1) Women make up a large portion of the global informal workforce, particularly in developing countries, where they comprise the majority of non-agricultural informal employment.
2) Within the informal sector, women are over-represented in home-based work and street vending. Home-based workers, many of whom are women, contribute significantly to global trade through global supply chains.
3) While the informal sector makes large contributions to GDP and trade, average earnings for informal workers, especially women, are low. Gender gaps in earnings are larger in the informal sector due to women being concentrated in lower-paying informal work.
1.PAPUNESIA.
2.FORMAT E PAPUNESISE.
3.LLOJET E PAPUNËSISË.
4.SHKAQET E PAPUNËSISË.
5.PASOJAT E PAPUNËSIË
6.SHKALLA E PAPUNËSISË.
7.STATISTIKE PER PAPUNESINE.
8.NORMA NATYRORE E PAPUNËSISË.
Politikat e punësimit dhe tregu i punës në Shqipëri (Temë Diplome)KetiGjipali
Hyrje
Pasqyrë e tregut të punës në Shqipëri.
Programet dhe politikat e nxitjes së punësimit në Shqipëri.
Arsimi dhe formimi profesional bazë për rritjen e punësimit rinor.
1.PAPUNESIA.
2.FORMAT E PAPUNESISE.
3.LLOJET E PAPUNËSISË.
4.SHKAQET E PAPUNËSISË.
5.PASOJAT E PAPUNËSIË
6.SHKALLA E PAPUNËSISË.
7.STATISTIKE PER PAPUNESINE.
8.NORMA NATYRORE E PAPUNËSISË.
Politikat e punësimit dhe tregu i punës në Shqipëri (Temë Diplome)KetiGjipali
Hyrje
Pasqyrë e tregut të punës në Shqipëri.
Programet dhe politikat e nxitjes së punësimit në Shqipëri.
Arsimi dhe formimi profesional bazë për rritjen e punësimit rinor.
Indian Women in the Labour Force
Dr. Vibhuti Patel
Reader, Centre for Women’s Studies
Department of Economics,
University of Mumbai, Kalina,
Santacruz (East), Mumbai-400098
E mail-vibhuti@vsnl.net Ph®-6770227
Ph(W)-6527956,57Ext.553,Fax-6528198
Statistical Profile of Women
• Women constitute ½ of the world’s population, 2/3 of the world’s labour force but get 1/10th of the world’s income and 1% of the world’s Wealth.
• As per 2001 Census, 23% of women are in the work force. 94% of all working women are in the informal sector.
Work participation rate
Major Findings of Time use Survey
– “Women carry a disproportionately greater burden of work than men and since women are responsible for a greater share of non-SNA
( system of National Accounts) work in the care economy , they enter labour market already overburdened with work.” Report of Gender Diagnosis and Budgeting in India of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, NIPFP. December, 2001.
WORK PARTICIPATION RATES 1991
The Female Economic Activity Rate (FEAR)
Census of India, 2001, Series 1
Distribution of Women Employees Across Industries
Women in the organized Sector
Women constitute only 14% of the total employment in the organized sector. It is concentrated in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu.
In the urban areas, FEAR in tertiary sector has increased, from 37.6 % in 1983 to 52.9 % in 1999. (Economic Survey, 2002, GOI).
Here, women workers and employees get relatively better wages, standard working hours, and the protection of labour laws.
Women in the Informal Sector
Factors Affecting Women’s Labour Force Participation
• Changes in age-structure, urbanisation, level & nature of economic development, infrastructure, government policies, labour laws, nature of work, structure of family, culture & tradition affecting autonomy and control, fertility levels and childbearing practices, nature of housework,women’s property rights, education, age at marriage, migration, access to technology.
Segmentation in the labour market
• Nature of wage differentials (WD)-for identical tasks women are paid less. And women are confined to relatively inferior tasks, casual work.
• Causes of WD-patriarchal attitude, myths
• Effects of WD- subordination of women, son preference, man is treated as a “bread winner”- Head of the Household (HoH)
Affirmative Action to remove
Wage Differential
*Legislative measures
*Equal Remuneration Act
*Formation of women’s union
*Constitutional guarantees
*Job reservation for women
*Self Help Groups(SHGs)
Demands of the Women’s Groups
Labour Legislations
Special Facilities for Women
Women and Trade Unions(T.U.)
Women’s Action Plan for T.U.s
Role of Human Rights Organisations
Women and Development Debate
Development Alternatives With Women
Human Development With Distributive Justice
Implications of Development Process on Women
Use of conservative ideology to retrench and lay off women
Women’s Challenges to the T.U.s
Role of the UN System-ILO, UNICEF
First High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development ...Dr Lendy Spires
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation and the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda 1. We, Ministers and leading representatives of developing and developed countries, multilateral, regional and bilateral development and financial institutions, parliaments, local and regional authorities, private sector entities, philanthropic foundations, trade unions and civil society organizations, met in Mexico City on 15-16 April 2014, in a spirit of full inclusion and solidarity, for the First High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), to build upon the outcome of Busan. 2. Global development is at a critical juncture. Despite progress on the MDGs, poverty and inequality, in their multiple dimensions and across all regions, remain the central challenges. Slow and uneven global economic growth, insecurity in supplies of food, water and energy, lack of quality education and decent work for all, and instances of conflict, fragility and vulnerability to economic shocks, natural disasters, and health pandemics are also pressing concerns in many areas of the world. Managing climate change and the global commons add further complexity to our global agenda. At the same time, the possibilities for human development are immense and we have at our disposal the means to end poverty at global scale in the course of one generation. But to achieve this, we must muster our political will for bold and sustained action for shared development, improved gender equality, and the promotion and protection of human rights. 3. As the United Nations works to design a universal agenda for inclusive and sustainable development post 2015, to be implemented decisively, the GPEDC will seek to advance efforts to bring about more effective development cooperation, with poverty eradication at its core, as part of the “how” of the implementation of this new global agenda. With this purpose, we pledge to work in synergy and cooperation with others, such as the United Nations Development Cooperation Forum. 4. Critically, the GPEDC is committed to implementing a paradigm shift from aid effectiveness to effective development cooperation, sustained by the contribution and catalyzing effect of ODA, as the main source of international development assistance, in order to better support the long-term and broad developmental impact of a strengthened mobilization of domestic resources and the convergence of efforts of all public and private development stakeholders at all levels. 5.
