Situating Self-Employed Urban Women Conducting Business through Contemporary Social Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti Kalyanaraman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Business Women ◽  
Employed Women

Informal economy includes varied set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers. The economy typically consists of enterprises and/or people that are not regulated or protected by the state. The concept originally applied to self-employment in small unregistered enterprises. It has been expanded to include wage employment in unprotected jobs. A home-based self-employed women worker can be involved as a fashion designer, a tiffin service provider, a home tutor, a person working with vendors, selling and reselling apparel, accessories to name a few. Informal self-employment is very large and heterogeneous as a category itself. There are different people working within in an informally self-employed category. The review tries to understand home based business women within the ambit of informal employment. The focus of research turns to technological advancement, social media and its impact on womens economic and business efforts. The review, using a feminist lens, understands academic researches on womens economic efforts. The reviews focus will largely be owners and own account (individually run enterprises) women workers of informal enterprises in urban areas which for ease of reference, I have termed as home-based self-employed urban woman.

Effects of Social Protection for Women in Informal Work on Maternal and Child Health Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Ravindranath ◽  
Antara Rai Chowdhury ◽  
Aditi Surie ◽  
Gautam Bhan
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Informal Work ◽  
Street Vending ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Home Based ◽  
And Child Health

The International Labour Organization estimates that, globally, approximately two billion people are employed in the informal economy. Of this, 740 million are female workers [1]. In Asia and Africa, a large proportion of non-agricultural female workforce is employed in the informal economy in urban areas. Women workers are concentrated in sectors such as domestic work, street vending, waste picking and home-based work [2,3].

scholarly journals Microenterprise development, industrial labour and the seductions of precarity

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Prentice
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Garment Workers ◽  
Microenterprise Development ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
History Of ◽  
Market Relations

Microenterprise development is underpinned by an ideology that the solution to poverty is the integration of the poor into market relations. This article addresses the paradox that its ‘beneficiaries’ may be dispossessed industrial workers who already have a long history of participation in the capitalist economy. Exploring the transformation of garment workers in Trinidad from factory employees to home-based ‘micro-entrepreneurs’, I argue that working conditions and labour rights have deteriorated under the protective cover of seemingly laudable policies to promote economic empowerment via self-employment. Showing how microenterprise initiatives contribute to women workers’ ‘adverse incorporation’ ( Phillips, 2011 ) into global production networks, this article calls for renewed attention to the labour politics of microenterprise development.

Reinforcing Traditional Values: Social, Spatial and Economic Interactions in an Indonesian Kampung

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 58-66
Author(s):  
Peter Kellett ◽  
Wendy Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Production ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Informal Economies

Traditional environments consist not only of physical buildings and spaces but also the people and their activities which take place within them. This paper examines some aspects of the interrelationship between people and places. Traditional social values are believed to be undermined by the harsh imperatives of survival in the expanding urban areas of the developing world. The collaborative nature of many rural societies can be contrasted with the hard, individualistic and competitive character of life in developing cities. Unregulated, urban, economic processes in particular are assumed to be antagonistic towards gemeinschaft ideals because the logic of the market has little respect for non-monetary values. However one of the key characteristics of many informal economies is the ability of participants to draw creatively and flexibly on all potential resources: human, material and spatial. This is particularly evident in households and settlements where a significant proportion of the economic activity is within micro scale, home-based enterprises (HBEs). By blurring and re-configuring the spatial and conceptual boundaries between work and home, between production and reproduction, many households are able to generate income to sustain themselves. Intrinsic to these processes are the linkages and exchanges between neighbours and residents, many of which are based on cultural and religious value systems which can be supportive of the economic activities taking place. This paper will explore aspects of the interrelationship between economic and social processes through the use of empirical data collected during periods of participant observation in a consolidated informal urban settlement (kampung) in the city of Surabaya, Indonesia. Detailed household case studies will be used to illustrate how income generation activities are embedded within social networks and how in many cases traditional collaborative cultural values directly reinforce economic production. This is echoed in the use of space, particularly the overlapping and shared use of streets and alleyways. The paper concludes that despite severe economic constraints many traditional values facilitate survival in times of crisis and can be conducive to longer term sustainability.

Self-Employed Women in Europe: Lack of Opportunity or Forced by Necessity?

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110353
Author(s):  
Mónica Ferrín
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gender Regime ◽  
Dual Earner ◽  
Business Women ◽  
Labour Participation ◽  
Employed Women ◽  
Gender Regimes

The gender gap in self-employment is one of the most resilient in labour participation. While for some, this gap is the result of women’s lack of opportunities to become self-employed, for others, it reflects women’s preference to stay in paid employment. This article investigates the motivations behind women’s decision (either from opportunity or necessity) to start a business in 17 European countries. Results from the analysis suggest that individual resources are fundamental in explaining women’s motivations to become entrepreneurs. The type of gender regime and the economic situation in their country also play a role in women’s decisions to start a business. Women are more likely to be driven due to opportunity in dual-earner gender regimes than elsewhere, and high levels of unemployment produced by the economic crisis have boosted women’s self-employment from necessity. These findings are discussed in relation to the gender gap in self-employment.

scholarly journals Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in India: Issues and Challenges

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-94
Author(s):  
V. Basil Hans ◽  
M U Jayasheela
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Modern Development

