Markets, Power and Production

1. Markets, Power and Production Malian Women in the Informal Sector

2. A Picture of Mali • Population: 13.92 million people (2008) • GNP per capita: $440 (2007) • Economic growth rate: average of 5.1% (2003-2007) • Ranked 168 out of 179 on UNDP’s Human Development Index (2008) • Adult literacy rate: 15.6% (women), 31.1% (men) • Total fertility rate: 6.7% (2005)

3. The Informal Sector • What is it? • The International Labor Organization considers the informal sector to include “all remunerative work – both self-employment and wage employment – that is not recognized, regulated or protected by existing legal or regulatory frameworks and non-remunerative work undertaken in an income-producing enterprise.” (ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2002) • Worker constraints: not protected by labor laws, tend to earn less money than formal counterparts, lack healthcare and other worker benefits, may work under irregular contracts • Women face specific constraints, for example: lack of access to capital, lack of access to markets and possible competition from men pushed out of the formal sector by economic recession. • How big is it in Africa? • As a percentage share of: • Non-agricultural employment: 78% • Urban employment: 61% • New jobs: 93%

4. The Informal Sector in Mali

5. Gender and Social Power • What are gender roles/relations in Mali, particularly as they pertain to the market/production? • “M’ba” versus “M’se” • Burden of domestic responsibilities in addition to income-producing responsibilities • Women have different access to markets at different stages of life (women in child-bearing years versus post-menopausal women) • Women of child-bearing years may have responsibilities to their husband’s family and to their children. • Later in life, women have more control over their labor-time. • Factors affecting market strategies of women therefore are a function of relationships in their household, social and material resources, health and energy.

6. Women in the Informal Sector • Men and women involved in different activities or types of employment even within the same trades • For example, men tend to have larger scale operations and can deal in non-food products, such as manufactured goods, while women tend to have smaller scale operations and deal largely in food products. • Men may dominate the more lucrative activities, resulting in increased ability to reinvest in their businesses. • For example, men typically control income from the sale of cotton, one of Mali’s significant cash crops. • Earning a wage does not necessarily empower women, however • Income from informal sector work does not necessarily imply control over its use. • May find that once additional income is earned, husbands contribute less to the family • May have large start-up and/or transportation costs • Introduction of additional risks, often without access to risk-reducing institutions like business clubs or trade associations that are male-dominated.

7. Toward gender equity in the marketplace • How are womenbeing supported/supporting themselves? • Women’s associations • Microcredit associations • Skills-based trainings • Coordination des Associations et ONG Féminines au Mali (CAFO) • More than 2000 member associations • Coordinates activities • Advocates for the interests of women at a local and national level

8. Next steps/Recommendations • The literature highlights the importance of women acting in groups in order to achieve transformations in gender relations • Importance of organizations like CAFO in advocating for the interests of women on a political level • Increased representation of women in local and national government • Creation of policies that specifically support women in the informal sector • For example, support for daycare centers or preschools to ease the childcare burden on women