The IUF International Day of Women in the Informal Economy

According to the ILO, 6 out of 10 workers in the world of work are in the informal economy, where women are disproportionately represented. Workers in the informal economy across regions are often invisible, unrecognized, excluded from rights-based social protection, and their vital contributions undervalued. As a result, they are unable to fully exercise their rights as workers. For decades, the IUF has been stressing the importance of workers in the informal economy in IUF sectors to organize themselves and speak by and for themselves.

Sister Ela Bhatt, the founder of the IUF Indian affiliated organization Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), dedicated her life to create voice, visibility and validity for the workers of the informal sector, especially the women workers. Ela Bhatt passed away on November 2, 2022. At its 28^th Congress, the IUF adopted a resolution entitled "Achieving voice, visibility, validation of women workers" to pay tribute to her work.

In line with the spirit of the IUF Congress resolution and to give a worldwide scope to her legacy, the IUF Women's Committee officially adopted November 2 as the International Day of Women in the Informal Economy, in May 2024, followed by an endorsing decision of the IUF Executive Committee.

November 2 is hence the opportunity for IUF affiliates to raise the collective voice of women in the informal economy, bring visibility, build collective power, and recognize their vital economic and social contribution. It is about fighting for the rights of women to be collectively represented and to participate in all decision-making level. It is about women's empowerment, and it is vital to achieving economic and social justice. This day is already widely celebrated by IUF affiliates in the Asia Pacific region.

In June 2025, the International Labour Conference adopted a resolution on addressing informality and promoting the transition to formality for decent work. The ILO will explore the possibility of introducing a specific day to give visibility to the challenges faced by workers in the informal economy. The IUF will be pushing for the adoption of November 2.

The IUF is organizing an online event on November 27 whose main objective is to raise awareness about the informal economy in the IUF sectors and regions, to highlight the struggles of workers in the informal economy, and to build solidarity among IUF members, whether from the formal sector or informal economy.

"For informal sector workers like us, organizing is the surest way to fight poverty, earn a life of dignity and self-respect. Therefore, at SEWA, we come together as women, as workers and as poor people, no matter what caste, community, or religion we belong to. We organize to build our collective strength to fight poverty," said Jyoti Macwan, General Secretary, Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), India.