Women’s entrepreneurship in the informal economy: A socio-spatial perspective

Abstract

What role does ‘space’ play in shaping entrepreneurial choices? Much of the western-centric evidence offers abstract models of spatial dynamics, reflecting socio-cultural assumptions about entrepreneurship and the need to fix ‘women’s deficits’, within formal representations of space. We problematize these views by focusing on the everyday realities of women involved in (informal) entrepreneurial activities in a developing country context, exploring their contradictions with the abstract representations of the informal economy and the development policy goals of reforming women’s work through formalization. Based on Lefebvre’s conceptualization of space to explore these contradictions, we draw on empirical data from entrepreneurs in the informal economy in Nepal, where the International Labour Organisation reports that almost 85% of the economically active population to be in informal employment. We offer an entrepreneurial narrative that focuses on women’s work on the maintenance of local attachments and connections, underpinned by reciprocity, moral obligation and indebtedness often appropriated or disrupted by development strategies. By placing emphasis on informal spatial dynamics, we provide empirical support for the limitations of a policy approach that renders women’s work invisible through its homogenizing economic focus, to contribute towards a richer theorization of entrepreneurial contexts.