Economic activities that are not regulated by the government.
The 'informal economy' label, coined in development economics, categories women's majority-occupation sectors (street vending, homebased work, unpaid care) as marginal or unregulated, obscuring their structural importance and rendering workers invisible to policy.
Use 'informal economy' with explicit recognition that it is the primary livelihood for billions, disproportionately women, and requires intentional regulatory inclusion and social protection—not marginalization.
["non-standard employment","self-provisioning economy"]
Women in informal economies are entrepreneurs, risk-bearers, and social safety nets; naming their sectors as foundational (not marginal) reframes policy from exclusion to integration.
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