Women and Self-Employment in Urban Tanzania

Abstract

This study examines the employment and earnings of self-employed women in urban Tanzania. Most of the empirical evidence comes from a household survey that interviewed 5,543 adults in seven mainland towns during 1971. Although women represent almost 28% of all urban self-employed, they are clustered into a few low-income activities. Women's involvement in household and subsistence production leads them to work fewer hours in market activities, but their lower earnings are mostly due to their restricted access to education and capital.