WHY DO FEMALE STREET VENDORS EARN LESS THAN MALE STREET
VENDORS IN HARARE?

WHY DO FEMALE STREET VENDORS EARN LESS THAN MALE STREET
VENDORS IN HARARE?

TAVONGA NJAYA

STANLEY IDANAI MURANGWA

The study explored the factors that influenced income disparities betweenmaleand female street
vendors in Harare, the capital city ofZimbabwe.Qualitative data collection techniques used in the study
included in-depth personal interviews, focus group discussions, direct observations and document reviews. The
study observed three categories of street vendors, namely, stationary, peripatetic and mobile vendors. Although
street vending reflected the face of a woman in Harare, a majority of the female street vendors earned less than
their male counterparts. The reasons for low sales and hence low daily incomes for female street vendors were
varied and includeddisruptions caused by household chores including child-care; stiff competition from rising
number of street vendors;men grabbed bigger vending space and more strategic vending sites; low capital
investment; a majority of women traded in low volume and perishable goods such as vegetables, fruits and
cooked food and less 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 women vendors was that street vending was illegal in
Zimbabwe. The government should formally recognise the economic activities of the street vendors which would
allow them to carry on their work with dignity and freedom

International Journal of Business and Management Invention

2016