REBUILD: COVID-19 Pandemic and Women in the Informal Economy in Kenya, Uganda and India

Abstract

Globally, two billion people are engaged in informal work, of whom a disproportionate number - 66 percent of workers - are women. Women, facing gender discrimination in the formal job market, unequal responsibility for domestic and care work, and limited access to skill development and resources, often turn to informal work that may have a lower barrier to entry and a greater degree of time and 1,2,3 location flexibility. In exchange, however, workers in the informal sector often lack the social protections offered by formal workplaces, face job and income insecurity, and suffer from poor linkages to markets, financial services, and other inputs. Without policies and practices in place that support and empower workers in the informal sector, informality can perpetuate poverty and vulnerability to shocks