Resource

Changing employment patterns and the informalization of jobs. General trends and gender dimensions

  • English
Beneria, L.; ILO, Infocus Programme on Socio-Economic Security
International Labour Office
2001
92-2-112537-8
30
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Summary (English)

The paper argues that the processes of informalization of jobs observed during the past decades have affected both high and low-income countries. Starting at the micro level of the firm, it analyzes the factors in economic restructuring and globalization that tend to generate the growth of informal activities - resulting in a vicious circle of poverty and economic insecurity for an important proportion of the population. The second part of the paper analyzes the growth of women's participation in informal activities, emphasizing that there are contradictory forces at work regarding women's employment. The paper concludes by pointing out that poverty eradication programs must emphasize the need to generate decent jobs without which these programs will continue to be ineffective. In addition, re-distributive mechanisms and different forms of social protection are needed to counteract the forces and policies generating economic insecurity.

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