Social risk factors in women who engage in informal trade in the Santo Domingo Canton

Abstract

This article analyzes the social risk factors faced by women engaged in informal trade in the canton of Santo Domingo, Ecuador. The study followed a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design and an inductive method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women informal traders, two union leaders, and one expert in territorial planning. The research was contextualized within a post-pandemic scenario marked by increasing informality, limited access to social protection, and structural gender inequalities. The findings show that women’s informal work is intertwined with family care responsibilities, subsistence income, financial exclusion, insecurity, and a perceived institutional persecution by municipal authorities. The study concludes that relocation projects have had limited impact because they have not sufficiently considered economic profitability, access to services, and the specific protection needs of women informal traders. It proposes moving from a punitive approach to a comprehensive protection framework that recognizes informal trade as a survival strategy and incorporates health services, care support, financial inclusion, and dignified urban infrastructure.