Gendered Household Influence and Caregiving Barriers
RCTReview
Women-owned informal micro-enterprises fail to respond to standard formalization incentives because unpaid domestic care responsibilities and family claims on business income reduce enterprise growth potential.
Picture this
Think of pouring water into a storage tank to build up a reserve, but family members continually dip cups into the tank to meet daily household needs. No matter how much water is added, the volume never grows enough to justify installing a commercial pipe system.
What the evidence says
Women-led enterprises formalized at significantly lower rates than male-led firms following formalization incentive programs due to domestic care burdens, heavy family financial demands, and higher business closure rates.
- Who was studied
- Female micro-entrepreneurs in Benin and Malawi.
- How
- Gender-disaggregated Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) impact evaluation of formalization programs.
What to do
Combine female enterprise formalization incentives with subsidized childcare services and secure personal savings mechanisms to insulate business revenues from household claims.
From the source
"In Benin and Malawi, researchers found that women formalized their businesses less or did not formalize them after programs to encourage formalization... women face the challenge of balancing their entrepreneurial activities with domestic responsibilities, which reduces their likelihood of expanding their businesses."
JOI_Brazil_Evidence_in_Labor_Market_Policies_and_Implications_for.pdf