Iran is estimated to have the third largest informal sector in the MENA region a major source of income for many low-income households whose numbers are growing as sanctions tighten. Gender and Entrepreneurship in Iran provides insight into the role of informal networks in employment creation in Iran from a gender perspective. Drawing upon theories of social capital, social network, and the postcolonial feminist critique of mainstream development, this analysis sheds light on the ways in which poverty and unemployment may be tackled.

Autorentext
Roksana Bahramitash is Visiting Scholar at the University of Montreal, Canada, with the Canada Research Chair of Islam, Pluralism and Globalization. She is a sociologist who earned her PhD from McGill University and has focused on social justice and poverty from a gender perspective. She previously worked as Faculty Lecturer on 'Women in the Muslim World' at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University, Canada, as well as other courses at McGill University, Canada. Originally from Iran, she was active after the Iranian Revolution in literacy projects among peasant women.

Inhalt
Introduction 1. Social Capital, Social Net Work and Micro Enterprise 2. Women and the Informal Economy: A Literature Review 3. Women's Employment in Iran: An Overview 4. Gender and Informal Economy in Iran: A Review of Previous work 5. Field Work: Female Workers 6. Field Work: Male Workers: Comparing the Two Sample (Male with Female) Conclusion