Who Bears the Weight of Urban Poverty? Migrant Single Mothers and the Gendered Struggle in Accra’s Informal Markets

This study examines feminized poverty among migrant single mothers working as kayayei in Accra, Ghana. Semi-structured interviews with 30 participants were analyzed thematically. Four themes emerged: income insecurity, caregiving difficulties, exclusion from state and NGO support, and informal coping strategies. Participants faced unstable earnings, limited childcare, and difficulties accessing social protection and healthcare, where administrative requirements did not reflect their living and working conditions. The study shows how informal labor, unpaid care, and weak institutional recognition reproduce gendered poverty, with implications for social justice, urban governance, and policies that better accommodate mobile informal workers and single mothers.