Indian Women in the Labour Force
Dr. Vibhuti Patel
Reader, Centre for Women’s Studies
Department of Economics,
University of Mumbai, Kalina,
Santacruz (East), Mumbai-400098
E mail-vibhuti@vsnl.net Ph®-6770227
Ph(W)-6527956,57Ext.553,Fax-6528198
Statistical Profile of Women
• Women constitute ½ of the world’s population, 2/3 of the world’s labour force but get 1/10th of the world’s income and 1% of the world’s Wealth.
• As per 2001 Census, 23% of women are in the work force. 94% of all working women are in the informal sector.
Work participation rate
Major Findings of Time use Survey
– “Women carry a disproportionately greater burden of work than men and since women are responsible for a greater share of non-SNA
( system of National Accounts) work in the care economy , they enter labour market already overburdened with work.” Report of Gender Diagnosis and Budgeting in India of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, NIPFP. December, 2001.
WORK PARTICIPATION RATES 1991
The Female Economic Activity Rate (FEAR)
Census of India, 2001, Series 1
Distribution of Women Employees Across Industries
Women in the organized Sector
Women constitute only 14% of the total employment in the organized sector. It is concentrated in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu.
In the urban areas, FEAR in tertiary sector has increased, from 37.6 % in 1983 to 52.9 % in 1999. (Economic Survey, 2002, GOI).
Here, women workers and employees get relatively better wages, standard working hours, and the protection of labour laws.
Women in the Informal Sector
Factors Affecting Women’s Labour Force Participation
• Changes in age-structure, urbanisation, level & nature of economic development, infrastructure, government policies, labour laws, nature of work, structure of family, culture & tradition affecting autonomy and control, fertility levels and childbearing practices, nature of housework,women’s property rights, education, age at marriage, migration, access to technology.
Segmentation in the labour market
• Nature of wage differentials (WD)-for identical tasks women are paid less. And women are confined to relatively inferior tasks, casual work.
• Causes of WD-patriarchal attitude, myths
• Effects of WD- subordination of women, son preference, man is treated as a “bread winner”- Head of the Household (HoH)
Affirmative Action to remove
Wage Differential
*Legislative measures
*Equal Remuneration Act
*Formation of women’s union
*Constitutional guarantees
*Job reservation for women
*Self Help Groups(SHGs)
Demands of the Women’s Groups
Labour Legislations
Special Facilities for Women
Women and Trade Unions(T.U.)
Women’s Action Plan for T.U.s
Role of Human Rights Organisations
Women and Development Debate
Development Alternatives With Women
Human Development With Distributive Justice
Implications of Development Process on Women
Use of conservative ideology to retrench and lay off women
Women’s Challenges to the T.U.s
Role of the UN System-ILO, UNICEF
First High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development ...Dr Lendy Spires
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation and the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda 1. We, Ministers and leading representatives of developing and developed countries, multilateral, regional and bilateral development and financial institutions, parliaments, local and regional authorities, private sector entities, philanthropic foundations, trade unions and civil society organizations, met in Mexico City on 15-16 April 2014, in a spirit of full inclusion and solidarity, for the First High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), to build upon the outcome of Busan. 2. Global development is at a critical juncture. Despite progress on the MDGs, poverty and inequality, in their multiple dimensions and across all regions, remain the central challenges. Slow and uneven global economic growth, insecurity in supplies of food, water and energy, lack of quality education and decent work for all, and instances of conflict, fragility and vulnerability to economic shocks, natural disasters, and health pandemics are also pressing concerns in many areas of the world. Managing climate change and the global commons add further complexity to our global agenda. At the same time, the possibilities for human development are immense and we have at our disposal the means to end poverty at global scale in the course of one generation. But to achieve this, we must muster our political will for bold and sustained action for shared development, improved gender equality, and the promotion and protection of human rights. 3. As the United Nations works to design a universal agenda for inclusive and sustainable development post 2015, to be implemented decisively, the GPEDC will seek to advance efforts to bring about more effective development cooperation, with poverty eradication at its core, as part of the “how” of the implementation of this new global agenda. With this purpose, we pledge to work in synergy and cooperation with others, such as the United Nations Development Cooperation Forum. 4. Critically, the GPEDC is committed to implementing a paradigm shift from aid effectiveness to effective development cooperation, sustained by the contribution and catalyzing effect of ODA, as the main source of international development assistance, in order to better support the long-term and broad developmental impact of a strengthened mobilization of domestic resources and the convergence of efforts of all public and private development stakeholders at all levels. 5.
