Worker Identity, Agency and Economic Development: Women's Empowerment in the Indian Informal Economy

ISBN-13: 9781138805392 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 224 str.

Elizabeth Hill;¬Abar;¬Abar

Opis

This work makes an important contribution to the fields of development economics, political economy and gender studies analysing the capacity of the Indian informal economy to deliver socio-economics security and well being to workers.

Recenzje

'In the developing world, a large share of workers – especially of women workers – is engaged in the informal economy, unprotected by labour laws and excluded from basic forms of social protection. In India, nine out of every ten working women are employed in the informal economy. This timely and important book begins by unraveling the historical debates on the informal economy and then examines the labour-focused approach of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India: a trade union of more than 1.2 million working poor women in the informal economy. Drawing on the interventions of SEWA and the experiences of its members, the book argues that there is a positive developmental relationship between a worker’s identity and agency as a worker and her work-life status and that being a member of a membership-based worker’s organization, such as SEWA, helps to promote worker identity and agency. This book should be considered essential reading for development practitioners and those interested in economic rights and women’s empowerment' - Marty Chen, Harvard University, USA

Spis treści

1. Introduction 2. Unraveling the Informal Sector Debate 3. Reconceptualizing Labour in the Informal Sector Debate 4. Exploring a Labour Focused Strategy for Productivity and Well-being in the Informal Economy: Background and Method 5. Mapping ‘Problems’: Work-Life Experience in the Indian Informal Economy 6. Interventions for Work-Life Improvement: The Case of the Self Employed Women’s Association 7. The Moral Dynamics of Union Membership 8. Agency, Freedom and Economic Development 9. Public Action for Economic Development 10. The Politics of Economic Development 11. Conclusion: Worker Identity, Agency and Economic Development

O autorze

Dr. Elizabeth Hill is a lecturer in Political Economy at The University of Sydney, Australia.