In the rural economy land is the site of production. Our villagers live and work with close relationship with nature; they love and adore nature. Intensification of resource use and diversification of occupation (even if we call it as technological advancement) pose serious challenges to balanced economic development in India. Villagers are facing the growing needs of food, fodder and fuel on the one hand, and fast encroaching urbanisation on the other. Both have disastrous consequences on nature’s fragile fabric. Modern development in urban areas has resulted in stress and strain, and in the rural distress and drain of resources. Hence we need a though analysis of the strengths, weaknesses threats and opportunities for economic development now and in the future. This will create the much needed awareness for prioritisation of economic activities in the country to make the best use of relatively limited available natural resources. Keeping in mind the above factors the present study tries to draw the attention of academicians, policy makers, rural people and their urban brethren towards: (i) sustainable methods of environmental management, (ii) a holistic approach with multidisciplinary, multilocational and multiinstitutional involvement, and (iii) making the practice of SWOT analysis an inbuilt mechanism in resource management for sustainable development.

scholarly journals Self Help Groups: An Effective Approach towards Women Empowerment

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Harish Tigari ◽  
R Aishwarya
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
The Self ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Right

In recent years, SHGs have become significant contributors to the generation of self –employment and source of livelihood. The Self-Help Group (SHG) is moving in the right direction in empowering women economically and socially and eradicating poverty in rural and urban areas. Self-employment is necessary to eradicate the regional economic imbalance. Women’s participation is necessary for the betterment of the economy. SHGs are one of the ways to increase the participation of women in economic activities. So, it empowers and creates women entrepreneurs. The study aims to provide empirical evidence of the contribution of SHGs to self-employment. For this purpose, the primary data were collected from the 30 members of SHGs by simple random sampling, and the data is collected through a structured questionnaire, Likert scale technique was used to measure the qualitative data. The estimated results show the self-employment opportunities created by SHGs. ­­­­­­­­

Piece Work And Feminization Of Informal Economy: Case Study Of Cholistani Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-164
Author(s):  
Rukhsana Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Sexual Division Of Labor ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Work Production ◽  
Labor System ◽  
National Economies

It is an accepted reality that woman plays an important part in the economic growth of a society. It has been well documented that there has been a steady decline in the low paid formal sector jobs for women, while the prevalence of low paid informal sector jobs are on the rise. Women’s contribution in the production process as principal producer of food products and services along with reproducers and managers of labor power, is crucial for the existence and maintenance of a social structure. The gradual political and economic integration of pastoral community of Cholistan desert into larger national economies has stimulated distinct divisions based on access to wealth and other resources among Cholistani pastoral nomads. The study utilized qualitative research method to explore the experiences of women involved in piece work production, in order to examine how various gender related ideologies in the communities had relegated women to lower tiers of the paid economic activities. Results were based on the information obtained from 10 women home based workers, supplemented with a focus group discussion and the narratives of 2 representatives of shop keepers. On the basis of thematic analysis it was concluded that the sexual division of labor within the work force of Cholistani community was not created by market economy, but it did create a system in which pre-existing gender distinctions were reproduced in the wage labor system.

scholarly journals The Ageing Home-Based Women- Workers in Karachi

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasreen Aslam Shah
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Research Work ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Women And Work ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Employed Women ◽  
Published Research

The word ageing catches our attention as an impression of experience, respect, and knowledge while on the other hand it also expresses an image of weakness, loneliness and loss of power. The two thoughts combined with gender dimension signify that men to some extent and women usually are affected by ageing mostly. The Ageing Home-Based Women-Workers in Karachi is an outcome of a study portraying the challenges faced by old age women workers of the informal sector in Karachi. Prof. Dr. Nasreen Aslam Shah has contributed many published research work in the area of women and work. The Ageing Home-Based Women- Workers is an overview of the ageing women’s experiences narrated by these women. The uniqueness of the study lies in its connection with studies conducted earlier by the author similar issues (The Self-Employed Women in Pakistan, 1994).

Economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: Who are the Big Sufferers?

2020 ◽  
pp. 320-326
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Indian Economy ◽  
The World ◽  
Daily Wage ◽  
Liberalisation Policy ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has spread almost to all the countries of the world. The mitigation measures imposed by most of the nations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have badly hit the global economic activities. As per the latest estimates, the world economy is predicted to decline by 5.2 percent, and world trade is expected to drop by 13-32 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this way it has created havoc in the world economy and the Indian economy is no exception. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the Indian GDP growth at 1.9 percent and showed the worst growth performance of India after the liberalisation policy of 1991. According to the World Bank, the Indian economy will contract by 3.2 percent in 2020-21. Daily wage labourers and other informal workers, particularly migrant labourers of economically poor states were the worst hit during the lockdown period and will continue to be adversely affected even after the lockdown was relaxed. The paper suggested multiple measures to support the Indian economic and financial support to all the families of the informal economy workers to tide over this crisis.

Heat stress and inadequate toilet access at work places in India – a potential hazard to working women in a changing climate

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidhya Venugopal ◽  
Rekha Shanmugam ◽  
Priscilla Johnson ◽  
Rebekah Ann Isabel Lucas ◽  
Kristina Jakobsson
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Working Women ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Modifiable Factors

In the past few decades, increasingly blistering heat due to climate change has created more illnesses and claimed more lives worldwide, an issue mostly ignored because it's an invisible hazard and hard-to-document disaster. Victims are usually vulnerable populations, including workers exposed on a daily basis to heat, who not only suffer from heat illnesses but also from an exacerbation of existing health problems aggravated by heat and dehydration. Research has proved that heat is a higher risk for female workers, who are affected far more often than their male counterparts. India’s informal economy is dominated by the female workforce and many informal workplaces have minimal welfare facilities including toilets. One of the modifiable factors that influence workplace psychology is the lack of access to a private toilet. To avoid embarrassment or harassment, many women refrain from drinking water during the day in order to limit their trips to the toilet, a potentially deadly strategy during hot seasons which has adverse health consequences. A global trend especially in developing nations evidences a higher number of women entering the workforce. With this trend and rising temperatures, the issue is expected to escalate to significant proportions unless workplace interventions and policy level actions are taken at a national level to protect women workers.

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