In poorer countries, 75% of women are employed in informal sector jobs, such as domestic workers, positions not covered by international employment laws and which leave them open to abuse and exploitation.
This, therefore, refutes the modernisation perspective by displaying that a large share of the workforce in developing and transition economies are employed in informal enterprises.
Over the past decade or so, there has been widespread recognition that a large and growing proportion of the global workforce is employed in informal sector enterprises.
Notably, Estrada-Garcia et al. (2002) reported that in 1998 approximately 28.5% of the work force in Mexico were said to be employed in the informal sector, in addition 30.8% of the Informal sector's activities were in the food vending business employing about 120,000 people.
Perhaps, immigrants are less aware of their rights than natives, are more likely to be employed in the informal sector, or, in some instances, they may fear deportation (Orrenius and Zavodny 2012).
Furthermore, the women who do earn salaries are more likely than men to be employed in the informal and services sectors, which are traditionally lower paid, less stable and have poorer working conditions.
Wage employees not receiving mandated benefits can be employed in a formal or an informal firm.
Younger informal sector workers may be more likely than older workers to be employed in occupations that carry a high risk of accidents, for instance in construction.
The Labour Law of Bangladesh 2006 bans children under the age of 14 from working but, according to the UN children's agency, Unicef, 4.7 million children under that age are employed in the informal sector, and 1.3 million aged five to 17 work in hazardous industries.
Nearly 90% of India's workforce is employed in the informal sector, which is typically characterized by low productivity and low-skill activities, and about 60% is employed in the informal agriculture sector.
