واقع المرأة العاملة في القطاع غير الرسميّ في المجتمع الأردنيّ: دراسة سوسيولوجية في جنوب الأردن

Naser Abdallah  Abu Zetun; Aydah Mhagir  Abutayeh

doi:10.35516/hum.v51i4.3859

Authors

Naser Abdallah Abu Zetun Department of University Requirements, College of Educational Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma'an, Jordan https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2621-8687
Aydah Mhagir Abutayeh Department of University Requirements, College of Educational Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma'an, Jordan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4172-5334

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v51i4.3859

Keywords:

Working woman, informal sector, women's rights, gender, Jordanian society

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to identify the rights available to Jordanian women working in the informal sector in the city of Ma'an, Al-Husayniyeh and Al-Mreigheh districts, to identify the determinants of the work environment and reveal the social and economic challenges they face.

Methods: The study adopted the quantitative descriptive-analytical method. The questionnaire was designed for the purpose of data collection. It was applied to (348) female workers from the original sample in all sectors: Educational, Industrial, Commercial, Logistic, Service, and Health. Through the qualitative descriptive approach, an interview manual was designed, in which (36) working women in various sectors were intentionally interviewed, and the interviews addressed three dimensions: Basic Rights, Work Environment, and Social and Economic challenges.

Results: The study found that 77% of female participants work 8 hours or less, more than half of them,)55%(, are social security subscribers, 76% do not have health insurance, and 36% have not signed work contracts. With regard to human rights, the results revealed the existence of an unhealthy work environment, specifically in the logistic, commercial, and industrial sectors, due to the lack of job security, moral and material appreciation, and physical and psychological comfort. The most significant challenges are faced by the logistic, medical, and industrial sectors. Economic challenges ranked first and have a moderate degree, followed by social challenges. It was also found that women working in this sector were exposed to many forms of violence, especially directed at them by the employer and the family.

Conclusions: Women working in the informal sector suffer from economic violence based on gender, as they do not control their economic resources, and this affects their economic empowerment; thus, their role in participating in bringing about social and economic changes is absent.

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