Women in the Caribbean are women who were born in, who live in, or are from the region of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Historically, Caribbean women have been significant contributors to the economy and the "

domestic sphere The private sphere is the complement or opposite to the public sphere. The private sphere is a certain sector of societal life in which an individual enjoys a degree of authority, unhampered by interventions from governmental or other institutions. ...

" of the Caribbean region since the time of slavery, during the time of " free labor forces" in the late 19th and 20th centuries, as well as during the time of " contemporary politics" and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. Their position and status may vary "among Caribbean societies", cultural groups, and geographical locations, that have different language backgrounds which include English-, Spanish-, and French-speaking communities in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

.Morrissey, Marietta. A Review o
''Women and Change in the Caribbean''
a work edited by Janet H. Momsen. Kingston: Ian Randle; Bloomington: Indiana University Press; London: Currey, 1993. x, 320 pp. Women in The Caribbean Project (WICP) is a project that identifies personalized social realities that women are challenged with. The main focus is to analyze how these realities came to be and the consequences they have on the individual and community as social change occur (Massiah, 1986).

Sex-role and Self-perception

Women in the Caribbean's role as child-bearer and nurture extended to the dual role. Women's role has resulted in the addition of instrumental tasks. Women were obligated to maintain the duties of the household due to the increase in male emigration towards the end of the century of slavery (Anderson 1986). Because of WWII, the economy had an unexpected change. During this time there was a need for more workers, specifically one who acquired a higher education. This resulted in an increase in female workers and the structure of class started making its way through the cohort gender. Women seek work outside of the household, but their obligation at home was still the main priority. It is still a women's responsibility to ensure that their husband and children are well established before work outside is done. A woman having a child sensed to be one's source of identity. Having children gives a woman a feeling of fulfillment. To bear and raise children fills the emotional gap. When one is not able to bear a child, she will assist other parenting mothers. Once a mother, she is considered to be to some degree independent and responsible. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the correlation of having children and being thought highly begins in their own families. It Is then strengthen by outside experiences such as school systems. The school systems were based on the idea that women are the intellectual antithesis to men. As women seek work their value in the labor market decreases. The male role includes authority and power due to the fact of being an economic provider. Even though males have this status, by Caribbean women actively being the decision-maker when it comes to familial roles and their income earned outside of the home, these women attribute to leadership. When male figures are absent, women are responsible for taking the full role of the household; including the roles assigned to the man.

Haitian women in the Caribbean

The class structure in Haiti is divided into distinct castes rather than classes. The

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

system and its values differentiate depending on social class (Allman & Allman 1987). The urban, educated, French-speakers differ from the rural and newly arrived migrants living in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. Family patterns differ between urban and rural areas. In rural areas, the patterns of families are related to lacou; meaning courtyard. Large groups of kins living together around a central court. Each extended family would live in their caille, but the compound was connected through communal working and under the authority of a

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

. This system was the main structure until the 20th century. This was created when the socio-economic system was broken up after independence of 1804 and plantations were given to peasants. In urban areas, the families are of a small minority of upper-class Haitians. The middle and lower-middle-class Haitians have family patterns of French orientation. Haitian women play a large role in the economy. They are often running households without the help of a father. Many live alone without a husband with their children and other relatives. Peasant women are responsible for selling the produce of the land. They also buy items in urban areas for families. The women are constantly traveling to markets, at times the distances are far. and petty retailing. Urban Haitian women are workers in assembly factories. The economic responsibility gives high independence and sometimes can lead to them to be of equal power to the working men. Haitian women's status is higher in rural areas within the lower urban classes; whereas status is lower in the middle classes. In the Haitian society, men and women are relatively equal when it comes to earning money, economic activities and household duties. Haitian women are able to support and care for their children for a long period of time with very little help form men.

Women in Trinidad and Tobago Women in Trinidad and Tobago are women who were born in, who live in, or are from Trinidad and Tobago. Depending from which island the women came, they may also be called Trinidadian women or Tobagonian women respectively.Women in the British Virgin Islands Women in the British Virgin Islands are women who were born in, who live in, and are from the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean. According to ''Countries and Their Culture'', women of the British Virgi ...

Women in Puerto Rico The recorded history of Puerto Rican women can trace its roots back to the era of the ''Taíno'', the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called "Boriken" before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish ...

Women in the United States Virgin Islands Women in the United States Virgin Islands are women who were born in, who live in, and are from the Virgin Islands of the United States, a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States, and is composed of the isl ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Women In The Caribbean Caribbean women North American women

Sex-role and Self-perception

Haitian women in the Caribbean

See also

References

Further reading

External links