ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the interaction between economic and other roles in the lives of urban women in West Africa. In Ghana, women in Koforidua were more involved, especially as artisans, than women in Accra and the same was true in the 1968 Tema sample, though here more were in white-collar occupations. Education provides alternatives to trading because many jobs require it. P. Marris indicates that Yoruba husbands may not provide trading capital until they are sure the marriage will last, and other husbands prefer that their new wives do not work in order to establish dominance over them. Even educated women may favour the role of senior wife because of the increased power it gives them, especially if the husband is wealthy. Female employment in West Africa increases rather than decreases with age and is also high for married women even though the fertility rate is among the highest in the world.