Performance with regard to Gender Equality and Women's EmpowermentDr Lendy Spires
1. Background and objectives.
The Consultation on the Eight Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources decided in 2008 that the IFAD Office of Evaluation (IOE) would undertake this corporate-level evaluation on IFAD’s performance with regard to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The objectives of the evaluation are to:
(i) assess the relevance of IFAD’s strategy in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment;
(ii) learn from the experiences and good practices of other development organizations;
(iii) assess the results of activities funded by IFAD related to gender equality and women’s empowerment in its country programmes and corporate processes; and
(iv) generate a series of findings and recommendations that will assist IFAD’s Executive Board and Management in guiding the Fund’s future activities in this area.
2. Process.
Four building blocks form the basis of the evaluation:
(i) an analysis of the evolution of gender-related concepts and development approaches, and a comprehensive documentary review of the policy and evaluation documents prepared by other development organizations; (ii) an assessment of key IFAD corporate policy and strategy documents;
(iii) a meta-evaluation of past operations based on existing evaluative evidence, a review of recent country strategic opportunity programmes (COSOPs) and ongoing projects, and five country visits to gain insight into the perspectives of partners in these countries and collect evidence from the field about the evolving approaches and results of IFAD-funded projects; and
(iv) a review of selected corporate business processes that have implications for IFAD’s performance in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in partner countries. Section C in chapter I of the main report gives a more detailed account of the objectives and processes related to the evaluation’s four building blocks.
3. Main findings. There has been an evolution globally in approaches to building gender equality and women’s empowerment. Pre-1975 efforts were mainly addressed to men as producers and women as homemakers, which ignored the important role of women as farmers and food producers. Subsequently, there was a shift to women-focused approaches and approaches focusing on changing the relations between women and men...
Gender Poverty and Environmental Indicators on African Countries 2014Dr Lendy Spires
This is the fifteenth volume of Gender, Poverty, and Environmental Indicators on African Countries published by the Statistics Department of the African Development Bank Group. The publication also provides some information on the broad development trends relating to gender, poverty and environmental issues in the 54 African countries.
Gender, Poverty and Environmental Indicators on African Countries 2014 is divided in three main parts: Part One presents a special feature article on “Green growth and poverty alleviation: Risks and opportunities for Africa”. Part Two presents comparative cross-country data on MDGs, Gender, Poverty and the Environment; and Part Three provides detailed country-specific data for each of the 54 countries.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been driving the green growth agenda since 2008. In the Organisation’s view, “Governments that put green growth at the heart of development can achieve sustainable economic growth and social stability, safeguard the environment, and conserve resources for future generations”. Such reconciliation of economic development and environmental sustainability prevents natural capital degradation and climate change, and promotes social security, outcomes that are critical for Africa. OECD Green growth promotes a cost-effective and resource-efficient way of guiding sustainable production and consumption choices. When designed to reduce poverty and manage near‑term trade-offs, green growth can help developing countries achieve sustainable development.
Departure from the BAU (Business-as-usual) development model is a course that African leaders have accepted. In his keynote address during South Africa’s Green Growth Summit in 2010, President Zuma observed: “We have no option but to manage our natural resources in a sustainable way... We have no choice but to develop a green economy”. So important is divergence from the BAU approach that the AfDB’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013 to 2022) contains two objectives based on inclusiveness and green growth. Green growth offers an opportunity to design infrastructure and manage urban spaces and natural capital in a way that does not degrade the continent’s environment and economic base
MAINSTREAMING GREEN GROWTH INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANS
If the continent is to tackle poverty through green growth, it must be mainstreamed into development policy documents such as the African Union Agenda 2063, Regional Economic Community (REC) visions, national visions, poverty reduction strategies, and national development plans. Policies developed before the 2008 financial crisis contain virtually no green growth elements; but some policies formulated since then incorporate elements of green growth. The AfDB and OECD identified a number of enabling tools for mainstreaming green growth — national and international policy architecture, overseas development assistance (ODA), technology transfer, research, s
Informal employment refers to jobs or activities in the production and commercialisation of legal goods and services that are not registered or protected by the state. Informal workers are excluded from social security benefits and the protection afforded by formal labour contracts. The majority of them cannot opt for scarce better jobs in the formal sector. Others voluntarily opt out of the formal system. For them, the savings from being completely or partly informal – no social security contributions, no tax payments, no binding labour regulations, and more freedom for business activities – outweigh the benefits accrued through registration and compliance. The prevalence of informal employment in the developing world is striking. Even before the current crisis, over half of non-agricultural jobs there could be considered informal.
Women Workers in Informal Sector in India: Understanding the Occupational Vul...Dr Lendy Spires
Unorganised or informal sector constitutes a pivotal part of the Indian economy. More than 90 per cent of workforce and about 50 per cent of the national product are accounted for by the informal economy. A high proportion of socially and economically underprivileged sections of society are concentrated in the informal economic activities [1]. Informal employment is generally a larger source of employment for women than for men in the developing world. Other than in North Africa where 43 per cent of women workers are in informal employment, 60 per cent or more of women workers in the developing world are in informal employment(outside agriculture).
In sub-Saharan Africa 84 per cent of women non-agricultural workers; in Latin America 58 per cent for women in comparison to 48 percent for men. In Asia, the proportion of women and men non-agricultural workers in informal employment is roughly equivalentto Women and Men in the Informal Economy [2].The informal economy in India employs about 86 per cent of the country’s work force and 91 per cent of its women workers [3]. Many of these women workers are primary earners for their families. Their earnings are necessary for sheer survival. Low income women workers, especially in the informal sectorform one of the most vulnerable groups in the Indian economy.
