History of the SEWA Movement

Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA, established in Gujarat, in 1972

The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a women’s trade union that was started by women workers in Gujarat under the guidance of Smt. Ela Bhatt in 1972. Originally born out of the Textile Labor Association (TLA), India’s oldest and largest union of textile workers, SEWA is now a globally recognised trade union of women workers in the informal economy. In order to secure economic, social, and legal rights for women workers, SEWA supports the formation of member-based organisations of poor working women. The first such organisation was the SEWA Bank, followed by diverse cooperatives and producer groups of women with livelihoods as artisans, milk producers, and farmers. Later on, women formed similar cooperatives around health and childcare.

After over 50 years, SEWA has expanded across the country and has become a multistate movement owned by women in the informal economy. Today, there are over 3.2 million SEWA members representing 18 states of India. SEWA Bharat’s member institutions help the movement reach out to vulnerable women working in the informal economy.

Eleven Point Approach

SEWA's Eleven Point Approach to full employment and self-reliance for informal women workers in India

SEWA’s development programmes work together to address the systemic and chronic economic and social barriers that women in the informal economy face. SEWA’s holistic approach to development works towards ‘Eleven Points’. Once these eleven points are fully achieved, women will attain self-reliance and full employment.

Self-reliance yet again deals with equipping themselves with necessary skills and resources to be independent, rather self-dependent to attain a sense of security, both economically and socially.

SEWA’s eleven-point approach holistically deals with several aspects of social empowerment including the primary needs of food and nutrition, income, healthcare and housing, childcare which further expands to education and employment. Attaining these would, in turn, give opportunities to showcase leadership, and organizational skills while forming cooperatives thereby attaining self-reliance.

These eleven points serve as a chain reaction and help our women achieve the best of their potential thereby contributing towards their overall development.

SEWA’s commitments

SEWA Bharat’s women members participating in community and urban local governance in Patna, Bihar

To strengthen women through establishing a common identity as informal workers

SEWA Bharat’s financial inclusion programme - supporting economic rights for informal economy women workers

To keep women workers’ rights, needs, visions at the centre

SEWA’s women leaders coming together to lead their own development programmes

To empower women as leaders of their own programmes

Urban land rights - women workers advocating for housing access in India

To uphold non-violent methods of action

Frequently Asked Questions

The SEWA movement began in 1972, when women workers in the informal economy came together under the guidance of Elaben R. Bhatt to form the ‘Self Employed Women’s Association’ in Gujarat. It emerged from the need to recognise women in the informal economy as workers and to secure their economic, social and legal rights. To strengthen women’s collective voice and bargaining power, SEWA supports the formation of member-based organisations of working women. Since then, it has grown into a multistate movement reaching over 3.7 million women across 20 states.

SEWA aims to achieve full employment and self-reliance for all its members through a combined strategy of struggle and development. According to SEWA, full employment means employment that guarantees economic and income security, with social security, and self-reliance means women’s autonomy both financially and in terms of their decision-making ability.

SEWA recognises that both struggle and development are essential to achieve these goals. Struggle is needed to remove the multiple obstacles and constraints that society and the economy impose on women working in the informal economy.

On the other hand, expanding development activities can increase women’s bargaining power and give them more opportunities, enhancing their independence. Development activities include accessing social services, but equally important are activities that they undertake to better their position in the market.

SEWA’s strategy has been to form women’s collective enterprises where resources and skills are pooled, resulting in better incomes and economic agency. Therefore, SEWA combines organising and advocacy with promoting women’s livelihoods and activities aimed at removing constraints around them, such as skill development, provision of microfinance and provision of social security and health.

The eleven-point approach addresses core areas like food and nutrition, income, healthcare, housing, childcare, education, employment, leadership and more. When women gain strength in all these dimensions, their contribution to the nation’s economy will be valued. Full freedom will be achieved when women workers lead their families and communities.

SEWA Bharat is rooted in the belief that the SEWA movement belongs to women workers themselves. We work to strengthen their collective voice, support them in recognising their worth as workers and place their rights, priorities and aspirations at the centre of our programmes. SEWA Bharat supports a more inclusive and dignified future for women in the informal economy.

To facilitate members’ representation, economic empowerment, collective strength and increased bargaining power, SEWA supports an integrated approach of mobilising, capacity building, providing social security and asset creation, thus enabling members to become owners and managers of their own trade and empowering women with 3Vs – voice, visibility and validity.