BRIDGING THE GENDER GAP – a story on Female Vulcanizers by Muyeba Abukari

Joyce Korkor is living proof that when the realization of a dream fails, the strength to move on must be sustained.

Joyce who is affectionately called Obaa Yaa is in her mid-thirties. She once hoped to join the military but failed after she got married at an age of 21.

The tale never promised to be a happily ever after one as Obaa Yaa became a widow with 4 kids. In a bid to keep body and soul together, Obaa Yaa inherited her late husband’s trade- Vulcanizing, which she has being plying for the past 7 years.

“I had someone working for me until he showed gross insubordination. He was recalcitrant and came to work at odd times”, said Obaa Yaa

Undoubtedly a masculine trade which requires the ability to exert muscles and be more dexterous. But, Joyce seemed to have mastered her craft pretty well.

It is no surprise she now attracts clients like Dan who is impressed to see a woman in a male dominated field for the first time.

According to him he deems it refreshing to see a woman in this field.  “Lately women are so reliant on government but she has taken the step to work for herself”, says Dan Gariba

Research by the World Bank says 44 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana are owned by women.

With about 92 per cent of businesses, largely within the private sector, contributing to 70 per cent of Ghana’s gross domestic product (GDP).

As the world continues to put in place measures to break the bias and to ensure that people from both genders are offered equal opportunities in terms of decent work, Obaa Yaa’s courage to venture into vulcanizing is a sure catalyst to push more women into other male dominated fields.

Credit: Muyeba Abukari is a Broadcast Journalist with GHOne TV; she is with the @muyeba_thelifestylepodcast_ handle on Instagram