The reasons for their vulnerability are-(a) irregular work, (b) low economic status, (c) little or no bargaining power, (d) lack of control over earnings, (e) need to balance paid work with care for children and homework, (f) little or no access to institutional credit, training and information, and (g) lack of assets. Unequal gender relations play a very important role in defining their insecurities. Given their vulnerable status at home and at work, income generation alone may not improve the socio-economic status of women attached to the informal sector. Their economic empowerment needs to go along with political empowerment, which could improve their bargaining power both in household and at work.
This means that organizing women workers in the informl economy could have beneficial impacts on their work and their life if such organizationcombines voices representation along with access to resources such as credit and information- a holistic strategy that provides political empowerment allied with economic empowerment.The present study aims at understanding the degree of vulnerabilityof the women workers in informal sector in India.
Off-farm employment in rural areas can be a major contributor to rural poverty reduction and decent rural employment. While women are highly active in the agricultural sector, they are less active than men in off-farm employment. This study analyzes the determinants of participation in off-farm employment of women in rural Uganda. The study is based on a field survey conducted in nine districts with the sample size of 1200 individual females. A two-stage Hechman’s sample selection model was applied to capture women’s decision to participate and the level of participation in non-farm economic activities. Summary statistics of the survey data from rural Uganda shows that: i) poverty and non-farm employment has a strong correlation, implying the importance of non-farm employment as a means for poverty reduction; and ii) there is a large gender gap to access non-farm employment, but the gender gap has been significantly reduced from group of older age to younger generation. The econometric results finds that the following factors have a significant influence on women’s participation in off-farm employment: education level of both the individual and household head (positive in both stages); women’s age (negative in both stages); female-headed household (negative in first stage); household head of polygamous marriage (negative in both stages); distance from major town (negative in the first stage); household size (positive in the second stage); dependency ratio (negative in the second stage); access to and use of government extension services (positive in the first stage); access to and use of an agricultural loan (negative in the second stage); and various district dummies variables. The implications of these findings suggest that those policies aimed at enhancing the identified determinants of women off-farm employment can promote income-generating opportunities for women groups in comparable contexts. In order to capitalize on these positive linkages, policies should be designed to improve skills and knowledge by providing education opportunities and increasing access to employment training, assistance services and loans for non-farm activities and by targeting women in female-headed, large and distant households. The government should increase investments in public infrastructure and services, such as roads, telecommunications and emergency support.
This paper presents the Socioeconomic Performance of Women in parallel trading and its Implications in Dessie town Ethiopia. The study was carried out in Dessie town Ethiopia. Primary Data were gathered from parallel traders through questionnaire and observation, and secondary data sources were accessed from Dessie town trade and transport office and CSA (Central Statistical Agency). The paper has purely mixed explanatory sequential approach which is based on the collection and analysis of quantitative data to be followed and supported by a qualitative data. The finding of the study has shown that parallel trading is the first among alternatives for women’s divorced or widowed and dependent hitherto to parallel trading. Women in parallel trading were engaged in retails of food items that are easily accessed in the local markets, in which more than two-third of households are dependent on the gains as well as become involved in the retails activity. Though, the economic responses of parallel trading were the bases for women’s livelihood, its performance would not let women’s and their dependent family members /household to have better house and access to education. Furthermore, the study has shown that the socioeconomic performance of parallel trading were constrained by government regulations that exclude and discourage the trading, lack of access to finance, lack of premises and lack of smooth supply of inputs. Therefore, it is important for both local governments and organizations working on women affairs to reconsider their actions and create an environment encouraging for women in parallel trading to grow and integrate to formal economic sectors.
The term "informal sector" is today widely used in writings on both developing and developed countries. It is invoked to refer to street vendors in Bogota, shoe-shine workers in Calcutta, specialised knitwear makers in Modena and producers of fashion garments in New York City.
What these activities appear to have in common is a mode of organisation different from the unit of production most familiar in economic theory, the firm or corporation. These activities are also likely to be unregulated by the state and excluded from standard economic accounts of national income. In this paper, I survey the literature on the "informal sector" in an attempt to understand the different applications of the term. I also wish to examine if it is possible and useful to arrive at a definition of the informal sector that can be applied to the different contexts, in the developing and developed world, in which the term is used.
I shall argue that different aspects of regulation by the state provide the key to identifying an informal sector. Research on activities encompassed by the term "informal sector" grew out of studies, in the fifties and sixties, on the dualistic nature of developing societies. The concept of dualism or a dual economy relates to various asymmetries in organisation and production, and dualism in the structure of an economy as between traditional and modern, peasant and capitalist sectors was considered to be a distinguishing characteristic of developing countries.
Development was seen in terms of a shift from a traditional to a modern, an unorganised to an organised, a subsistence to a capitalist economy. Models of dualistic development recognised the interactions between the two sectors and examined their implications for growth. In this literature, the pre-capitalist or traditional economy was expected to decline in relation to the growing capitalist or modern economy. In general, these models assumed a diminishing of the prevailing asymmetries over time and a slow disappearance of dualism in the course of development.
The distinction between formal and informal activities emerged from the attempts of scholars to apply the dualism framework to labour markets in urban areas of developing countries.
Women’s labour is a rich and valuable resource for a country as it can significantly boost growth prospects and improve socio-economic conditions as also ensure better outcomes for the next generation. Therefore, enhancing women participation in the labour force is a critical endeavour for driving overall social and sustainable development.
