How Do Self-Employed Workers Navigate Illness? A Gender-Based Analysis of Informal Support Systems

This study examines how solo self-employed (SE) men and women in Ontario, Canada, navigate informal support systems during periods of illness, injury, or income loss. It investigates gendered motivations for entering self-employment and addresses the research question: How do gender norms shape self-employed workers' access to and use of informal supports during health-related work disruptions?

A qualitative narrative approach was adopted, guided by an interpretive paradigm and an intersectionality framework. Twenty-four solo self-employed workers who experienced illness or income loss were recruited through social media and interviewed online between January and July 2021. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Riessman's narrative thematic method. Deductive and inductive coding informed the development of analytical themes capturing gendered experiences of informal support.

Findings show distinct gendered patterns in motivations for self-employment and in accessing informal support. Women frequently entered this work for flexibility linked to caregiving roles and, when ill, relied heavily on close family and emotionally intimate networks. Men more often pursued self-employment for higher income and autonomy and drew on broader peer or community networks for practical assistance, while avoiding emotional disclosure. Across genders, reliance on personal savings emerged as a central coping mechanism due to limited access to formal income-replacement systems. However, low-income self-employed workers, specially gig workers, struggled to save adequately, exacerbating their vulnerability during illness.

Informal support systems function as essential but uneven safety nets for solo SE'd workers, with access and usage shaped by gender norms. These findings highlight the need for gender-responsive policy reforms that extend income protection and address structural gaps in social security for the self-employed.