March Snapshot: SEWA Bharat

SEWA States Celebrate International Women's Day With The Theme 'DigitALL:?Innovation And Technology For Gender Equality'

Embodying the spirit of International?Women's Day, SEWA states across India celebrated this day with fervour, keeping in mind this year's theme of?'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality'.?SEWA West Bengal?organized a 'Digital Financial Literacy' workshop to?orient?members on using the digital mode of transactions safely. In?Uttarakhand,?awareness drives were held on the 'National Rural Livelihood Mission' scheme and the benefits of Anganwadi.

SEWA Bihar?celebrated the day online through an interactive?session on how our bens have utilized the power?of digital technology in their everyday life.?SEWA Nagaland?held product exhibitions and awareness sessions?on the safe use of digital technology, across Kohima, Phek, Shamator and Dimapur districts. The exhibitions included shawls, necklaces, earrings and various pickles made by Nagamese women.?

This?International Women's Day called for dual celebrations in Bikaner,?Rajasthan, as our bens came together to witness the logo launch of SEWA Samarthya, a women's collective of papad rollers.?In Rajasthan's Jaipur, 20 SEWA self-help groups received loan approvals from the State Bank of India and the local municipal corporation.?SEWA Punjab?focused on strengthening the health of informal women workers, by organizing medical?camps across its districts.

SEWA Delhi?celebrated the day with singing and dancing across?SEWA Shakti Kendras,?which are the one-stop centers that enable informal women workers to access their rights and entitlements. Members of?SEWA Jharkhand?took part in quizzes and games, simultaneously learning about the history and importance of?International Women's Day.?

Empowering Women as Key Contributors and Drivers of Economic Development

With India holding the G20 Presidency this year, women-led development is one of its key priorities. However,?women’s work in the informal economy still remains under-reported and undervalued. It needs to be measured through labour force surveys to take into account women’s contribution to the care economy. This?was one of the key recommendations that emerged out of the side event organized under the aegis of?Think 20, an official engagement group of the?G20?under India’s presidency.?

On 22nd March, SEWA Bharat, along with?Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS),?United Nations in India?and?Asian Development Bank Institute?held a T20 side event titled 'Women as Active Participants and Propellers of Economic Growth - Focusing on Livelihoods and Care Infrastructure.'?The event was graced by the presence of dignitaries from T20, G20, United Nations in India, RIS, think tanks and various?experts from the development sector.?

From the inaugural session, one?of the points which were?highlighted includes?having large-scale, regular and gender-disaggregated data?for targeted interventions and monitoring progress.?Women-owned microenterprises are mostly nano-sized, with over 90% of those having an annual turnover of under US $12,000. Hence, to?promote women’s entrepreneurship, a dedicated women's enterprise development fund was said to be?essential.

Panelists from the session on 'Addressing Structural Barriers: Care Infrastructure' shared how?financing for care infrastructure needs to be made a priority in the agenda for G20 leaders without which women-led development will not be a sustainable and realistic goal. The scope of ICDS-like programs must be expanded by upgrading them to also become creches. With respect to digital inclusion, it was recognized that?there is a need to?educate?women in data analytics, machine learning, and the use of AI.?Intermediaries like ‘digital sakhis’ should be a part of the digital economy to facilitate better access and usage of digital infrastructure by women.?

During the valedictory session, speakers noted that nowadays there is a?greater focus on women as drivers of economic growth and not just as beneficiaries, which is the way forward. It was also observed that?buffer interventions are required for women such as direct income support, and provisioning of family & child benefits, especially during economic and health crises. Additionally, women?must be involved in all levels of the decision-making process and all the policies need to be informed from a gender-impact lens.

The "Ask Document" carrying the recommendations from this event was presented to the Chief Coordinator of G20, Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla so as to guide G20 leadership towards achieving women-led development.?This event shall further pave the way forward for bringing forth the voices of women in G20 discussions and creating?pathways for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.?

Addressing Gendered Vulnerabilities Through Cash Transfers: In Crises and Beyond

The Covid-19 crisis came as an added burden?for?informal women workers?in India. Suddenly, they found themselves without work, still having to pay for their expenses.?Cooped up inside their homes, their savings were depleting day by day.?Many were forced to return to their native places, without any jobs. There was also a reported rise in cases of gender-based violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to?Plan International, cash transfers?ensure that aid directly and quickly reaches those in greatest need.

Banking on this idea, SEWA Bharat and UN Women started a 'Cash Transfer' program in 2021, where 500 women received unconditional cash transfers of Rs. 1,500 and 50 women received conditional cash transfers of Rs, 10,000.??Additionally, with conditional transfers, women were?also encouraged to participate in training for different activities. Being a part of these trainings assist?women in?gaining more knowledge, thus positively affecting their self-esteem and ultimately increasing?their bargaining power within the household.

Summing up the program's outcomes, SEWA Bharat and UN Women organized a workshop on the same on March 1st. During this event, interesting findings were revealed. For instance, it was observed that the money received from the cash transfers was spent first on food and rent, and then on medical expenses.?Around?40% of women microentrepreneurs pivoted their business with cash transfers.?

Samim ben, a former street vendor and woman microentrepreneur from Jahangirpuri, Delhi, shared, "During Covid-19, my work came to a complete halt due to the lockdown. I am the sole breadwinner of the home, hence I had to look after my entire family. I met SEWA's aagewan while I was street vending, and they assessed the situation at my home. Thereafter, I received Rs. 10,000 to start my own grocery shop, which has been doing well since then."

The panelists noted that creating networks of solidarity, enhancing the digital and financial literacy of women at the grassroots level, and altering perceptions of the gendered distribution of labor can significantly aid?in resisting the diverse types of violence that informal women workers encounter. At the end of the session, all participants collectively agreed that there is a need to empower?women to become decision-makers in every aspect of their lives and cash transfers cannot be a stand-alone measure without providing skill development and capacity-building trainings for long-term sustenance.?

Analyzing the Prospects and Challenges of?eShram Portal for Women in?India's Informal Economy

Launched in 2021,?eShram?is a first-of-its-kind?national database that aims to target all of the country's informal workforce, including construction workers, agricultural workers, domestic workers, street vendors, gig and platform workers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, among others. Its aim is to ensure that the benefits of social security schemes reach the last-mile informal worker. These include but are not limited to, accident and life insurance, pensions, food security, as well as employment guarantee schemes.?

According to?reports, the portal is designed to offer a centralized system for informal workers, which could potentially lessen the logistical difficulties associated with accessing multiple programs. Nonetheless, there are still some issues that require attention.?To carry forward a fruitful deliberation on eShram,?SEWA Delhi?along with?WIEGO?organized an event on 'Discussing the emerging issues in eShram registrations and the way forward'.?

During the event, it was noted that there was a greater enthusiasm for registrations in the initial stages of the eShram portal launch. However, with challenges such as not having Aadhaar-linked mobile phones, identification documents and bank accounts, the number of people, including informal women workers, registering on the portal also reduced.??Representatives from SEWA Delhi, WIEGO, Basti Suraksha Manch and Lok Adhikar Sanstha shared their efforts in overcoming these challenges, by facilitating the provision of identification documents, Aadhaar linkages to mobile phones and opening bank accounts.

The participants agreed that there need to be more registration categories on the eShram portal and increased?awareness among informal women workers regarding its benefits.?Going beyond registrations, the true test of this database lies when social security benefits actually reach its beneficiaries.?