Women Informal Workers: Falling Through the Cracks in the Pandemic
Some necessary steps must be taken by the government like extending provisioning of free ration kits and implementing minimum wage from women informal workers.
Photo: Reuters
Women14/Feb/2021
In India, employment is overwhelmingly informal and according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017-18), out of total 461 million employed persons, 415 million were involved in informal employment. Furthermore, informal employment is a greater source of employment for all women workers than men in India. Within the informal economy, there are five categories of work that are more vulnerable than others, but essential for the effective functioning of society, and a large proportion of workers are involved in these low paying informal jobs. These are home-based workers, domestic workers, street vendors, waste pickers and construction labourers.
Microcredit or Direct Benefit Transfer? Designing a Scheme for Street Vendors
In June 2020, Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) was launched to help street vendors tide over pandemic-induced financial stress, but there are inherent challenges in the initiative.
Representative image of a Delhi street vendor. Photos: Jnzl s Photos/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Rights21/Dec/2020
In June 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme to support street vendors in regaining their livelihoods.
The idea behind the initiative has been to provide easily repayable loans of up to Rs. 10,000, with the government hoping that it would benefit over 50 lakh street vendors in India.
Urgent need to address women’s time-poverty December 11, 2020, 1:23 PM IST
Dr Balwant Mehta writes on economy, labour market and poverty. He has received many national and international level fellowships and awards for his work. He is currently working as Fellow with Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. LESS. MORE
The Coronavirus pandemic is not showing any signs of abating and with the onset of winter; it is, in fact, spreading exponentially in India and globally too. In addition to the public health emergency, the economic and social disruption that the COVID-19 contagion has unleashed upon us threatens the long-term livelihoods and well-being of millions of people around the globe. Ironically, this year marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and it was meant to be a groundbreaking one for gender parity. Instead, with the spread of the Coronavirus, even the restricted gains made in the past are being lost. The pandemic is not