An evaluation of income disparities between male and female street vendors of Harare in Zimbabwe

An evaluation of income disparities between male and female street vendors of Harare in Zimbabwe

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The study assessed income disparities between male and female street vendors in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe.Qualitative data collection techniques included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, direct observations and document reviews while quantitative data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire.A chi-square test of male and female daily incomes showed that there was no association between sex and daily income of Custom Mug the street vendors.

Instead, other factors helped to explain the income disparities between male and female street vendors.Although street vending bears the face of a woman in Harare, female street vendors earned less than male vendors.The reasons for low daily incomes for female street vendors included low capital investment; a majority of women traded in low volume and perishable goods such as vegetables, fruits and cooked food and less theplayfulcollectivees.shop lucrative goods; female street vendors had less access to productive tools and financial capital and worked as commission agents or employees of other vendors; gender bias towards some goods like leather and electronic products which generally required a substantial investment that could only be made by male vendors and female street vendors operated in insecure and illegal spaces where they became easy targets of eviction and confiscation.

The major problem faced by female vendors was their right to exist in the urban informal sector because their occupation was illegal.The government should provide vendors with viable legal space for their business activities and also simplify the rules and regulations that prevent them from carrying on their work with dignity and freedom.