Women cocoa workers on Sao Tome island

This article presents the results of a research project based on in-depth interviews and direct observations in the field, and carried out on Sao Tome in equatorial Africa. Firstly, the paper looks at the process of feminization of paid work on plantations as a result of the reduction of foreign immigration, the general economic crisis and the worsening living conditions on plantations. The study also analyses the nature and the evolution of the sexual division of labour in the cocoa fields as well as the daily activities and basic needs of these female plantation workers. Finally, it raises the question of their future opportunities within the framework of the process of plantation reform as a result of the economic adjustment policy.