A gendered analysis of educational/ occupational characteristics and access to domestic network support of single parents in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine educational and occupational characteristics, access to domestic servant/network of support for assistance of single parents who are heads of households with children in Imo State, with a view to comparing years of schooling, access to formal sector employment, access to domestic servant/network of support for assistance of male single parents and female single parents .The study relied on State level data obtained through the administration of 686 questionnaires in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Imo State. Of the 686 questionnaires for single parent household heads sampled, 490 questionnaires were returned and found adequate for the analysis indicating a completion rate of 71.4%. The questionnaires were analysed using SPSS version 17.0. The results show that male/female single parents show no significant difference in years of schooling; female single parents have significantly higher access to formal sector employment/network of support for household upkeep than their male counterparts while male single parents have significantly higher access to domestic servant than their female counterparts. The implications of this study for policy stress the imperatives of a gendered analysis of key variable-years of schooling, access to formal sector employment, access to domestic servant/network of support-of single parents made from field work for an effective welfare improvement policy formulation initiative for single parent households in Imo state; and the heterogeneity within both MSPs and FSPs in respect of these variables examined should be taken into account in designing policies that aim to improve household welfare.