Gender, Households and Informal Entrepreneurship in the Dominican Republic

This paper presents findings from a study on gender and the informal economy, specifically, male and female microentrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic. A representative survey of 201 men and women as well as in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of the same producers are employed to analyze the impact of these family businesses on household relations and the relation of this sector to the broader economy and consumer markets. There are many assertions in the women and development literature regarding the relatively more efficient utilization of income by women for the welfare and nutrition of their children. Rarely, however, do such studies compare men and women in the same sector of the economy. Here we compare male and female owners of small microenterprises who have received credit for such business. Male and female entrepreneurs are compared in terms of their differential utilization of income in their households and in their businesses, differences in power relations and decisionmaking within households, the extent of familial and network support fqr the businesses in terms oflabor, child-care and psychological support. Finally, the absence of direct linkages between these businesses and larger capitalist firms in contrast to other research among informal producers is explored.