Tunisia: 84% of women affected by precariousness
26 December 2011
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Results of a study on "women and informal work" were presented at a meeting held yesterday at the City of Sciences in Tunis.
This study is part of the project "economic precariousness and support for women's rights" launched by the "Tanassof" space, under the Association of Tunisian Women for Research on Development (AFTURD) for the period 2009-2011 and funded by Spanish cooperation.
It aims to strengthen women's economic skills, make them aware of their rights and combat all forms of violence, particularly economic violence against them, underlined, in essence, Ms. Neila Jrad, project manager. Speaking about the role of informal work in the Tunisian economy, Moncef Zghidi, sociologist, stressed that this phenomenon is universal and represents between 10 and 50% of GDP and non-agricultural employment in less industrialized countries. In Tunisia, this sector is almost exclusively urban and peri-urban and is highly feminized.
Presenting the results of the study, Abderrahmane Ben Zakour, researcher in charge of the study, stressed that it was carried out on a sample of 229 women from Ariana, La Manouba and Ben Arous. He stressed that the informal sector in Tunisia covers five essential areas: micro-enterprises, street vendors, cross-border trade, domestic production and new information and communication technologies.
The study revealed that precariousness affects 84% of the women surveyed, whether they are employees or managers of their own projects. In this context, the researcher identified four indicators of precariousness and employment fragility. These are the lack of qualifications and employment contracts, a low rate of social coverage and low seniority in the profession.
Only about ten cases (4%) of women entrepreneurs earn a good living with a monthly income greater than or equal to 600 dinars. The speaker indicated that 60% of the women interviewed aspire to expand their activities. The non-realization of these aspirations seems linked to the lack of material resources and technical knowledge, in addition to the lack of support services.
He then proposed some recommendations that could serve as concrete actions for AFTURD, such as organizing regular and free or symbolic medical visits in disadvantaged neighborhoods, organizing assistance to allow the acquisition of necessary medicines, organizing school support for children in difficulty, bringing financial services closer to women in the informal sector who manage micro-projects, intervening directly with the public authorities to draw their attention to the issue of housing in deprived areas and creating a center for disabled people in these neighborhoods.
Tunisiait.com
Published December 24, 2011.
Posted online December 25, 2011.
This study is part of the project "economic precariousness and support for women's rights" launched by the "Tanassof" space, under the Association of Tunisian Women for Research on Development (AFTURD) for the period 2009-2011 and funded by Spanish cooperation.
It aims to strengthen women's economic skills, make them aware of their rights and combat all forms of violence, particularly economic violence against them, underlined, in essence, Ms. Neila Jrad, project manager. Speaking about the role of informal work in the Tunisian economy, Moncef Zghidi, sociologist, stressed that this phenomenon is universal and represents between 10 and 50% of GDP and non-agricultural employment in less industrialized countries. In Tunisia, this sector is almost exclusively urban and peri-urban and is highly feminized.
Presenting the results of the study, Abderrahmane Ben Zakour, researcher in charge of the study, stressed that it was carried out on a sample of 229 women from Ariana, La Manouba and Ben Arous. He stressed that the informal sector in Tunisia covers five essential areas: micro-enterprises, street vendors, cross-border trade, domestic production and new information and communication technologies.
The study revealed that precariousness affects 84% of the women surveyed, whether they are employees or managers of their own projects. In this context, the researcher identified four indicators of precariousness and employment fragility. These are the lack of qualifications and employment contracts, a low rate of social coverage and low seniority in the profession.
Only about ten cases (4%) of women entrepreneurs earn a good living with a monthly income greater than or equal to 600 dinars. The speaker indicated that 60% of the women interviewed aspire to expand their activities. The non-realization of these aspirations seems linked to the lack of material resources and technical knowledge, in addition to the lack of support services.
He then proposed some recommendations that could serve as concrete actions for AFTURD, such as organizing regular and free or symbolic medical visits in disadvantaged neighborhoods, organizing assistance to allow the acquisition of necessary medicines, organizing school support for children in difficulty, bringing financial services closer to women in the informal sector who manage micro-projects, intervening directly with the public authorities to draw their attention to the issue of housing in deprived areas and creating a center for disabled people in these neighborhoods.
Tunisiait.com
Published December 24, 2011.
Posted online December 25, 2011.
