Panel on Gender Implications of Formalisation at IAFFE Conference 2019 Thursday June 27, 2019.

Gender Implications of Formalisation Policies: A Cross-Country Analysis

At IAFFE Conference 2019

Thursday June 27. 2019  – 14:30 to 16:20 | Room W009, Hamish Wood Building

“Formalisation” is the favoured policy for dealing with informal workers, but how does it actually work for women in the informal economy? What’s the difference between formalising enterprises and ensuring formal and desirable conditions for workers and their contracts? Are these policies gender-sensitive or do they operate without thinking of the specific requirements of women workers? Can some attempts at formalisation actually harm women workers?

We present results of a cross-country study (supported by Open Society Foundations), comparing economies close to full employment (like Thailand) with those with massive unemployment and surplus labour (like South Africa and India), countries where women’s recognised work is more formal (Morocco) with those where it is dominantly informal (Ghana). We look at a broad spectrum of women workers: in agriculture, in retail trade, in factories, in waste collection, in domestic work, in sex work, in other services. There are some affirmations of earlier wisdom as well as some surprising new insights.

Come and join us for this discussion, to delve deeper into the policies and possibilities for women in informal work.

Chair:

Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Speakers:

Dzodzi Tsikata, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana; (Download Presentation)

Hameda Deedat, NALEDI, Johannesburg, South Africa;

C. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; (Download Presentation)

Jessica Vechbanyongratana, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; (Download Presentation)

Mouna Cherkaoui, Mohammad V University, Rabat Morocco. (Download Presentation)