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Dr. Adomako Ampofo is an Associate Professor at the Institute
of African Studies, University of Ghana, where she heads
the "Societies and Cultures" section, and is coordinator
of DAWS, the "Development and Women's Studies Programme"
that brings together faculty from across the university,
and sister universities, around gender teaching, research
and advocacy.
Dr. Adomako Ampofo holds a PhD in Sociology from Vanderbilt
University, undergraduate and masters degrees in Architectural
Design and Development planning respectively from the University
of Science and Technology, Kumasi, and a Post-graduate diploma
in Spatial Planning from the University of Dortmund. She
has received international awards from organisations such
as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the
Population Council, and WHO; and has consulted for organisations
such as the Ghana Statistical Services, the Ministry of
Health (Ghana); Johns Hopkins University; Save the Children,
UNICEF, and UNAIDS. Dr. Adomako serves on many editorial
and other boards, and is currently a member of the Ghana
AIDS commission and a UNIFEM gender evaluation specialist.
The synergy between academic work and activism is reflected
in some of the organizations that Dr. Adomako Ampofo is
involved in (such as AAWORD, Association of African Women
for Research & Development; Netright, the National collation
for women's rights in Ghana; SWS, Sociologists for women
in Society; and the Women's Caucus of the African Studies
Association, of which she is also a Steering Committee member)
and works with (schools, religious organizations and civil-society
organizations such as WISE and The Ark Foundation, an advocacy-based,
human-rights organization that seeks the protection and
promotion of the rights of women and girls).
Dr. Adomako Ampofo's scholarship focuses on gender relations
and women's lives, and development in Africa, namely, population
and health issues; power and decision making; the construction
of masculinity and femininity; gender-based violence; and,
most recently, gender, race and ethnicity. She has taught
courses in Methods in Social Research; Population &
Development; Reproductive Health; The Sociology of Medicine
& Health Behaviour; Women & Development in Africa;
Culture & Gender in African Societies; Men & Masculinities
in Africa; and Contemporary African Societies.
Selected publications:
"'When men speak women listen'; Gender Socialisation
and Young Adolescents' Attitudes to Sexual and Reproductive
Issues' (2002) African Journal of Reproductive Health 5(3)
196-212;
"Does Women's Education Matter? A Case Study of Reproductive
Decision Making from Urban Ghana" (2002) Ghana Studies
Vol. 5;
"Mothering among Black and White non-Ghanaian Women
in Ghana." (2003) Jenda.
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The Socialization of Young People and the Reproduction
and Contestation of Patriarchy in Ghana
This year's NCS theme highlights the many challenges that
women continue to face in achieving equality with men in
various spheres of their lives. Within this context, my
work seeks to understand an important route of women's subordination
- gender socialization - and asks why women, but especially
men, construct wo/men's roles and identities the way they
do, and how and when particular masculinities are constructed
and used. In order to change the power dynamics between
the sexes so that young women experience a sense of entitlement
to autonomy, both females and males need to experience transformations
in their gender politics, and both girls' and boys' gender
politics need to be understood.
Relying on survey and interview data data from Ghana my
research will examine constructions of masculinity (and
hence femininity) and the reproduction and contestation
of patriarchal notions and behaviors among young people
and their parents/guardians in two communities in Ghana.
Theories of masculinity provide opportunities for understanding
the social legitimation, among both males and females, for
the unequal treatment of women across the world. They also
suggest the transformatory possibilities of particular kinds
of masculinities. Within this context I seek to theorize
about the "reporoduction" of patriarchy, and suggest
how policy and advocacy around socilization, both at home
and in school, might be (re)modeled to create opportunities
for the equal treatment and "empowerment" of females.
As the 2004-2005 NCS scholars examine women's empowerment,
or lack thereof, we will, inevitably, deconstruct masculinities
in our various research. This will enhance my own efforts
at theory building around masculinity and notions of male
entitlement among females and males. The aspect of advocacy
also fits in with an important thrust of the NCS program,
that is to examine how research might "reenergize"
the connections between theory and activism. I hope that
my work will feed into the work of women's advocacy groups
in Ghana and will strengthen my own ties with civil society
organizations.
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Associate
Professor, Institute of African Studies
