ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
 |
|
Changing Employment Patterns and the Informalization
of Jobs: General Trends and Gender Dimensions
Lourdes Beneria, August 2001 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. I would like to thank Juan Arbona and Gale Summerfield for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. Click here for full document in PDF |
|
Created by LD. Approved by GS. Last update 15 November 2001