Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/12835
Title: Weaving Paid Work, Informal Sector Work and Motherhood in Harare (Zimbabwe): A New Arena For Research?
Contributor(s): Mapedzahama, Virginia  (author)
Publication Date: 2009
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/12835
Abstract: The aim of this article is to expound understandings of the work/life experiences of women in a non-western, non-white, Zimbabwean context. Although women's increased workforce participation while still being predominantly responsible for domestic and caring roles is a global phenomenon, significant research into women's work/family linkages has been undertaken mostly in western societies, oftentimes with white (middleclass) workers. As a result, little is known about how mothers in 'failing' African economies such as Zimbabwe experience and make individual paid work and family choices and negotiations in the face of constraining socio-economic and cultural circumstances. This article addresses this gap in research. Drawing on the experiences of a small sub-sample of six women interviewed in Harare as part of a larger project, this article illustrates that the difficult socio-economic situation in a failing economy in Zimbabwe introduces new challenges for working mothers that impact on their work/life realities. Specifically, it reports on and analyses the experiences of women who engage in what I have termed "multiple economic activities for subsistence" (MEAS): women whose economic work straddles both the formal and informal sectors. I have also called the women's non-salaried income generating, informal sector activities the "third shift", because it is an addition to their salaried or waged formal sector employment (first shift) and motherwork (second shift).
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Australasian Review of African Studies, 30(1), p. 64-82
Publisher: African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (AFSAAP)
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 2203-5184
1447-8420
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 169901 Gender Specific Studies
160805 Social Change
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 959999 Cultural Understanding not elsewhere classified
970119 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of the Creative Arts and Writing
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: http://afsaap.org.au/ARAS/2009-volume-30/
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Rural Medicine

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