Accessing Decent Work Conditions: A Study of Women Street Vendors in Delhi, India

The informal economy is characterised by severe ‘decent work’ deficits that disproportionately impact women. These deficits can potentially be reduced when workers are able to access resources that improve their work conditions (ILO, 2002a, 2013c). This research draws on New Labour Market Segmentation (NLMS) approach to propose a gendered explanation for the greater difficulties women face in accessing formal jobs and resources required for decent work conditions. The study identifies multiple dimensions of gendered segmentation within the street vending sector in Delhi arising from an interplay of structural factors experienced differently by women across the life course.
Analysis of 110 semi-structured interviews with vendors and officials of the National Hawker Federation (NHF) in Delhi highlights the role of patriarchal norms in public and private spheres in structuring women’s entry into street vending. Structural constraints arising from the patriarchal norms and traditions, intersectional discrimination and transitions in roles and status across the life cycle of women lead to the segmentation of labour within street vending. Key issues to access jobs and resources to attain decent work conditions include the familial restrictions on women’s access to education, their ability to work and the type of work they engage in; the discrimination and harassment of women at their workplace; and the greater burden of social reproduction women face in the home which leads them to prefer more flexible forms of work. In addition, the study faults the incompetence of the state agencies for their ineffectiveness in addressing these issues through existing laws and programmes.
This study makes essential practical and policy-level recommendations for the provision of infrastructure for women in markets by the municipal authorities, suggesting appropriate policies to deal with workplace corruption and advocating social dialogue through tripartite links with law enforcement agencies and CSOs.