Abstract (eng)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasise the public, political and economic participation of women as well as the appreciation of unpaid care and domestic work through the division of labour and public services. The invisibility of unpaid daily work in the house is a central factor for the discrimination of women's material position. The role of care and housework as well as the diversity of women has been largely neglected in ongoing economic debates. Therefore, this master thesis deals with the everyday life of female entrepreneurs in Cairo, Egypt, between unpaid housework/care work and self-employment. The analysis focuses on the requirements and challenges of women entrepreneurs and how they deal with them. Theoretically, the work is embedded in Marxist-feminist and intersectional theories. This enables the identification of different power relations, and the diverse living realities of women are sufficiently considered. By means of three qualitative research methods (narrative interviews, participant observation, and time-allocation) data were collected in Cairo, Egypt, in the period from March 2019 to June 2019. The results reflect the social structures of Cairo and emphasize the importance of the family and its network. Constant controlling and the prioritisation of activities within and outside the company, as well as mobility, have a significant impact on the everyday life of women entrepreneurs. The analysis of women's full responsibility for the family and the household as a structural rather than a personal problem opens the possibility to reveal power structures based on gender, class, body, and culture, which underlie entrepreneurship and everyday life in Cairo.