Women in the informal sector in Mauritius: a survival mode

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the characteristics of women entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector in Mauritius and to investigate the impact of women entrepreneurship on their own livelihoods and that of their families. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data on 158 women entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector, the authors analyse whether there has been an improvement in the standard of living of women entrepreneurs as a result of their informal entrepreneurial activities. Findings – Findings reveal that the informal sector has provided a self-employment outlet for unemployed and retrenched women in Mauritius. Even if for a majority, their earnings remain low, their informal activity has indeed helped to contribute to their livelihood and household earnings. Research limitations/implications – Research on informal sector businesses is fraught with limitations, given that these firms operate on the fringes of legality and data are thus a major issue. Hence interviewing owners of informal sector businesses to get relevant data is quite challenging. Practical implications – The results indicate that informal entrepreneurial activities contribute positively to women's livelihoods, hence policy should be aimed at encouraging women agency even if it is in the informal sector. Social implications – The study helps to shed light as to whether entrepreneurship even if it exists in the informal sector helps to improve the living of these women and their families. Originality/value – This study is innovative as it investigates the livelihood of a vulnerable section of the population, in this case, women entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector. The authors find that the informal sector provides women with higher income when they are married and are more formally educated.

Value of Formalization for Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Contexts: A Review and Research Agenda

“…Kasseeah and Tandrayen‐Ragoobur () confirm that, even in domestic‐based enterprises, the amount of business experience is more important than gender as an indicator of business growth. In Pakistan, Shabbir and Di Gregorio () link decisions to start a business and active efforts to overcome environmental constraints directly to women's personal goals and life course.…”

Branding in Informal Sector: Qualitative Analysis from a Developing Country Perspective

“…As informal sector has been principally perceived as the underground (Houston, 1987), grey or irregular economy (Ferman & Ferman, 1973) due to its irregularity, unsustainability and off the record policy or no book keeping system, researchers from different areas of business studies have not given much attention to discovering the practical business strategies of any informal business set-up. Due to its great association with entrepreneurship development (Williams & Shahid, 2016), most of the researchers have found it more precise to put the arguments merely into the boundaries of entrepreneurship, that is, woman entrepreneurship (Kasseeah & Tandrayen-Ragoobur, 2014), employment generating (Williams, 2006) and its contribution to national GDP (Charmes, 1999, p. 13). In most of the cases, informal sector has been noted as a solution to unemployment and poverty.…”

Characteristics of Informal Micro-Entrepreneurs in Malaysia

“…For instance, entrepreneurship in developing countries tend to face a higher governing burden than those in developed countries (Baharudin et al, 2011). Employees who are mostly unskilled in the respective sectors lose their jobs and due to their low skill levels and incapability of moving to new activities that require training, they have moved away from the formal sector into the informal sector (Kasseeah & Tandrayen, 2014;Loayza & Rigoloni, 2011).…”

“…Informal entrepreneurs have a positive mindset when joining the sector by ignoring the structure of relegation representation and they are confident and believe that they have a future in the informal sector (Williams & Gurtoo, 2011). In Kasseeah and Tandrayen (2014) study, men and women in many countries tend to be involved in different activities or types of employment even within the same trades. For example, male traders tend to have higher scaled operations such as dealing with non-food items while female traders tend to have lower scaled operations that deal with food items.…”

“…They must decide on the priority in their life between family and employment. Basically, women entrepreneurs face some difficulties in balancing their work and their responsibility towards the family (Kasseeah & Tandrayen, 2014). Half of the population in Malaysia is women and they too contribute to the informal sector in order to survive (Idris & Siwar, 2003).…”