Gender & Social Protection Strategies in the Informal Economy

The vast majority of the world’s working women, particularly those from low-income households in developing countries, are located in the informal economy in activities that are casual, poorly paid, irregular and outside the remit of formal social security and protective legislation. This book examines the constraints and barriers which continue to confine women to these forms of work and what this implies for their ability to provide for themselves and their families and to cope with insecurity. It develops a framework of analysis that integrates gender, life course and livelihoods perspectives in order to explore the interactions between gender inequality, household poverty and labour market forces that help to produce gender-differentiated experiences of risk and vulnerability for the working poor. Drawing on practical experiences from the field, It uses this framework to demonstrate the relevance of a gender-analytical approach to the design and evaluation of a range of social protection measures that are relevant to women at different stages of their life course. These include conditional and unconditional social transfers to reduce child labour and promote children’s education, child care support for working women, financial services for the poor, employment generation through public works and different measures for old age security. The book stresses the importance of an organised voice for working women if they are to ensure that employers, trade unions and governments respond to their need for socio-economic security. Finally, the book synthesises the main lessons that emerge from the discussion and the linkages between social protection strategies and the broader macro-economic framework. A book that will be of interest to a wide range of readers―those in the fields of economics, sociology and gender studies, as also activists and policy-makers.

Kabeer, Naila

Reference

Routledge India

This book explores the issue of gender inequality through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the first one of halving world poverty by 2015. The book aims to bring together arguments, findings and lessons from the development literature which are relevant to the achievement of these goals from the standpoint of gender equality. It draws out the inter-connections between production and gender (and women's critical role in straddling both) and their implications for poverty eradication strategies and the achievement of human-centred economic growth.

Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals: A handbook for policy-makers and other stakeholders (New Gender Mainstreaming in Development Series)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Commonwealth Secretariat

In this book Naila Kabeer explores the gendered dimension of risk, vulnerability, and insecurity and hence the gendered need for social protection. Her emphasis is on the informal economy because that is where the majority of women and, indeed, the poor are to be found, but it is also here where official efforts for social protection are limited.The book will enhance understanding of the constraints and barriers which confine women to more poorly remunerated, more casual, and more insecure forms of waged and self-employment, and considers what this implies for women’s ability to provide for their families and cope with insecurity. Kabeer assesses the different kinds of risks, vulnerabilities and insecurities associated with the pursuit of livelihoods in the informal economy and how these vary by gender. She considers different kinds of informal activities (entrepreneurs, home-based workers, petty traders, and waged labor) with varying degrees of formality, and distinguishes between urban and rural locations. Finally, she sets out policy guidelines for those interested in advancing the social protection agenda and ensuring that gender issues are appropriately addressed.

Mainstreaming Gender in Social Protection for the Informal Economy (New Gender Mainstreaming in Development Series)

Business & Money

Economics

Reversed Realities uncovers the deeply entrenched, hence barely visible, biases which underpin mainstream development theory and account for the marginal status given to women’s needs in current development policy.Naila Kabeer traces the emergence of “women” as a specific category in development thought and examines alternative frameworks for analyzing gender hierarchies. She identifies the household as a primary site for the construction of power relations and compares the extent to which gender inequalities are revealed in different approaches to the concept of the family unit. The book assesses the inadequacies of the poverty line as a measuring tool and provides a critical overview of an issue that has been fiercely contested by feminists: population control. While feminists themselves have no unanimous view of the meaning of “reproductive choice,” Kabeer argues that it is imperative for them to take a lead in the construction of population policy.

Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought

Verso

Reversed Realities uncovers the deeply entrenched, hence barely visible, biases which underpin mainstream development theory and account for the marginal status given to women’s needs in current development policy. Naila Kabeer traces the emergence of “women” as a specific category in development thought and examines alternative frameworks for analyzing gender hierarchies. She identifies the household as a primary site for the construction of power relations and compares the extent to which gender inequalities are revealed in different approaches to the concept of the family unit. The book assesses the inadequacies of the poverty line as a measuring tool and provides a critical overview of an issue that has been fiercely contested by feminists: population control. While feminists themselves have no unanimous view of the meaning of “reproductive choice,” Kabeer argues that it is imperative for them to take a lead in the construction of population policy.

