ABSTRACT
It is widely understood that women and men participate in the paid and unpaid-labour market, on a different basis (Brydon and Chant, 1989). As shown clearly in chapters 5 and 6, womens’ work in Trinidad is segregated horizontally to a limited range of occupations, of jobs within occupations, and vertically at the bottom of the occupational ladder. Within the informal sector, women are most frequently found in small retail and productive operations involving clothing, trinkets and food. They are often forced to combine income-earning activities with household responsibilities, and in many cases, they are the sole providers of income. Often operating outside commercial centres, women are more likely to be found in quiet rural areas.
