It is common knowledge that social capital contributes
to poverty reduction and development, especially in
rural areas. Despite this fact, there has been little
interest throughout the world regarding gender within
the social capital debate. This study sought to
establish the extent of differences in social capital
endowments of women when compared to men in a
rural farming community in Guruve District of
Zimbabwe. Addressing this question could help unlock
the potential benefits of social capital in addressing
the problem of poverty from a gendered perspective.
Based on the findings of both structured and
unstructured interviews of 385 heads of household, it
was found that women were significantly more likely to
trust and engage in reciprocal arrangements with
family members, friends, neighbours, formal
institutions in their locality compared to men. This led
to the conclusion that partnering with women could
potentially lead to more successful implementation of
projects in rural areas.