Abstract:
Gender inequality in cotton production and marketing cooperative societies is an action
oriented research aiming at examining gender issues in cotton production and marketing so that
to propose possible solutions for addressing gender inequality. Generally, the research findings
indicate that the societal structures and the existing cooperative institutions in the study areas
are patriarchy based and male dominated, resulting into gender inequality between men and
women. Tllis situation has social and economic implications as it leads to underutilization of
human resources and widens segregation and discrimination of women. The phenomenon has
been ascribed to a variety of legal, cultural, social and historical constraints. In the study areas
respondents admitted that, the main cause of this situation is the socialization and upbringing
of children, and the customs, culture and traditions of this particular society as the main agents
for social construction of gender identity. Cooperative legal framework and lack of cooperative
institutional commitment were also mentioned as one of the impeding factors towards women
involvement in these traditional cooperatives. The study therefore proposes strategies for
gender integration in AMCOs. These include among others; the need for further field research
to ascertain women's constraints and needs, gender sensitization for men and women, special
education and training for women, and the need for revision of cooperative policy and
legislation
