Paper short abstract:

In the context of rapid urbanisation across the continent, this paper seeks to apply spatial theory to rural spaces in Cote d'Ivoire in order to unpack social and spatial constraints faced by women workers when entering formal wage employment in rural areas for the first time.

Paper long abstract:

Sociologists have long argued that spatial mismatch, or costs for workers associated with the distance from home to work, determines the extensive margin of labour supply of urban areas in developed countries (Kain 1968; Wilson, 1987). But what about in rural contexts where labour supply vastly exceeds demand? Using findings from fieldwork in Findon*, Cote d'Ivoire, this essay examines an unexplored aspect of spatial mismatch theory, namely, its application to a rural context in the developing world. In order to correct the mismatch, the theory suggests bringing people to jobs or jobs to people. The cashew processing firms of CAFAC* have brought jobs to people by locating their factories in secondary towns and cities around Cote d'Ivoire, hiring low-skilled workers from the surrounding rural areas. An estimated ninety-five percent of these workers are women who have overcome constraints to labour force participation. Qualitative evidence from interviews provides new information on how far these women travel to work in an attempt to see if the spatial mismatch has been corrected by CAFAC. Concerning the role of space in future-making, policymakers and private sector actors are urged to take into account the spatial-determinants of future work-related arrangements when creating more, and better, agro-processing jobs for women in rural areas.

*Names have been changed