Women Workers in Informal Sector in India: Understanding the Occupational Vulnerability
Kamala Kanta Mohapatra

Abstract
Unorganised or informal sector constitutes a pivotal part of the Indian economy. More than 90 per cent of workforce and about 50 per cent of the national product are accounted for by the informal economy. A high proportion of socially and economically underprivileged sections of society are concentrated in the informal economic activities [1]. Informal employment is generally a larger source of employment for women than for men in the developing world. Other than in North Africa where 43 per cent of women workers are in informal employment, 60 per cent or more of women workers in the developing world are in informal employment(outside agriculture). In sub-Saharan Africa 84 per cent of women non-agricultural workers; in Latin America 58 per cent for women in comparison to 48 percent for men. In Asia, the proportion of women and men non-agricultural workers in informal employment is roughly equivalentto Women and Men in the Informal Economy [2].The informal economy in India employs about 86 per cent of the country’s work force and 91 per cent of its women workers [3]. Many of these women workers are primary earners for their families. Their earnings are necessary for sheer survival.

Full Text: PDF