markets, power and production malian women in the informal sector
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A Picture of Mali Population: 13.92 million
people (2008) GNP per capita: $440
(2007)
Economic growth rate: average of 5.1% (2003-2007)
Ranked 168 out of 179 on UNDP’s Human Development Index (2008)
Adult literacy rate: 15.6% (women), 31.1% (men)
Total fertility rate: 6.7% (2005)
The Informal Sector What is it?
The International Labor Organization considers the informal sector to include “all remunerative work – both self-employment and wage employment – that is not recognized, regulated or protected by existing legal or regulatory frameworks and non-remunerative work undertaken in an income-producing enterprise.” (ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2002)
Worker constraints: not protected by labor laws, tend to earn less money than formal counterparts, lack healthcare and other worker benefits, may work under irregular contracts
Women face specific constraints, for example: lack of access to capital, lack of access to markets and possible competition from men pushed out of the formal sector by economic recession.
How big is it in Africa? As a percentage share of:
Non-agricultural employment: 78%
Urban employment: 61%
New jobs: 93%
The Informal Sector in Mali
Share of Non-agricultural Workforce in informal
Sector and Women’s Share of Informal Sector
Percentage of Non-
Agricultural Labor Force in
Informal Sector
Women’s Share of Informal
Sector in the Non-
Agricultural Labor Force
Women
Men91
96 59
Size and Contribution of Informal Sector in Trade and Women Traders in Informal
Trade
Informal Sector as a Share of:
Women Traders as Share of:
Total Trade
Employment
Total Trade GDP
Total Informal
Trade Employm
ent
Total Informal
Trade GDP
98.1 56.7 81.3 46.1
Gender and Social Power
What are gender roles/relations in Mali, particularly as they pertain to the market/production? “M’ba” versus “M’se”
Burden of domestic responsibilities in addition to income-producing responsibilities
Women have different access to markets at different stages of life (women in child-bearing years versus post-menopausal women) Women of child-bearing years may
have responsibilities to their husband’s family and to their children.
Later in life, women have more control over their labor-time.
Factors affecting market strategies of women therefore are a function of relationships in their household, social and material resources, health and energy.
Women in the Informal Sector
Men and women involved in different activities or types of employment even within the same trades For example, men tend to have larger scale operations and can deal in
non-food products, such as manufactured goods, while women tend to have smaller scale operations and deal largely in food products.
Men may dominate the more lucrative activities, resulting in increased ability to reinvest in their businesses.
For example, men typically control income from the sale of cotton, one of Mali’s significant cash crops.
Earning a wage does not necessarily empower women, however Income from informal sector work does not necessarily imply control over
its use.
May find that once additional income is earned, husbands contribute less to the family
May have large start-up and/or transportation costs
Introduction of additional risks, often without access to risk-reducing institutions like business clubs or trade associations that are male-dominated.
Toward gender equity in the marketplace
How are women being supported/supporting themselves? Women’s associations
Microcredit associations
Skills-based trainings
Coordination des Associations et ONG Féminines au Mali (CAFO) More than 2000 member
associations
Coordinates activities
Advocates for the interests of women at a local and national level
Next steps/Recommendations
The literature highlights the importance of women acting in groups in order to achieve transformations in gender relations Importance of organizations like CAFO in
advocating for the interests of women on a political level
Increased representation of women in local and national government
Creation of policies that specifically support women in the informal sector For example, support for daycare centers or
preschools to ease the childcare burden on women