Despite positive growth and development parameters in the last 20-25 years, India has experienced a continuous decline in its female labour force participation rate (FLFPR). The total FLFPR declined sharply from 42.7% in 2004-05 to 31.2% in 2011-12 which further declined to 27.4% in 2015-2016. In 2013, International Labour Organization (ILO) ranked India’s FLFPR at 121 out of 130 countries, one of the lowest in the world. India also secured a poor rank in the Global Gender Gap Report 2017 by World Economic Forum, where it was ranked 108 out of 144 economies.
The largest drop in FLFPR took place in rural areas and was specifically prominent in the working age group of 20-44 years. This is a major factor that is responsible for pulling down the overall FLFPR. On the other hand, the urban FLFPR which has been historically lower than the rural FLFPR, has fluctuated.
This paper focuses on the gendered inequalities in the informal economy of Zimbabwe with specific reference to
Masvingo urban in Zimbabwe. The informal economy in Zimbabwe is made up of unregistered and unrecorded
statistics and therefore is not registered, supported or regulated by the Government. Women trading in the informal
economy have little or no access to organised markets, credit institutions, formal education and training institutions,
public services and amenities. Qualitative research methodology was used for the research. A case study research of
Masvingo urban in Zimbabwe was used, while data was collected using key informant interviews, semi-structured
interviews, observations and documentary search. The findings of the study indicates that women in the informal
economy are affected by environmental, political, economic, social and personal constraints. Women are
concentrated in this sector due to the value system in the society; fewer skills required for the jobs in this sector,
technological advancement, and the traditional roles assigned to them. The study concludes that gender-sensitive
macro-economic policies are an important enabler to address gender inequalities in the informal economy as they
shape the economic environment for women’s empowerment. The study recommends that local authorities should
come up gender-responsive policies to enable women to operate in an environment that has decent infrastructure for
vending, free from police and sexual harassment and adequate security.
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
This session provides a comprehensive overview of the latest updates to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (commonly known as the Uniform Guidance) outlined in the 2 CFR 200.
With a focus on the 2024 revisions issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), participants will gain insight into the key changes affecting federal grant recipients. The session will delve into critical regulatory updates, providing attendees with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate and comply with the evolving landscape of federal grant management.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the rationale behind the 2024 updates to the Uniform Guidance outlined in 2 CFR 200, and their implications for federal grant recipients.
- Identify the key changes and revisions introduced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the 2024 edition of 2 CFR 200.
- Gain proficiency in applying the updated regulations to ensure compliance with federal grant requirements and avoid potential audit findings.
- Develop strategies for effectively implementing the new guidelines within the grant management processes of their respective organizations, fostering efficiency and accountability in federal grant administration.
Presentation by Jared Jageler, David Adler, Noelia Duchovny, and Evan Herrnstadt, analysts in CBO’s Microeconomic Studies and Health Analysis Divisions, at the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists Summer Conference.
Monitoring Health for the SDGs - Global Health Statistics 2024 - WHOChristina Parmionova
The 2024 World Health Statistics edition reviews more than 50 health-related indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work. It also highlights the findings from the Global health estimates 2021, notably the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
Donate to charity during this holiday seasonSERUDS INDIA
For people who have money and are philanthropic, there are infinite opportunities to gift a needy person or child a Merry Christmas. Even if you are living on a shoestring budget, you will be surprised at how much you can do.
Donate Us
https://serudsindia.org/how-to-donate-to-charity-during-this-holiday-season/
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ZGB - The Role of Generative AI in Government transformation.pdfSaeed Al Dhaheri
This keynote was presented during the the 7th edition of the UAE Hackathon 2024. It highlights the role of AI and Generative AI in addressing government transformation to achieve zero government bureaucracy
Preliminary findings _OECD field visits to ten regions in the TSI EU mining r...OECDregions
Preliminary findings from OECD field visits for the project: Enhancing EU Mining Regional Ecosystems to Support the Green Transition and Secure Mineral Raw Materials Supply.
Women in the informal sector a global picture the global movement
1. WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR:
A GLOBAL PICTURE, THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT
By
Martha Alter Chen
Horner Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Lecturer in Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government
Coordinator, WIEGO
I. THE INFORMAL SECTOR
Over the past two decades, employment in the informal sector has risen rapidly in all
regions in the world. Until the recent Asian economic crisis, it was only the once-rapidly-
growing economies of East and Southeast Asia that experienced substantial
growth of modern sector employment. However, in the wake of that crisis, most of these
countries have experienced a decline in formal wage employment and a concomitant rise
in informal employment. Even before the crisis, official statistics indicated that the
informal sector accounted for over half of total non-agricultural employment in Latin
America and the Caribbean, nearly half in East Asia, and as much as 80 percent in other
parts of Asia and in Africa.1 And, in terms of urban employment, the informal sector
accounted for well over half in Africa and Asia and a quarter in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
The contribution of the informal sector – not only its size - is quite large. The
contribution of informal sector income to total household income is significant in many
regions: for example, in several African countries, informal sector income accounts for
nearly 30 percent of total income and over 40 percent of total urban income. The
contribution of the informal sector to gross domestic product (GDP) is probably also
significant. For those countries where estimates exist, the share of the informal sector in
non-agricultural GDP is between 45 to 60 percent.
Table 1: SIZE OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR
INFORMAL SECTOR
AS SHARE OF LATIN
AMERICA
CARRIBEAN
AFRICA ASIA
Non-agricultural
employment
57% 78% 45-85%
Urban employment 40% 61% 40-60%
New jobs 83% 93% NA
Source: Charmes 1998a (updated 2000).
