THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE INFORMAL ECONOMY TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CHEGUTU URBAN DISTRICT IN ZIMBABWE

Kudzai Nugundu,Antoinette Lombard

doi:10.15270/48-1-101

Abstract

Of the millions of people living in poverty, women and children are the most detrimentally affected. It is believed that 60-70% of the world’s poor are female and that the trend towards greater poverty among women is intensifying (Chant, 2003). Women who are poor are not only deprived of basic needs; they lack access to resources such as education, land and credit facilities. According to Buvinić and Gupta (1997), women who head households are worthy of special attention because they are triply disadvantaged: firstly, they experience the burdens of poverty; secondly, they experience gender discrimination; and lastly, they have to deal with an absence of support.

Highlights

Of the millions of people living in poverty, women and children are the most detrimentally affected
The findings show that enterprises in the informal economy are not registered with governing authorities and they lack any form of social protection and representation
The research findings show the interrelatedness between political decisions and social and economic development

Summary

Introduction

Of the millions of people living in poverty, women and children are the most detrimentally affected. The informal economy refers to those enterprises that are not registered and legally outside the tax net. It is often identified as lacking structure and as being unorganised (Guha-Khasnobis, Kanbur & Ostrom, 2007). In developing countries the impact of the informal economy is great, because of poor economic performance, high population growth, civil strife, big financial debts and the HIV/Aids pandemic (Mofokeng, 2005). Women in particular are affected by the informalisation of work and they tend to be over-represented in informal employment both in developing and developed nations (Mofokeng, 2005). Women in particular are affected by the informalisation of work and they tend to be over-represented in informal employment both in developing and developed nations (Mofokeng, 2005). Leach (1999) propounds that the informal sector has provided an opportunity for work for most women who have few or no skills

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Discussion

Conclusion