Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2009·Sub-Saharan Africa

Informalization, the Informal Economy and Urban Women’s Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1990s

Dzodzi Tsikata

Urban Farm DB summary

This chapter examines urban women's livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa since the 1990s, focusing on economic liberalization and the expansion of the informal economy. Urban agriculture, including home gardens, is identified as an increasingly important activity within this informal sector. Many women in the urban informal economy are employed by others or have been in the past, while industrial subcontracting, a source of informal employment, has been significant only in a few industrialized Sub-Saharan African countries.