety. Regardless of my inability to speak and understand Russian, I’m always able to complete my day-to-day activities.

Ultimately, as a researcher, this academic journey has propelled me from local empirical studies to transformative global scholarship on women’s empowerment, especially when I became a research assistant at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research.

Outside of academia, Moscow has major attractions, cultural highlights, seasonal appeal, friendly locals, and—most importantly—diverse and healthy delicacies such as borscht, syrniki, pelmeni, cutlets, and compote, reflecting Eurasian flavours. Every day, Moscow charms with its resilient spirit and efficient transport that connects bustling neighbourhoods to one another. Each metro station is an art deco marvel with advanced architecture, innovation, and technology. As a hub of innovation, it inspires thinkers worldwide with its enduring energy. I am happy to have this wonderful experience at this point in my life.