Marketability of Care Activities: A Pathway to Women’s Empowerment

Abstract

By the end of the twentieth century, women’s disempowerment was a realised economic problem. Steps have eventually been taken to empower women globally. However, the difference in the entitlements between men and women continues to be high. The gendered developmental disparity is higher in the case of lower-middle income nations. Patriarchal institutional set-ups continue to dominate. Education and marketable skills have been on the lower side amongst women compared to men. Given the increased realisation and modern-day economic compulsions, women have been trying hard to march out from the care economy and join the wage economy. Given the lack of education and skills, it has mostly been challenging for women to find decent wage work. This study is motivated by the question of the wage-work accessibility of women in the high-income world. As such, the detailed analysis is an attempt to explore the informal sector as the most accessible channel for women to join the wage economy. Based on a structured discussion, this study validates the positive role of the informal sector in providing a wage-work opportunity to women in the lower-middle income world. The study concludes by making policy recommendations to create more organised and well-paying jobs for women, especially within the lower-middle income part of the world.