On the Border of Legal and Illegal: Women Open-air Market Traders in the Republic of Moldova

There was no place for street trade and open-air markets in the optimistic picture of democracy and socio-economic development of many CIS countries. Once considered a short-lived phenomenon, open-air market trade still lingers on, placed at the border of legal and illegal sectors, and carries a profound gender dimension. Similar factors triggered women?s high participation in the informal sector in the CIS countries, such as shortage of jobs in the formal sector, women?s limited access to the private sector, accompanied by cuts in social benefits in the result of socio-economic reforms. Combining substantive analysis with life interviews of women traders at the open-air market in the Republic of Moldova, this study explores the implication of this seemingly survival strategy on women?s lives, social attitudes towards women traders and their self-perception. In the context of the discussions on gender and employment, surviving strategies and socio-economic empowerment of women in the CIS space, the study On the border of legal and illegal ? women open-air market traders in the Republic of Moldova is of particular relevance and brings about a fresh look.