What Determines the Socio-economic Vulnerability of Women in the Informal Sector? Insights from a Case Study of Vendors in Nagaland, India

Informal sector is a dominant sector in many developing economies. Although both genders face challenges in the informal sector, it can have differing impacts on the sexes. Women in the informal sector are subjected to instability of employment and income which exacerbates their socio-economic vulnerability. Additionally, adverse conditions emanating from personal and household circumstances can inflict further damage. As such, study of socio-economic vulnerabilities of women in the informal sector warrants further examination. The overall goal of this study is to examine the determinants of socio-economic vulnerabilities among female vendors in Nagaland, India. The study also intends to bring to light, the multi-dimensional nature of vulnerability. Primary data has been collected from 393 vendors in two districts of Nagaland – Kohima and Dimapur. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to the data analysis. The initial determinants of socio-economic vulnerability are captured by 22 variables chosen after a thorough examination of literature. After which factor analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used for further analysis. The findings of the study indicate that being a migrant and residing in rented accommodations significantly elevate the vulnerability of the women, while being married significantly diminishes it. Also, the impact of vulnerability varies across dimensions. In our study, occupancy attributes have the most pronounced influence on vulnerability, while health attributes contribute the least.