Most of the women trained by SEWA join the informal sector, with the biggest employer being the garment industry.
Working towards empowering women in the informal economy, SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) plans to educate and impart skill training to 10,000 women annually. Currently, the organisation educates and trains about 2000 women every year in its Kaushalya Kendras across the states.
SEWA, which is part of the Indian Academy of Self Employed Women (IASEW), educates and trains women to enable them to become leaders in the informal sector or helps them join the formal sector in the states. The organisation has already trained over 10000 women in the last five years and will continue to do so further.
A conference was held to decide the future plans of the organisation, where Namrata Bali, the director of IASEW, talked about how women are trained to be leaders in their own right in India. Participants from other countries shared their experiences of working with people in the informal economy.
Some of the key points discussed at the conference were about the training and methodology for illiterate women, witnessing the dedication of teachers and their participation, contact with rural areas and poor neighborhoods and integration of services, such as health and finance along with education.
Around 30 per cent of the women trained by SEWA join the retail sector, another 30 per cent join the services sector, such as banking, data operator and the other 30 per cent complete the training for better future opportunities.
Most of the women trained by SEWA join the informal sector, with the biggest employer being the garment industry. Around 30000 women trained by SEWA currently employed in the garment industry.
The organisation is poised to bring a change in the quality of life of the women working in the informal economy, particularly in rural areas.