Impact of Covid-19 on Informal Sector: A Study of Women Domestic Workers in India

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has left severe impact on livelihood, security and health of informal sector workers, especially domestic workers, majority of whom are women. Being least organised and lacking institutional support, domestic workers are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and human rights violations, and the pandemic has aggravated the situation. Telephonic interviews were conducted with 260 domestic workers from three cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi with focus on working conditions, livelihood and household dynamics, health scenario and state support during the pandemic. The data was substantiated with qualitative inputs from in-depth interviews conducted with 12 domestic workers across the cities. In the results, widespread job loss is reported among domestic workers during March–June 2020 along with drastically reduced income and increased workload. About 57% domestic workers reported stigma and discrimination at workplace, and 40% worked without any safety measures. Incidence of domestic violence at home, increased work burden at home, issues in access to health care, etc., were reported. The study findings point out the urgent need to have a national-level policy and state support specifically targeting women domestic workers, without which the situation of poverty, health hazards and social exclusion will continue to exist. JEL Code: J4, J46