The Intersectionality of Informal Employment: Insights from Street Vending and Domestic Work in Tanzania

Abstract

Abstract Informal employment is commonly defined by being insufficiently covered by legal and regulatory frameworks, either in text or in practice. In this paper, I explore the intricate ways in which workers are excluded from these frameworks. Making a theoretical as well as empirical contribution, I suggest examining informal employment through the prism of intersectionality. This approach builds on an understanding of the informal economy as a continuum of labour relations, as interconnected with the formal economy and as socially constructed. Based on ethnographic research in the sectors of street trade and domestic work in Tanzania, I illustrate how intersections of ethnicity/race, gender, age and marital status as well as education and skill level interrelate with labour regulation along historical trajectories, workers’ visibility and class relations in the two sectors. Recognizing these dynamics and the intersectional composition of informal employment offers a better understanding to address decent work deficits.