TY  - THES
AB  - This PhD dissertation investigates which strategies women apply in order to adapt to, cope with, and even to transform their activity fields in a gendered economy, and what development agencies can do in order to support and not endanger women's livelihood strategies. In detail, it is studied, how women combine their resources in subsistence and market production, how they use their social networks to intertwine social and economic orientations, what forms of articulation between informal and formal sectors in a globalized economy they develop, and how they tackle constraints and opportunities of a liberalizing market. 
The concept of women's economy is developed out of a perspective at the economy as being embedded in gendered social structures (Lachenmann). Economic action is seen as a form of social action, which is socially situated and carried out in economic institutions which are socially constructed (Swedberg/Granovetter). Applying this perspective to the concept of women's economy offers new insights: Women's economic action as a form of social action can be shown as crossing through the common distinctions of economic and/or social sectors, such as reproduction and production, subsistence and market production, combining individual and cooperative orientations in their institutions. Thus, those activities which are not directly market-oriented and which are often referred to as "invisible" are included in the picture. The production of livelihood is embedded in social relationships which are means and ends of their economic relationships. Women's economic action is guided by rationalities, which include providing for subsistence as well as maximizing monetary or other benefits, such as social capital by caring for family members and by keeping a social security network intact. Market rationality and elements of moral economy are closely combined.
Household and family work is the heart of subsistence economy. The household is the centre of reproduction of labour, livelihood production and production of social security, thereby subsidizing the market economy. Household and family are fluid entities with links of cooperation and exchange between urban and rural family networks. The household is a field of negotiation, ruled by cooperative conflicts regarding access to and distribution of resources, which is determined by gendered division of labour. 
Extended family ties are an important area of women's cooperation in subsistence and market production. Female security networks in the extended family seem to be very strong, although they are burdened by the impact of economic destabilisation. Mutual support is given between mothers, aunts, daughters, sisters in terms of child care, money, business contacts, marketing and emotional support. 
The neighbourhood in the township and a variety of social clubs and communities are female spaces in which women act and connect. The organisation of new social networks is an important security strategy of women which they use to counteract the loss of traditional social security. 
Market production of women is based on the embeddedness of economic activities in social networks. Access to resources such as capital, raw materials, labour, skills, information and markets is channelled through social networks. Small business groups are but one form of economic cooperation; there are also strategic and flexible combinations of individual and cooperative production. The combination of various market activities serves as a strategy of risk minimizing. 
Development cooperation and economy can promote women's economy by supporting the need for subsistence and social security and by respecting gendered spaces in market production. At the policy level, women's networks as organisations of civil society have to be supported in their work against women's discrimination and for gender justice.
DA  - 2000
KW  - Harare
KW  - Marktproduktion
KW  - Frau
KW  - Familie
KW  - Wirtschaftliches Verhalten
KW  - Soziale Sicherheit
KW  - Simbabwe
KW  - Frauenökonomie
KW  - Geschlechterbeziehung
KW  - Soziale Netzwerke
KW  - Geschlechtsspezifische Wirtschaft
KW  - Schattenwirtschaft
KW  - Women's economy
KW  - Social networks
KW  - Gendered economy
LA  - ger
PY  - 2000
TI  - Auf der Suche nach Sicherheit und Gemeinschaft : die Wirtschaft der Frauen in Harare, Simbabwe
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:361-6226
Y2  - 2024-11-21T23:57:42
ER  -