Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) is a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy. It does so by highlighting the size, composition, characteristics, and contribution of the informal economy through improved statistics and research; by helping to strengthen member-based organizations informal workers; and by promoting policy dialogues and processes that include representatives of informal worker organizations. The common motivation for those who join the network is the relative lack of recognition, understanding, and support for the working poor in the informal economy, especially women, by policy makers, economic planners, and the international development community.
The Members and Associates of the WIEGO network, including the members of its Steering Committee and Advisory Committees, are drawn from its three constituencies:
- member-based organizations of informal workers;
- research, statistical, and academic institutions; and
- international development agencies (non-governmental and inter-governmental).
WIEGO Worldwide
Map of WIEGO people, programmes and partners in 2009 from all over the world.
(click on the map for more details)
Micro-sites WIEGO's 2010 General Assembly, Belo Horizonte |
 India Law Project WebsiteWIEGO is coordinating an international project on law and the informal economy. India has been selected for carrying out a pilot study in the first year of the project. |
WIEGO Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) for Informal Workers |
Informal Economy in the News
photo: Elizabeth Rappaport
U.S.
Victory for Domestic Workers!
At long last, New York took a giant step toward becoming the first state in the nation to pass a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. (Ms. Foundation, June 2, 2010)
Vietnam
Home business needs support - coverage on International Conference held in Hanoi to address the informal sector and policies. (Vietnam News, May 7, 2010)
South Africa
Impact of the World Cup 2010 on the Working Poor
Decent Work Still a Dream for South Africa's Domestic Workers, Davison Makanga, IPS
India
Impact of the Commonwealth Games 2010
on the Working Poor
US
Street Vendors Saved Times Square
T-Shirt Vendor Takes On New Persona: Reluctant Hero of Times Square, Michael Schmidt, New York Times
Lance Orton, Times Square Car Bomb Hero: 'See Something, Say Something', Huffington Post
Worldwide
Impact of the Global Recession on the Working Poor in the Informal Economy
“More and more workers are competing for their sliver of a shrinking informal economy pie”