Determination and resilience amid COVID-19 uncertainty: How self-employed women in India coped with lockdowns and disruptions to business

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made generating income and access to food far more difficult for many, particularly women in developing countries. To better understand how the pandemic and lockdowns to control its spread are affecting the livelihoods of female small-business owners and farmers in South Asia, IFPRI researchers, who otherwise would have worked on climate change adaptation strategies directly supporting women farmers, conducted surveys in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), an organization that aims to empower women workers to reach full-employment and self-reliance by providing the tools, support, and community for them to reach their economic potential. The researchers conducted a phone survey with 627 SEWA members and did in-depth case studies of five SEWA members across the Indian state of Gujarat. While each woman reported different experiences and perspectives on navigating COVID-19, a common theme emerged: making a living became tougher, yet these women were able to identify coping mechanisms to protect their livelihoods and their families. Click below to learn more about these five brave women’s stories – as they explain how COVID-19 is impacting their diverse sources of income and what SEWA is doing to help.