Title: A formal future is possible: unpacking perceptions perpetuating African women's informalisation

Authors: Felistas Ranganai Zimano

Addresses: Faculty of Social Sciences, Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe

Abstract: This paper presents women's nurtured perceptions as possible drawbacks to their progression into formal system. Findings show that women sometimes hold limiting perceptions on things of economic relevance. This was established by interrogating women's perceptions on value and type of property ownership, business growth and associated risk among other things using netnographic focus group discussions. The major underlying factor, as will be exposed, emerged as cultural factors and socialisation nurturing women into subordination to patriarchal systems. This, to a great extent, confines women to informal sector culminating in poor participation of women in formal economic spheres. In the long-term, unchecked continuation of this informalisation is detrimental as it lays a wrong precedence in which the history being created will be a history of women as 'masters' of informal space. The paper unpacks the formal space, demystify existing perceptions on things of economic relevance and set women on a path leading into a future of participating in the formal sphere.

Keywords: women empowerment; perception management; socialisation; women informalisation; patriarchy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSDS.2020.109229

International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2020 Vol.3 No.4, pp.304 - 313

Received: 13 Nov 2018
Accepted: 27 Oct 2019
Published online: 02 Sep 2020 *

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