Gender Issues in the Informal Sector

For the past twenty years the informal sector has (controversially) been viewed as a possible solution to the problems of the poor in developing countries with its assumed autonomous capacity to generate employment.¹ In parallel, there is a growing awareness of women's exclusion from development plans and a realisation that approximately one-third of households are female-headed where women are responsible for the needs of their families. This has led to an increasing emphasis on women's involvement in informal sector programmes. This interest continues today with the expectation that to overcome unemployment and underemployment, people will have to create their own employment. [Re ad more] ...