Economy and Debt
In Sierra Leone, 44 percent of women are economically active, but there is no available data on unpaid work, which would probably increase the numbers since, globally, women do so much of the unpaid labor.  There are no micro credit programs currently in Sierra Leone, and this makes it difficult for the already poor country to better the lives of women without micro credit programs from which women benefit the most.  According to the World Fact Book, 2003, about two thirds of the working population engages in subsistence agriculture.  In sub-Saharan Africa, women’s self employment as a proportion of the non-agricultural labor force has grown from 44 percent in 1970 to 90 percent in 1990 (The World’s Women/United Nations, 2000).  The manufacturing consists of processing raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market.  There are plans to reopen the bauxite and rutile mines. The major form of hard currency is diamonds and the mining of them.  Diamond mining is one of the key economic activities in Sierra Leone and is largely responsible for the war.  The Kono district in eastern Sierra Leone is the most renowned for diamond mining, and this also leads to more prostitution and sexual exploitation around this area.  Initially, children at a very early age worked at the mines on a part-time basis and then, eventually, on a full-time basis.  All of this interfered with schooling, education and any possible option of a better future.  This is apparent in the low levels of literacy and income for women in Sierra Leone. 

Women provide for their families through the informal economy, through artisinal, small-scale industry and handicrafts.  They also suffer from the burden of being the primary caretakers of families and managing family farming tasks. They are limited economically because they are self-employed and the few people they employ are made up of their family members.  Most home–based workers are women, and part-time employment is most important, and this is why many choose self-employment.  Sierra Leone is eligible for IMF loans to combat poverty, and is among the most severely indebted as of 2001.  Overall 50-74 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line (Seager, 2002), and, what is even more vital, is that woman are the majority of the world’s poor, totaling 70%.  This means that women would more than likely be the poorest in Sierra Leone as well.  According to The World’s Women/United Nations, 2000, more of women’s money than men’s money goes to children’s education and clothing. Women also bare the brunt of managing poverty, including food, shelter, and all domestic tasks.  Poverty is gendered in that it affects men and women differently, and this must be considered in terms of policies that can better alleviate poverty, therefore, true understanding is necessary, especially in Sierra Leone.  Another economic factor that women in Sierra Leone face is that widespread discrimination is supported against women inheriting, owning, or controlling property and wealth.  Without land or property, they are unable to farm their own land, even for subsistence agriculture, forcing them to find other means to take care of their families, thus, perpetuating the impoverished condition of women in Western Africa.