Globalization Pushes More Women Into Informal Economy

Gender inequalities have long left African women outside the formal economy, forced to fend for themselves in informal trade while their brothers and husbands secured employment in the civil sector and state-owned enterprises. Yet the liberalization of African state economies and the elimination of many government-supplied jobs have pushed men out of the formal economy to compete with women. Dzodzi Tsikata, senior research fellow of the Institute of Social Statistical and Economic Research, characterizes the phenomenon as “jobless growth,” and notes that the ballooning informal economies of sub-Saharan Africa too often lead to a disregard for women’s rights and general labor rights. Confronting uncertain job opportunities, workers have little incentive to push for labor rights. African states must capitalize on a time of GDP growth and increased government revenues to find ways to create job growth in the formal sector while protecting those in the informal sector, thus stimulating entrepreneurship and economic stability while minimizing conflict. – YaleGlobal