Inclusive growth and poverty reductionrequires an understanding of the constraints to increasingproductivity of the informal sector, which employs themajority of Zambians. Zambians working in this sector arepoor, have little education, die young from avoidablediseases, and live predominantly in rural areas. Even ifmore opportunities for formal employment currently existed,this population would not be qualified for these jobs. Theirproductive inclusion in society, and making sure they caninvest in their children’s futures to break theintergenerational transmission of poverty, requires ruralinvestment that can help unlock constraints to informalsector productivity. A recent review of the constraints thatwomen face, relative to men, reveal that women’s businessperformance is affected by a combination of contextualfactors and gender differences. This qualitative studysought to understand : (a) the key livelihood strategiesused by women and men in Zambia; (b) the key constraintsthat women and men face; (c) how these constraints shape thestrategies that are available; and (d) what women and menunderstand about human rights. The research had a specificfocus on identifying responses that could help to increasewomen’s economic empowerment.
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