The violet economy in a group of independent small industry workers in the city of Quito

Abstract

Background: The violet economy recognizes the value of culture and creativity in sustainable development, integrating cultural activities into economic systems to drive innovation, social cohesion and job creation.

Objective: Determine the perception of the violet economy in a group of female workers based on 11 categories.

Methods: Population made up of women heads of household. A structured survey was applied on eleven aspects of the violet economy using the survey technique. Twelve visits were made to the commercial premises of the popular and solidarity economy system of the Municipality of Quito.

Results: It is observed that 36% of women have been running their businesses for more than a year, with the areas of food, services and fashion being the most prevalent. Microenterprises were the most frequent with 26% of the cases. For 21% of families, this is the only source of sustenance. 18% of the participants receive support from the state and 23% have benefited from private companies.

Conclusions: The majority of those surveyed are not aware of the credit stimuli available to boost their businesses and even the notion of the violet economy is not consolidated from its conceptual definition, thus limiting the development of their ventures not only due to the non-adoption of the principles of gender equality in the workplace, but also due to the lack of knowledge of affirmative actions that are currently available to working women.