Women and the Informal Economy: A Think Piece

Summary from Office of Development Effectiveness: "Women dominate the informal economy. Within informal employment, their wages are lower than men’s. The types of informal work women do as market or street vendors, hawkers or homeworkers, expose them to risks to their physical safety and health. The provision of social protection, including health insurance, pensions, and maternity benefits, improving occupational safety and reducing work hazards, improving access to child care, and building informal workers’ organizations, alliances and networks are some of the ways that can be undertaken to improve the conditions of informal workers, especially women. Improving the conditions of informal workers therefore will have to take a gendered approach."