1 All data presented in this paper are from official labor force statistics and national accounts that have been
personally compiled by Jacques Charmes. Some of the data have been published in different publications,
including: Charmes 1998a, 1998b, and 2000; UN 2000.
2. 2
Estimates of the size, contribution, and composition of the informal sector vary widely,
according to what size of ent erprises are included, whether agriculture is included, and
how much of women’s informal work is included. Like others who have worked closely
with women in the informal sector, I would argue that the informal sector is even larger
than official statistics suggest. Our argument is based on the fact that much of women's
paid work - not just their unpaid housework - is not counted in official statistics. If the
magnitude of women's invisible paid work, particularly home-based remunerative work,
were to be fully counted, both the share of women and the share of informal workers in
the work force would increase. Recognizing and, more importantly, counting women's
invisible remunerative work would challenge our empirical understanding not only of
the informal sector but also of the economy as a whole.
Why should we be concerned about women who work in the informal sector? There is a
significant overlap between being a woman, working in the informal sector, and being
poor. There is also a significant overlap between being a woman, working in the informal
sector, and contributing to growth. This paper examines the evidence on the linkages
between gender, informality, poverty, and growth; postulates some possible explanations
of these linkages; and describes the global movement of women in the informal sector.
II. THE FEMALE INFORMAL WORKFORCE
Size and Composition -
Women are over-represented in the informal sector worldwide. This basic fact has
several dimensions. Firstly, the informal sector is the primary source of employment for
women in most developing countries. Existing data suggest that the majority of
economically active women in developing countries are engaged in the informal sector.
In some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, virtually all of the female non-agricultural labor
force is in the informal sector: for example, the informal sector accounts for over 95
percent of women workers outside agriculture in Benin, Chad, and Mali. In India and in
Indonesia, the informal sector accounts for nine out of every ten women working outside
agriculture. In ten Latin American and four East Asian countries, for which data are
available, half or more the female non-agricultural workforce is in the informal sector.
Secondly, the informal sector is a larger source of employment for women than for men
(UN 2000). The proportion of women workers in the informal sector exceeds that of
men in most countries. Thirdly, women’s share of the total informal workforce outside of
agriculture is higher than men’s share in 9 out of 21 developing countries for which data
are available (Ibid.).
3. 3
Table 2: SHARE OF NON–AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE, FEMALE AND
MALE, IN INFORMAL SECTOR AND WOMEN’S SHARE OF
INFORMAL SECTOR
Percentage of non-agricultural
labor force
that is in the informal
sector, 1991/1997
Women’s share of the
informal sector in the
non-agricultural labor
force, 1991/1997
Women Men
Africa
Benin
Chad
Guinea
Kenya
Mali
South Africa
Tunisia
97
97
84
83
96
30
39
83
59
61
59
91
14
52
62
53
37
60
59
61
18
Latin America
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Coast Rica
El Salvador
Honduras
Mexico
Panama
Venezuela
74
67
44
44
48
69
65
55
41
47
55
55
31
42
46
47
51
44
35
47
51
47
46
50
40
58
56
44
44
38
Asia
India
Indonesia
Philippines
Thailand
91
88
64
54
70
69
66
49
23
43
46
47
Source: The United Nations, 2000. The World’s Women 2000: Trends and Statistics. Chart 5.13, p. 122
The composition of the female informal workforce varies somewhat across regions. In
many African countries, almost all women in the informal sector are either self-employed
or contributing family workers. In many countries in Latin America and Asia, although
the majority of workers are self-employed or contributing family members, at least 20
percent of women in the informal sector are casual wage workers. Since they are not
fully captured in official statistics, an unknown additional percent work as industrial
outworkers or homeworkers. But differences between men and women outweigh
differences between women in the informal sector. Compared to the male informal
workforce, women in the informal sector are more likely to be own account workers and
4. 4
subcontract workers and are less likely to be owner operators or paid employees of
informal enterprises. These gender-based differences in employment status within the
informal sector have implications for relative earnings and poverty levels, as will be
discussed below.
Major Segments -
The vast majority of women in the informal sector are home-based workers or street
vendors.
Home-Based Workers: As used here, the term “home-based workers” refers to three types
of workers who carry out remunerative work with their homes – dependent subcontract
workers, independent own account producers, and unpaid workers in family businesses –
whereas the term “homeworkers” refers to the first category only. Despite the
limitations to existing official statistics, available evidence suggests that home-based
work is an important source of employment, especially for women, throughout the world:
over 85 percent of home-based workers in most countries are women.
Despite working from their homes, many home-based workers are linked to the global
economy through global subcontracting chains, also called global value chains. A key
dimension of global integration of the economy is a restructuring of production and
distribution into global value chains. In these “global assembly lines”, lead firms place
orders or outsource to suppliers who put out work to sub-contractors who operate small
production units or, in turn, put out production to homeworkers (Carr et al 2000).
Street Vendors: In all countries where data is available, informal traders – mainly street
vendors - represent a very high proportion (73-99%) of employment in trade and a
significant share (50-90%) of trade gross domestic product (GDP). Considered another
way, street vendors constitute a significant share of total employment in the informal
sector and street vending units constitute a significant share of total enterprises in the
informal sector. Women account for more than 50 percent - and up to 90 percent - of
informal employment in trade, except in those countries (such as Tunisia and India)
where social norms restrict women’s mobility outside the home. Consider the case of
Benin: a 1992 survey of 10 major cities in that country found that street vendors
constitute 80 percent of all economic units, women constitute 75 percent of all street
vendors, and women street vendors constitute 26 percent of urban informal labor force
and 24 percent of the total urban labor force.
