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Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context pp 193–216Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Labour Market Informalization, Gender and Social Protection: Reflections on Poor Urban Households in Bolivia and Ecuador

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Part of the book series: Social Policy in a Development Context ((SPDC))

Abstract

This chapter is an attempt to understand the ways in which poor urban households in developing countries cope with the nature and depth of current labour market informalization, poverty and economic insecurity. It explores the dynamics of informality and its distributional aspects, and it demonstrates how job precariousness and vulnerability are interconnected as well as the importance of their gender dimensions. The paper is based on a study of poor urban house-holds in Bolivia and Ecuador, using sample surveys carried out in 2002.1 We focus mainly on three areas of inquiry: the evolving informal economy and its implications in the way households organize their lives; gender roles and gender relations; and the precariousness of work and lack of social protection.

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Authors
  1. Lourdes Benería
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  2. Maria S. Floro
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Switzerland

    Shahra Razavi (Research Coordinator) (Research Coordinator)

  2. University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

    Shireen Hassim (Associate Professor in Political Studies) (Associate Professor in Political Studies)

Copyright information

© 2006 UNRISD

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Cite this chapter

Benería, L., Floro, M.S. (2006). Labour Market Informalization, Gender and Social Protection: Reflections on Poor Urban Households in Bolivia and Ecuador. In: Razavi, S., Hassim, S. (eds) Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context. Social Policy in a Development Context. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230625280_9

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