WIEGO’s History
The WIEGO Network was founded in 1997 by 10 activists, researchers, and development practitioners who shared a concern that the working poor in the informal economy, especially women, are not understood, valued, or supported in policy circles or by the international development community.
Today, WIEGO is a thriving network that is active in over 50 countries.
Membership
MBOs that are active in WIEGO are invited to become Institutional Members.
Researchers, statisticians and practitioners from development agencies who are active in WIEGO are invited to become Individual Members.
As of November 2018, the WIEGO network had 156 Members – 37 Institutional and 119 Individual Members – from around the globe.
To receive updates about our work with grass-roots worker organizations, sign up to the WIEGO MBO Newsletter.
WIEGO Team
The WIEGO Team includes over 73 specialists based in more than 24 countries around the world, which allows us to create and maintain strong partnerships and alliances in all regions. Our specialists are predominantly contracted consultants, with only a small segment working as full-time employees for WIEGO. Many also play important roles as teachers, researchers and consultants for other institutions.
The WIEGO Ltd. Office is in Manchester, UK, where the Operations and Finance Teams are based.
WIEGO Board
A 10-person Board of Directors governs the WIEGO network. Board members are drawn from our four constituencies and come from diverse backgrounds and different regions. The Board has two committees: a Management (or executive) Committee and a Financial Committee.
Want to partner with WIEGO? Please visit our Partnering with WIEGO page for more information.