Abstract

HUMMEL, Calla; VELASCO GUACHALLA, V. Ximena  and  HUMEREZ AQUINO, Luna Sharlotte. Reluctant entrepreneurs, informality, and micro-businesses in Bolivia’s transgender community. rlde [online]. 2024, n.42, pp.11-42.  Epub Dec 30, 2024. ISSN 2074-4706.  https://doi.org/10.35319/lajed.202442542.

In this article we describe and analyze the results of a survey of transgender and transsexual people in Bolivia. The focus is on the working conditions and experiences of this population within the country’s labor market. We complement the survey results with a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with activists from the Organization of Transvestites, Transsexuals, and Transgender Women of Bolivia (OTRAF Bolivia). The results show that transgender and transsexual people in Bolivia experience barriers to accessing the formal labor market, one of the main obstacles being high levels of discrimination by both peers and employers. The people who we surveyed and interviewed recounted high levels of unemployment, underemployment, low income, and informal work. With respect to informal work, a notable number of people chose to start their own business as a means to generate income and as a strategy to avoid the discrimination that many encounter in the labor market. We analyze these informal entrepreneurs within the framework of the “reluctant entrepreneurs” literature and conclude with policy recommendations.

Keywords : Transgender; microentrepreneurship; small business; informal; LGBTQ.

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