The vast majority of the world’s working women, particularly those from low-income households in developing countries, are located in the informal economy in activities that are casual, poorly paid, irregular and outside the remit of formal social security and protective legislation. This book examines the constraints and barriers which continue to confine women to these forms of work and what this implies for their ability to provide for themselves and their families and to cope with insecurity.   It develops a framework of analysis that integrates gender, life course and livelihoods perspectives in order to explore the interactions between gender inequality, household poverty and labour market forces that help to produce gender-differentiated experiences of risk and vulnerability for the working poor. Drawing on practical experiences from the field, It uses this framework to demonstrate the relevance of a gender-analytical approach to the design and evaluation of a range of social protection measures that are relevant to women at different stages of their life course. These include conditional and unconditional social transfers to reduce child labour and promote children’s education, child care support for working women, financial services for the poor, employment generation through public works and different measures for old age security.  The book stresses the importance of an organised voice for working women if they are to ensure that employers, trade unions and governments respond to their need for socio-economic security. Finally, the book synthesises the main lessons that emerge from the discussion and the linkages between social protection strategies and the broader macro-economic framework.   A book that will be of interest to a wide range of readers―those in the fields of economics, sociology and gender studies, as also activists and policy-makers.

Institutions, Relations and Outcomes: A Framework and Case Studies for Gender-Aware Planning

The absence of gender awareness in policy and planning in the past has given rise to a variety of efficiency, welfare, and equity costs. This book develops an analytical framework and a set of tools which can assist planners, as well as trainers, to ensure that gender is systematically integrated into different aspects of their work. It offers an inventory of the kinds of assumptions which lead to gender-blind policy, and assesses integrationist and transformatory strategies by feminist advocates to influence the mainstream policy agenda. An analytical framework for examining the gender inequalities generated by key institutions through which development takes place occupies a central place in the book.

Subrahmanian, Ramya

Zed Books

In this path-breaking study, social economist Naila Kabeer examines the lives of Bangladeshi garment workers in Bangladesh and Britain to shed light on the question of what constitutes “fair” competition in international trade. She argues that if the unhealthy coalition of multinationals and labor movements is truly seeking to improve the working conditions for women and children in the “Third World,” as well as those of western workers, their efforts should be directed away from an attempt to impose labor standards and towards a support for the organization of labor rights. Any attempt to devise acceptable labor standards at an international level which takes no account of the forces of inclusion and exclusion with local labor movements is, she further argues, likely to represent the interests of the powerful at the expense of those of the weak.

The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Garment Workers in London and Dhaka

Verso Books

In this path breaking study, social economist Naila Kabeer examines the lives of Bangladeshi garment workers to shed light on the question of what constitutes “fair” competition in international trade. While Bangladesh is generally considered a poor, conservative Muslim country, with a long tradition of female seclusion, women here have entered factories to take their place as a prominent, first generation, industrial labor force. On the other hand, in Britain’s modern and secular society with its long tradition of female industrial employment, Bangladeshi women are largely concentrated in home-based piece work for the garment industry. This book draws on testimonies of both groups concerning their experiences at work and the impact these have on their lives generally to explain such paradoxes. Kabeer argues that any attempt to devise acceptable labor standards at the international level which takes no account of the forces of inclusion and exclusion within local labor markets is likely to represent the interests of powerful losers in international trade at the expense of weak winners.

The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labor Market Decisions in London and Dhaka

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Books by Kabeer, Naila

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kabeer, Naila. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Gender & Social Protection Strategies in the Informal Economy

Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals: A handbook for policy-makers and other stakeholders (New Gender Mainstreaming in Development Series)

Mainstreaming Gender in Social Protection for the Informal Economy (New Gender Mainstreaming in Development Series)

Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought

Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought

Gender & Social Protection Strategies in the Informal Economy

Institutions, Relations and Outcomes: A Framework and Case Studies for Gender-Aware Planning

Institutions, Relations and Outcomes: A Framework and Case Studies for Gender-Aware Planning

The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Garment Workers in London and Dhaka

The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labor Market Decisions in London and Dhaka