IND/Gender and Economic Organisation

The role of men and women in the economy (and in most aspects of Indigenous societies) is one of interdependence and independence. In other words, whilst both sexes relied upon the other, each was able to survive independently of the other when needed. The division of labour was loosely determined by age and sex, with men in the primary role of hunters and women of gatherers. Dingle stresses that “overall women appear to have been more reliable food suppliers than men. Their sources of supply were generally more plentiful and stable. Because they could always feed themselves by gathering whereas men could not always guarantee themselves a meal from hunting, they were also economically more independent than men” (1988, p.13).

Early anthropological accounts viewed women as profoundly oppressed and ‘degraded’ within Aboriginal societies. Later work revealed that this understanding of Aboriginal women’s status was completely incorrect. This more recent work has recovered how women are the custodians of particular realms of knowledge and skills within Indigenous cultures (see for example works by Bell, Berndt and Brock listed in the Reference and Further Reading). Women’s roles included many important functions within the economic organisation of their communities.