WHAT IS WIEGO

1
WHAT IS WIEGO?

• global research policy network that seeks to
  improve the status of the working poor,
  especially women, in the informal economy
  through
• improved statistics and research on the informal
  economy
• appropriate policies, regulations, laws,
  services, and programmes in support of the
  informal workforce
• increased organization and representation of
  informal workers
• ally of a growing international movement of
  informal workers worldwide, including
• member-based organizations (MBOs) of informal
  workers
• national, regional, and international networks of
  MBOs of informal workers
• trade unions
• national, regional, and global federations of
  trade unions

2
WHO IS WIEGO?

• Members
• Institutional Members (15)
• delegates from member-based organizations of
  informal workers
• Individual Members (95)
• researchers, statisticians, and academics
• staff of development agencies (governmental,
  inter-governmental, and non-governmental)
• Steering and Advisory Committees
• Steering Committee members including 5-person
  Management Committee, 3 constituency members, 2
  other members, and 5 Programme Directors (ex
  officio)
• Advisory Committee members 20, in addition to
  members from the Steering Committee
• Staff NOTE - please shift left to reconcile with
  Leaders and Advisors above
• Programme Staff
• Coordinator 1
• Programme Directors 5
• Research Coordinators 2
• Administrative Staff 3

3
WHO IS WIEGO CONCERNED ABOUT?WORKING POOR IN THE
INFORMAL ECONOMY

• On Streets or In Open Spaces
• street vendors
• push-cart vendors
• waste pickers
• roadside barbers
• construction workers
• In Fields, Pastures, and Forests
• small farmers
• agricultural labourers
• shepherds
• forest gatherers
• fisher folk
• In Small Shops and Workshops
• scrap metal recyclers
• shoe makers
• weavers
• garment makers and embroiderers

4
WHY WIEGO?

• common concerns
• limited organization and bargaining power of the
  working poor in the informal economy, especially
  women
• limited knowledge and understanding of the
  informal economy
• limited policy attention to employment issues
• overall goals
• increased numbers, strength, and networks of
  member-based organizations of informal workers
• informed understanding of the informal economy in
  all areas of policy and in official statistics
• renewed focus on the quantity and quality of
  employment in economic policies and poverty
  reduction strategies

5
HOW DOES WIEGO WORK?INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
6
WHAT DOES WIEGO DO? Social Protection

• understand the specific risks of the working
  poor, especially women, in the informal economy
• identify and document innovative approaches to
  providing social protection to informal workers
• help organizations of informal workers advocate
  for more and better social protection.

7
WHAT DOES WIEGO DO? Global Markets

• understand how the working poor in the informal
  economy, especially women, are impacted by
  and/or inserted into the global economy, and with
  what consequences
• help organizations of informal workers seize new
  opportunities and address negative impacts
  associated with globalization.

8
WHAT DOES WIEGO DO? Urban Policies

• understand how the working poor in the urban
  informal workforce, especially women, are
  impacted by and/or inserted into urban planning
  and policies
• help organizations of urban informal workers
  advocate for more supportive policies, laws, and
  regulations and more participatory planning
  processes.

9
WHAT DOES WIEGO DO? Organization and
Representation

• identify existing organizations and alliances of
  informal workers, and document their strategies
• network and link existing organizations of
  informal workers
• provide capacity building support workers
  education, policy and legal analysis - to
  organizations of informal workers

10
WHAT DOES WIEGO DO? Statistics

• promote improved statistics on informal
  employment as an essential component of
  mainstream statistics
• promote improved applied research relating to
  informal employment and its links to macro- and
  micro- economic issues
• ensure that policymakers, researchers, and
  advocates have access to improved statistics and
  data analysis on the informal economy for use in
  their work.

11
WHAT ELSE DOES WIEGO DO?GENERAL ACTIVITIES

• dialogue with mainstream economists on informal
  employment, labour markets, and trade
  liberalization
• major research publications on the informal
  economy
• highlighting of employment/informal employment as
  a) a key intermediary pathway between
  globalization, growth, and poverty outcomes and
  b) a target for economic policies and poverty
  reduction
• promotion of improved conceptual understanding of
  the causes, characteristics, and consequences of
  informal employment

12
HOW DOES WIEGO WORK?

• types of activities
• research and statistical analysis
• documentation and dissemination of good practice
• technical consultations
• policy dialogues
• consultation with and networking of - MBOs of
  informal workers
• ways of working
• joint action of three constituencies
• collaborations with different organizations
• participation in relevant issue networks and
  expert groups
• defining features
• focus on concrete reality of working poor in the
  informal economy
• engagement with and networking of -
  member-based organizations of informal workers
• expertise of - and alliances between - its three
  constituencies
• technical expertise and activities on range of
  issues relating to informal workers