Redefining Formalization: A Hybrid Approach to SDG 8 for Women in the Informal Economy of Antioquia

Despite notable macroeconomic expansion within the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (AMVA), a severe and persistent regional formal employment gap for women endures across Antioquia, Colombia, characterized by a -0.21 territorial disparity. Traditional, centralized government interventions predominantly focus on corporate placement pipelines, inadvertently marginalizing independent female micro-entrepreneurs who either lack access to higher education or actively prioritize their entrepreneurial autonomy. Utilizing a qualitative primary field research design involving direct interviews with informal female workers, this paper reveals that while 100% of the surveyed demographic completely lacks long-term pension savings, the vast majority explicitly reject rigid 9-to-5 corporate molds, preferring to preserve their independence. To address this structural vulnerability without imposing exclusionary corporate definitions of success, this paper introduces "The Purpose and Formalization School." This youth-led, hybrid intervention framework operates on a practical dual-path methodology: Route A provides technological onboarding and digital assistance for corporate job seekers, while Route B delivers digital literacy for financial segregation and direct state-sponsored micro-pension (BEPS) enrollment for independent micro-entrepreneurs. Ultimately, this research redefines economic formalization by bridging the gap between high-level SDG 8 targets and the grassroots socioeconomic reality of informal female workers in developing economies.