5. 5
Table 3: SIZE AND CONTRIBUTION OF INFORMAL SECTOR IN TRADE
AND WOMEN TRADERS IN INFORMAL TRADE
Informal Sector as a Share of: Women Traders as a Share of:
Total Trade
Total
Employment
Trade GDP
Total Informal
Trade
Employment
Total Informal
Trade GDP
AFRICA
Benin 99.1 69.8 92.2 64.3
Burkina Faso 94.7 45.7 65.9 30.1
Chad 99.2 66.7 61.8 41.2
Kenya 84.9 61.5 50.2 27.3
Mali 98.1 56.7 81.3 46.1
Tunisia 87.6 55.6 7.9 4.4
ASIA
India 96.4 90.0 12.4 11.2
Indonesia 93.0 77.2 49.3 38.0
Philippines 73.1 52.3 72.0 21.6
Source: Charmes 1998b.
III. POVERTY AND GROWTH LINKAGES
What are the links between being a woman, working in the informal sector, and being
poor? There is an overlap between working in the informal economy and being poor: a
higher percentage of people working in the informal sector, relative to the formal sector,
are poor. This overlap is even greater for women than for men. However, there is no
simple relationship between working in the informal economy and being poor or working
in the formal economy and escaping poverty.
Informal workers typically lack the social protection afforded to formal paid workers,
such as worker benefits and health insurance, and typically work under irregular and
casual contracts. However, the precise relationship between informal employment and
the intensity of poverty appears only when informal workers are disaggregated by sub-sectors
of the economy, status of employment (i.e., employer, self-employed, worker),
and gender, as summarized in the Box 1 below:
6. 6
BOX 1: GENDER, INFORMALITY, AND POVERTY2
Gender and Employment in the Informal Economy:
¨ the majority of women in the informal sector are own account traders and producers
or casual and subcontract workers; relatively few are employers who hire paid workers
¨ men and women tend to be involved in different activities or types of employment
even within the same trades: in many countries, for example, male traders tend to have
larger scale operations and to deal in non-food items while female traders tend to have
smaller scale operations and to deal in food items
Gender and Incomes in the Informal Economy:
¨ average incomes of both men and women are lower in the informal sector than in the
formal sector
¨ the gender gap in income/wages appears higher in the informal sector than in the
formal sector and exists even when women are not wage workers
¨ the relatively large gender gap in income/wages in the informal sector is largely due
to two interrelated factors:
§ informal incomes worldwide tend to decline as one moves across the
following types of employment: employer – self-employed – casual wage
worker – sub-contract worker
§ women worldwide are under-represented in high income activities and
over-represented in low income activities (notably, subcontract work)
What are the links between being a woman, working in the informal sector, and
contributing to growth? Even though the average earnings of women in the informal
sector are low, the female informal workforce contributes significantly to gross domestic
product (GDP). As seen in Table 3 above, women informal traders contribute a
significant share (20-65%) of GDP in the trading sector. For those countries where data is
available, the contribution of wo men in the informal sector to total GDP is greater than
their share of employment in the informal sector. This is because women are more likely
than men to engage in multiple activities in the informal sector.
Arguably, the most invisible informal workers – homeworkers or industrial outworkers -
contribute the most to global trade. This is because homeworkers often comprise a
2 This box summarizes the findings of two papers commissioned by the World Bank and written by S.V.
Sethuraman (Independent Consultant, ex-ILO) and Jacques Charmes (Institute of Development Research
and University of Versailles, France) who reviewed the existing literature and statistics, respectively, on the
links between gender, poverty, and the informal sector.
7. 7
significant share of the workforce in key export industries, particularly those that involve
simple manual tasks, labor- intensive operations, simple machines, or portable
technology. For instance, homework is predominant in clothing and textile industries,
the leather and footwear industries, carpet making, and, increasingly, electronics. In
Asia and Latin America, for example, homeworkers account for 30-60 percent of the
workforce in key export industries such as textiles, garments, and footwear (Chen et al
1999).
Why do so many women who work in the informal sector remain poor despite their
contributions to the economy? There is no simple answer to this complex question. To
begin with, we need to understand why the informal sector has persisted and expanded in
recent decades. Some mix of the following factors might help explain the persistence and
expansion of the informal sector in different countries: the rate and pattern of growth,
including the labor-intensity and sectoral composition of growth; economic restructuring
or economic crisis, including privatization of public enterprises and cut-backs in public
expenditures; and global integration of the economy, including the restructuring of global
production characterized by outsourcing or subcontracting.
Furthermore, we would need to understand why women are over-represented in the
informal sector and why women are concentrated in certain segments within the informal
sector. Many observers argue that women are less able than men to compete in labor,
capital, and product markets because they have relatively low levels of education and
skills or are less likely to own property or have market know-how. Other observers argue
that women’s time and mobility are constrained by social and cultural norms that assign
the responsibility for social reproduction to women and discourage investment in
women’s education and training.
In today’s globalizing world, various demand factors are also at work. An increasing
share of informal work is subcontracted from the formal sector; the low costs of
subcontracted work contribute to profits in the formal sector. In their pursuit of global
competitiveness, employers in a wide range of key export industries favor the kinds of
employment relations associated, rightly or wrongly, with women, namely those with
insecure contracts, low wages, and few benefits. Self-employed women producers are
also affected by current trends. Given the rapid shifts in market demand, both
domestically and globally, self-employed women producers find it difficult to retain their
traditional market niche or negotiate access to emerging markets.
