Weaving Paid Work, Informal Sector Work and Motherhood in Harare (Zimbabwe): A New Arena For Research?

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).