SOAS Internship at SEWA (2016)
SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) is a trade union of women workers in the informal sector. SEWA takes a unique approach of combining development and struggle –besides organizing and mobilizing members to increase their collective strength and bargaining power, SEWA also reaches members in every stage of their lifecycle through various programs that address the myriad vulnerabilities they are subject to as unprotected and minimally paid workers of the informal sector.
SEWA Bharat is offering an internshipto SOAS Development Studies students with an interest in labour and gender. The internshipstarting in Novemberwill last 6 months, and will be based in Delhi. A modest stipend will be given to the interns to cover some part of their living expenses. During this period, the intern will be expected to carry out the following project.
- Advancing and Strengthening the Lives and Livelihoods of Women in the Informal Sector
An integral part of SEWA’s approach is our work to organize and mobilize workers in the informal sector to achieve a collective bargaining power in the workplace and in the political realm. The informal sector is the backbone of the Indian economy, contributing to over 94% of the workforce in India. The informal sector is inescapable in Indian society and also plays a major role in the daily lives of Indians. Workers in the informal sector build and clean homes, grow and sell food, prepare meals, and sell and stitch clothing.The informal sector literally cleans, feeds, clothes, and houses most of the country. As diverse as their professions, workers in the informal sector face a myriad of issues, ranging from poor working conditions, low and irregular wages, and even traffickedlabour. Due to these societal maladies and injustices, people are exposed to many vulnerabilities by working in the informal sector, including financial insecurity, increased health risks, lack of mobility, and social restrictions. However, women in the informal sector are faced with even more obstacles due to the cultural and restrictive gender roles that decrease women’s ability to make decisions and inhibit them from fully realizing their economic and social potential. Women in the informal sector are more at risk from facing sexual and physical violence at home and in the workplace, lower wages, and less mobility than their male counterparts.
To prevent such systematic injustices from continuing and growing in India, SEWA Bharat has facilitated and led the organization and mobilization of women in the informal sector to lead grassroots activism campaigns. In 2014, SEWA street vendor members led the development of a women’s only market with female friendly facilities, security, and proper wages for their work as well as played an instrumental role in the creation of the Street Vendors Bill of 2014, the first nationwide bill for street vendors.
To increase SEWA’s capacity and impact in leading grassroots advocacy, SEWA Bharat is looking for a candidateto run, design, and refine our strategies our advocacy strategies. Over the next 6 months, SEWA will be working on advocacy strategies to improve the lives and livelihoods of street vendors around Delhi. Women street vendors face sexual harassment from customers, officials, and male street vendors; are often physically threatened and forced to abandon their vending spots by male street vendors and police; rarely have access to women friendly facilities, such as restrooms and drinking fountains; and are paid on average less than half of what their male counterparts make. The candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing advocacy efforts to protect women street vendors’ rights to fair employment opportunities and safety. SEWA’s efforts will also be concentrated on improving the access to health resources, clean water, welfare and government schemes, and other basic amenities that many BPL women and families lack access to. The candidate will also aid in the design of state wide interventions to address these inefficiencies. The candidate will also be responsible for identifying the proper institutions and bodies that advocacy efforts should be directed at. The candidate will create a replicable methodology that will be used to identify issues of informal workers in the future.
The project would include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Conducting an exhaustive literature review with the purpose of culling best practices in grassroots advocacy
- Understanding the needs of the women in the informal sector, with a particular focus on street vendors
- Designing and implementing advocacy efforts to increase protection of women street vendors’ rights
- Exploring partners, allies, and avenues to progress advocacy efforts
The following outputs are expected from the internship:
- An analysis of the inhibitors to street vendors’ livelihoods
- Designing and executing advocacy efforts to protect and advance the livelihoods of street vendors
- Documentation of the research process and case study process so the work done can be continued in other locations
Preference will be given to applicants who have a good background in gender and development, labour, social movements and development, and/or solid knowledge of India and the informal sector.
Please send CV, cover letter, and one academic reference letter . For further information please contact Alessandra Mezzadri at .
The deadline for applications is September 30th 2016.