While many factors help explain the persistence and expansion of the informal economy,
urbanization and globalization are of particular concern. There is ample evidence to
suggest that many of those who migrate to cities in search of jobs find work in the
informal (rather than the formal) economy. There is also evidence to suggest that global
integration and competition are associated with the erosion of both the employment
arrangements of workers and the competitiveness of micro businesses. These trends have
put pressures on the efforts by home-based workers and street vendors to earn their
livelihoods. Yet the fact that homeworkers produce goods at low costs contributes to the
competitiveness and profits of the large companies who subcontract out production; and
8. 8
the fact that street vendors sell goods at low costs to low- and medium-income consumers
contributes to the viability of cities worldwide.
The contemporary pressures on the informal workforce are partly the result of
overcrowding and competition within the informal sector. But these pressures stem
largely from competition between informal traders or producers and larger, more
powerful economic agents. From the perspective of street vendors, urbanization has
privileged large traders, the transport industry, and real estate agents in the competition
for urban space. Consider the collusion of wholesale traders or truckers with the police to
evict street vendors from market areas or major thoroughfares that are typical of most
cities around the world. From the perspective of home-based workers, market
liberalization and integration has privileged the owners and managers of larger and more
powerful economic units, especially transnational corporations. What greater contrast
could there be than that between the large brand name firms that subcontract out
production all over the world and the home-based women who produce from their homes
for these subcontracting chains?
IV. THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR
During the 1980s, various trade unions, grassroots organizations, and non-governmental
organizations working with home-based workers and street vendors – in both the North
and the South – began to establish linkages. In the mid-1990s, at two separate meetings
in Europe, these organizations came together to form two international alliances of
women in the informal economy: one of home-based workers called HomeNet, the other
of street vendors called StreetNet. At the first StreetNet meeting in 1995, the founding
members drafted an International Declaration that sets forth a plan to promote national
policies to support and protect the rights of street vendors.
At the first HomeNet meeting in 1994, the founding members planned a global campaign
for an international convention that would recognize and protect home-based workers.
The culmination of that campaign was the June 1996 vote at the annual general
conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in favor of an international
convention on homework. During the final year of the campaign, HomeNet
commissioned researchers at Harvard University to compile available statistics on
homework for dissemination at the 1996 ILO annual conference and requested the United
National Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to convene a policy dialogue in Asia
with government delegations to the ILO conference. These initiatives contributed to a
complicated negotiation process leading to the eventual ratification of the ILO
Convention on Homework in 1996. Recently, the Government of India asked
representatives of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) – who are also
founding members of HomeNet, StreetNet, and WIEGO - to participate in a process to
formulate a national policy on home-based work.
Recognizing the power of the joint action of grassroots organizations, research
institutions, and international development agencies, the founders of HomeNet and
StreetNet, the author of this paper, and representatives from UNIFEM decided to
9. 9
establish a global research-policy network to promote better statistics, research,
programs, and policies in support of women in the informal economy. This network
called Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) was
established in early 1997. Through a consultative planning process, WIEGO identified
five priority areas for its work: urban policies to promote and protect street vendors;
global trade and investment policies to maximize opportunities – and minimize threats –
associated with globalization for home-based workers; social protection measures for
women who work in the informal economy; organization of women in the informal
economy and their representation in relevant policy- making bodies and institutions at the
local, national, and international levels; and statistics on the size and contribution of the
informal economy.
HomeNet now has active member organizations in over 25 countries and publishes a
newsletter that reaches organizations in over 130 countries. WIEGO now has affiliates in
over 25 countries as well as project partners and activities in over a dozen countries. At
the international level, WIEGO has been effective at raising the visibility of the informal
economy in public policy fora and at working with the ILO and the UN Statistics
Division to improve statistics on the informal economy. StreetNet has affiliates in about
a dozen countries and, together with WIEGO, has established integrated research-policy
projects in three countries (Kenya, South Africa, and India). In South Africa, the joint
action of grassroots organizers and academic researchers to raise the visibility and voice
of street traders has prompted the Durban City Council to initiate a remarkable
consultative planning process to formulate urban policies in support of the informal
economy. The global movement comprised of HomeNet, StreetNet, and WIEGO – and
their affiliates - is a unique example of the joint action of grassroots organizations of the
poor with research institutions and international development agencies and, more
importantly, represents a fast-expanding international movement of low-income women
who work in the informal economy.
10. 10
REFERENCE LIST:
Carr, Marilyn, Martha A. Chen, and Jane Tate. 2000. “Globalization and Home-based
Workers”, in Feminist Economics Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 123-142.
Charmes, Jacques. 1998a. “ Informal Sector, Poverty and Gender: A Review of
Empirical Evidence.” Background paper for World Bank, World Development Report
2000. Washington, D.C. (updated in 2000).
______________. 1998b. “Street Vendors in Africa: Data and Methods.” New York:
United Nations Statistical Division.
_______________. 2000. Background paper for UN Statistical Division, The World’s
Women 2000: Trends and Statistics.
Chen, Martha, Jennefer Sebstad, and Lesley O’Connell. 1999. “Counting the Invisible
Workforce: The Case of Homebased Workers”, in World Development Vol. 27, No. 3,
pp. 603-610.
Sethuraman, S.V. 1998. “ Gender, Informality, and Poverty: A Global Review.”
Background paper for World Bank, World Development Report 2000. Washington,
D.C..
UN. 2000. The World’s Women 2000: Trends and Statistics. New York: UN Statistical
Division.