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Informally Formal: Women’s Mutual Aid Organizations in the Informal Sector of the Economy

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Women’s Contributions to Development in West Africa

Abstract

Who is included in civil society metrics? An ethnography of a women’s organization is used to explore the unaccounted—or under-accounted for—community-based, grassroots social and economic roles of women by applying Salamon and Sokolowski’s (2016, Voluntas, 27(4), 1515–1545) definition for identifying boundaries of civil society. Historically, informal organizations—those operating in the informal sector of the economy and not registered with government—are marginalized because they are methodologically difficult to identify and count. Findings demonstrate the complexity of organizations in the informal sector of the economy, using an in-depth analysis of a women’s organization founded and operated by street vendors in Ghana.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Civil society is intended as an inclusive term to describe the many types of formal and informal social purpose organizations working toward social benefits, that is, the third sector, non-governmental sector, social economy, social purpose sector, and nonprofit sector. It is inclusive of a variety of different formal and informal organizations, that is, nonprofits, social purpose organizations, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations.

  2. 2.

    Please note that these efforts can indeed help with economic, political, and social inclusion, but may also lead to inequities and new threats to women and women livelihoods, such as increased gender-based violence, feminization of poverty, and legal retrenchment of rights based on gender (see Chant, 2014; Eggers del Campo & Steinert, 2020; Horton, 2017).

  3. 3.

    Due to a confidentiality agreement with the group, the name will not be disclosed. As a part of the ethnography, over 80 interviews were completed, but this chapter predominantly focuses on interviews with the members of a single fellowship and savings group.

  4. 4.

    Of the 23 members, 21 are included in this analysis. Of the two members not included in the demographic data and interviews, the first one was absent almost the whole observation period taking care of a parent who was sick in her region of origin. She had migrated to Accra three years earlier to join an elder sister already working in the market. The other member not interviewed joined the group in the last month of the observation; however, another member who joined during the observation period was included in the interviews.

  5. 5.

    This purpose is newer to the Club, enacted in the last year at the behest of one of the members. As covered in the Self-governing section, one of the Club members brought the issue of the orphanage forward for new business and the membership voted to take action. Essentially the Club adopted the orphanage as a public service/volunteer activity.

  6. 6.

    Susu is the local Ghanaian term for individuals that act as an intermediary between market vendors and banks. A susu is different from a microfinance organization. Typically male, they collect money from market vendors, then deposit and monitor that money in a bank on behalf of the participants. Accounts are short-term and payout terms vary depending on the agreement between the susu and street vendor. Some are for specific purposes, similar to life insurance or saving for educational expenses, others are general savings accounts with or without interest. The susus are viewed as more trustworthy because several have been working in the markets for decades, building trust and good standing within the market community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado-Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Sandy Zook

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  1. Sandy Zook
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Correspondence to Sandy Zook .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    Kelly Ann Krawczyk

  2. Department of Political Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    Bridgett A. King

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Zook, S. (2023). Informally Formal: Women’s Mutual Aid Organizations in the Informal Sector of the Economy. In: Krawczyk, K.A., King, B.A. (eds) Women’s Contributions to Development in West Africa. Globalization, Urbanization and Development in Africa . Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8190-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8190-6_6

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