Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing

WIEGO Sponsors

Search

Español | Text only
Internal Website

About WIEGO: Origins and Mission

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) is a global research and policy analysis network linked to the SEWA-inspired international movement of women in the informal economy. WIEGO is distinct from other global or transnational policy research networks in several regards. Firstly, WIEGO endeavors to ensure that our research agenda and policy analysis focuses on the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy. Secondly, WIEGO seeks to improve research and statistics on the informal economy in order to help organizations of informal workers in their efforts to promote national policies that would directly benefit the working poor - especially women – in the economy. Thirdly, WIEGO has a diverse constituency cutting across the fields of action, research, and policy-making. WIEGO represents a powerful collaboration between membership-based organizations of workers in the informal economy, support NGOs, research and statistics institutions, national governments, and international development agencies – each bringing to the collaboration their unique expertise based variously on research, statistical work, policy making, and, most critically, direct experience. We are unaware of any comparable effort to mobilize credible research and statistics in support of the working poor - especially women – in the informal economy.

WIEGO's name reflects two of its major concerns:

1. Women informal workers are an integral part of a globalizing economy and

2. Women workers need to organize at local and international levels in order to respond effectively to the new opportunities - as well as the negative impacts - associated with global trade and investment

WIEGO was established in 1997. Founding members currently serve on the Steering Committee and include representatives from three different types of organizations:

grassroots organizations

research or academic institutions

international development organizations

These organizations include SEWA, Harvard University and UNIFEM.

WIEGO commissions background issues papers to identify key programme, research, and policy issues. Planning workshops take place where key grassroots, research, and policy actors convene to help frame issues more precisely and formulate plans of action.

Component activities of each programme include a mix of research studies, programmatic interventions, and policy dialogues. Project funds for undertaking these activities are raised independently or jointly and go directly to collaborating institutions or individuals from various countries.

Text Only Website | Spanish Website (Español)