Most women in paid work in India remain in informal employment, with limited access to security, recognition, or decision-making power. Women’s ownership and leadership within collective structures remains even more constrained. This gap between participation and control shapes how informal women workers experience work and risk.
Capacity building at SEWA Cooperative Federation responds to this gap by focusing on leadership, governance, and the ability to sustain collective enterprises over time.
Since 1992, SEWA Cooperative Federation has worked alongside informal women workers’ cooperatives as they navigate changing markets, regulatory systems, and moments of crisis. One learning has remained consistent: capacity building cannot be treated as a one-time intervention.
Skills deepen through practice, reflection, and collective decision-making, especially as collective grows and leadership changes.
In 2024, SEWA Cooperative Federation launched Sehbhaagi Shikshan Karyakram, a fellowship for informal women worker collective leaders. Designed as a sustained engagement, the Fellowship supports elected board members to reflect on governance, leadership roles, and the direction of their cooperatives over time.
Our work focuses on areas that shape how cooperatives function in practice, including cooperative governance, financial understanding, digital access, and trade-specific skills.
Learning is reinforced through exposure visits, Annual General Meetings, and peer learning exchanges, creating space for review and shared learning across cooperatives.
