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Between Choice and Constraint: How Young Women Navigate the Transition from Formal to Informal Employment in Taiwan’s Flexible Labor Market

Baravelli, Alice (2025) COSM40 20251
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
This thesis investigates how young women navigate flexibilization and informalization in the Taiwanese labor market, their motivations guiding the transition from formal to informal sector, and generational differences in terms of motivations and interpretation of informality. A qualitative approach was adopted, entailing thematic analysis based on a corpus of different data, including participant observation, online survey, online forum, semi-structured interviews, and a statistical national survey. Giddens' structuration theory, particularly the concepts of duality of structure, agency, and time-space, provided a new angle from which to explore women’s motivations as being both constrained and enabled by structures. The thesis finds... (More)
This thesis investigates how young women navigate flexibilization and informalization in the Taiwanese labor market, their motivations guiding the transition from formal to informal sector, and generational differences in terms of motivations and interpretation of informality. A qualitative approach was adopted, entailing thematic analysis based on a corpus of different data, including participant observation, online survey, online forum, semi-structured interviews, and a statistical national survey. Giddens' structuration theory, particularly the concepts of duality of structure, agency, and time-space, provided a new angle from which to explore women’s motivations as being both constrained and enabled by structures. The thesis finds various factors influence young women’s motivations, mainly linked to the formal sector's lack of appealing opportunities. At the same time, the informal sector has become increasingly attractive due to a generational shift in attitudes, with young women prioritizing flexibility and autonomy over stable employment. Unlike older generations, who experienced informal work as a safety net tied to family obligations, younger women seem to be entering it more voluntarily. By revisiting informality within a changed social and economic context through the angle of young women, the thesis contributes to the current literature on labor, gender, and youth in relation to the process of informalization. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Baravelli, Alice
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Informalization, Young women, Flexibility, Informal employment, Taiwanese labor market, Structuration theory
language
English
id
9202996
date added to LUP
2025-06-19 10:20:30
date last changed
2025-06-19 10:20:30
@misc{9202996,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates how young women navigate flexibilization and informalization in the Taiwanese labor market, their motivations guiding the transition from formal to informal sector, and generational differences in terms of motivations and interpretation of informality. A qualitative approach was adopted, entailing thematic analysis based on a corpus of different data, including participant observation, online survey, online forum, semi-structured interviews, and a statistical national survey. Giddens' structuration theory, particularly the concepts of duality of structure, agency, and time-space, provided a new angle from which to explore women’s motivations as being both constrained and enabled by structures. The thesis finds various factors influence young women’s motivations, mainly linked to the formal sector's lack of appealing opportunities. At the same time, the informal sector has become increasingly attractive due to a generational shift in attitudes, with young women prioritizing flexibility and autonomy over stable employment. Unlike older generations, who experienced informal work as a safety net tied to family obligations, younger women seem to be entering it more voluntarily. By revisiting informality within a changed social and economic context through the angle of young women, the thesis contributes to the current literature on labor, gender, and youth in relation to the process of informalization.}},
  author       = {{Baravelli, Alice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Between Choice and Constraint: How Young Women Navigate the Transition from Formal to Informal Employment in Taiwan’s Flexible Labor Market}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}