Yohannes, Mekonnen Abebe. 2017. ‘Challenges and Opportunities of Women Participating in Informal Sector in Ethiopia: A Special Focus on Women Street Vendors in Arba Minch City’. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology 9 (2): 8–16.
The writing of the researcher commenced by explaining how the informal sector, particularly street vending, has become a means of life for many women in Ethiopia. Regarding the definition of the informal sector the writer adopted the definition provided by the ILO and defined it as an economic sector which is out of the reach of the government regulation, tax authorities, and not subjected to hierarchical supervision. Generally, the informal economic sector is the underregulated market economy that engages in production of goods and services for income generation. Street vending is one area of the informal market whereby millions of people in the world earn their lives by selling goods and services around the street, sidewalks and other public places.
In Ethiopia the informal sector including street vending engages a very large number of unemployed women and facilitates income generating opportunities for the marginalized group of the society. Accordingly it serves as economic independence for women in ethiopia.
The researcher had used a ‘Qualitative Research’ approach and ‘Case Study’ research design to reach up on the findings. Both primary and secondary data were used to collect data from the study participants and various sources. And the data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
The study found that women engaged in the informal sector of street vending have been subjected to various socio economic challenges. To start with, as the informal market is unregulated, most of the time consumers of their product refuse to pay. Usually the buyers will first have the product and then they pay for it. But according to this study due to lack of proper regulation, women selling various products in the street daily face this challenge of payment refusal. The other challenge faced by the women in the informal sector is the lack of a conducive environment to sell their products. Due to the informal nature of the transaction, they were subject to security conflicts, damage of goods due to rain and sun, and perishability of the goods over time. This situation is exacerbated by lack of housing and storage to store the unsold goods and products, as a result they lose their startup capital and expected profits. The other main challenge encountered by women in informal sector particularly street vending is sexual violence and abuse. According to this study, women engaged in the street vending are subjected to sexual harassment, theft and robbery, particularly during the night time.
The other major challenge is the one directed from the law enforcement organ. According to this study, women engaging in the informal sector are expected to deal with the police and other law enforcement organs by giving bribes. As the market is not recognized by the government they are usually involved in running to spare their goods from being snatched by police. The street vendors also find themselves in conflict with the formal traders and public at large. The formal traders go against them because they sell similar goods with lower prices as they are not subjected to taxation. The drivers and public using the street also dislike them as they encroach on the road.