Women in the Informal Sector and Poverty Reduction in Morocco

It is established that the informal sector plays an important role in the creation of job opportunities for many rural and urban people. However, there is a scarcity of academic research on the relationship between gender, informality of employment and poverty reduction in Morocco with particular reference to the city of Fez. This book focuses on investigating the contribution of women’s self-employed work in the informal sector in reducing household poverty in the city of Fez. This is done through the medium of specific framework objectives. First, the book sets out the types of women engaged in informal sector activities in the city of Fez. Secondly, it makes a situational analysis of the contribution of women’s work in the informal sector to reduce poverty in their households in this region of Morocco. Thirdly, it identifies the linkages between working as self-employed persons and emancipation of women through their participation in political and social activism in Fez and lastly, it uncovers the main difficulties impeding the development of women in self-employed activities in the informal sector and identifies the various challenges for the development of their businesses in Fez.

Souad Belhorma holds a PhD in language and English Literature from the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Dhar Mehraz-Fez. She is currently an assistant professor of English studies at the Polydisciplinary Faculty of Errachidia, University of Moulay Ismail. She has authored numerous articles and in addition to her participation in different national and international conferences, she also works around issues such as poverty, gender issues, politics, and work. She holds certificates from courses on women’s rights, human rights, gender-based violence, and youth both at national and international level. She has interned in different associations, as well as human rights and women’s rights organizations. She is currently working on a research project on sub-Saharan migration, labor and gender-based violence in Morocco.