Structural constraints and their impact on women’s informal economic participation across different groups in Lebanon
| Group | Key structural constraints | Effect on informal economic participation |
|---|---|---|
| Lebanese women | Costly, opaque and bureaucratic business registration; limited institutional support; gendered barriers to finance, networks and mobility | Pushes women toward informal economic activities to avoid regulatory hurdles and maintain flexibility |
| Migrant domestic workers | Kafala (sponsorship) system restricting mobility and legal residency; prohibition on independent economic activity | Makes formal work or independent economic activity legally inaccessible; informality becomes the only viable option |
| Refugees | Precarious legal status; restricted labor rights; exclusion from formal markets; differentiated governance regimes across groups | Informal economic participation becomes a survival strategy; forms of informality vary between Palestinian and Syrian refugees |
| Group | Key structural constraints | Effect on informal economic participation |
|---|---|---|
| Lebanese women | Costly, opaque and bureaucratic business registration; limited institutional support; gendered barriers to finance, networks and mobility | Pushes women toward informal economic activities to avoid regulatory hurdles and maintain flexibility |
| Migrant domestic workers | Kafala (sponsorship) system restricting mobility and legal residency; prohibition on independent economic activity | Makes formal work or independent economic activity legally inaccessible; informality becomes the only viable option |
| Refugees | Precarious legal status; restricted labor rights; exclusion from formal markets; differentiated governance regimes across groups | Informal economic participation becomes a survival strategy; forms of informality vary between Palestinian and Syrian refugees |