Renana Jhabvala
Encyclopedia
Renana Jhabvala of Ahmedabad, India, has been active for decades in organizing women into organizations and trade unions in India, and has been extensively involved in policy issues relating to poor women and the informal economy. She is best known for her long association with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India, and for her writings on issues of women in the informal economy. In 1990, she was awarded a Padma Shri
from the Government of India.
, and well-known architect Cyrus S. H. Jhabvala. She was raised and schooled in Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University, in 1972 with a distinction in BSc Math. She attended Harvard University
to pursue an additional degree in BA Math. She then went on to the Yale University
to pursue post-graduate studies in Economics. After completing her MA, she joined SEWA in Ahmedabad, India, where she has spent her career.
and organized beedi
workers, agricultural workers, garment workers, street vendors and many others to bargain for higher income, better working conditions, space to work and social security. She was active in fostering the growth of SEWA across India, taking the experiences of the organization to States like Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and most recently to Uttrakhand and West Bengal.
Jhabvala was instrumental in forming SEWA Bharat, a National Federation of SEWAs now in nine States of India. In 1995, she became the National Coordinator of SEWA and started the national office in Delhi.
When the women members of SEWA began expressing the need for basic infrastructure and housing, she was one of the founders of the Mahila Housing SEWA Trust. In 2002 she became the Chair of SEWA Bank and helped to increase finance for poor women in many parts of the country.
She has been active at the international level, representing SEWA at the International Labour Organization
(ILO) in 1995 and 1996 during the discussion on Convention for Home Workers; and subsequently in 2002 during the Resolution on the Informal Economy. At the South Asia level she was instrumental in forming HomeNet South Asia, bringing together organizations in India, Pakistan. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan working with women home-based workers. She is presently the Chair of HomeNet South Asia. She is one of the founders and present Chair of WIEGO
(Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) and has been active in the formation of international networks for women workers in the informal economy.
In addition to organizing women into trade unions and co-operatives she has been interested and involved in policy issues of poor women and of the informal economy. She has been active in many Government committees and task forces which have formulated policies ranging from National Policy for Street Vendors, to the Law for Social Security of Unorganised Workers, to policies for unorganised workers in various States. She has written widely on these issues in journals and newspapers and has co-authored seven books.
. The couple has one son, Uday Jhabvala Khare, who graduated from the National Law School, India, and is a lawyer by profession.
National Co-ordinator, SEWA (1995 – present)
Chairperson, SEWA Bharat (All India SEWA) (2001 – present)
Executive Trustee, Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (1994 – present)
Secretary, SEWA (1981–1995)
Chairperson, HomeNet South Asia (2007 – present)
Member , Expert Group to recommend the detailed methodology for Identification of Families living Below Poverty Line in the Urban Areas, Planning Commission, (2010 – present )
Member, Task Force on Affordable Housing, Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation (2008)
Member, Prime Minister’s National Skill Development Council. (2009 – present)
Chairperson, Task Force on Workers in Unorganised Sector, Government of Madhya Pradesh. (2001–2002)
Member, Task Force on National Policy for Street Vendors. (2002–2003)
Chairperson, Group on Women workers and Child labour, National Commission on Labour, Government of India (2000)
Board member, Institute for Human Development. New Delhi (2006 – present)
Board Member, India Development Foundation, Gurgaon (2010 – present)
Board Member, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (2010 – present)
Padma Shri, awarded by Government of India, 1990
Outstanding Social Worker, awarded of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries Ladies Organisation, 1990
Award for Outstanding Young Person, Given by Jaycees Karnavati – 1984
National Science Talent Scholarship Awarded for Excellence in Science, 1969–1972
Empowering Women in an Insecure World: Joining SEWA Makes a Difference. Co-authored with Sapna Desai and Jignasa Dave. SEWA Academy, 2010.
Membership-Based Organization of the Poor. Co-edited with Martha Chen
, Ravi Kanbur and Carol Richards. Routledge, 2007.
Women, Work and Poverty. Co-authored by Martha Chen, Joann Vanek, Francie Lund, James Heinz, with Renana Jhabvala and Christine Bonner. UNIFEM, New York, 2005.
Informal Economy Centrestage: New Structures of Employment. Co-edited with Ratna M. Sudarshan and Jeemol Unni. Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2003.
The Unorganised Sector: Work Security and Social Protection. Co-edited with R.K.A. Subrahmanya. Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2000.
Speaking Out: Women’s Economic Empowerment in South Asia. Co-edited with Martha Chen and Marilyn Carr. IT Publications, 1997.
“Social Protection for Women Workers in the Informal Economy” (with Shalini Sinha) in Comparative Labour Law & Policy Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2, Winter 2006.
“The Idea of Work” (with Ela Bhatt) in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXIX, No. 48, 2004.
“Indian Women Use Video to Spark Collective Action” in Communication for Change, 2003.
“New Forms of Workers’ Organisations: Towards A System of Representation and Voice” in The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 46, No. 2, April–June, 2003.
Liberalisation and the Woman Worker (with Shalini Sinha) in Economic and Political Weekly, 25 May 2002.
“Humanitarian Trade Unionist: Jhabvala’s Pioneering Efforts for Workers’ Rights” in Manushi, Issue 127, November–December, 2001.
“In the Wake of a Quake: SEWA’s Relief Efforts in Kutch,” in Manushi, Issue 122.
“Social Security for Women Workers in the Unorganised Sector,” (with Shalini Sinha) in The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, October–December, 2001 (Conference Issue).
"Liberalisation and Women” in Seminar, Special Issue on “Footloose Labour,” November 2000.
“Roles and Perceptions” in Seminar, Special Issue on “Street Vendors,” July 2000.
“Minimum Wages Based on Workers’ Needs” in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No.10, 1998.
“Social Security for the Unorganised Sector” in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXIII, No.22, May 1998.
“A Case Study of Interventions in the Labour Market in Gender, Employment and Health,” National Council of Applied Economic Research Publication, 1998.
“Policies Affecting the Unorganised Sector: Lesson from the SEWA Experience” in Margin, Vol. 30, No.1, NCAER Publication, October–December, 1997.
“Women in the People’s Sector: Experiences of SEWA” in Social Welfare, Vol. 44, No. 5-6, August–September, 1997.
"Wages for Unorganised Labour" in Seminar, April 1997.
“Out of the Shadows: Home-based Workers Organise for International Recognition” (with Jane Tate) in SEEDS, No. 18, 1996.
“India Can Take the Lead” in Labour File, Vol. 2, No. 4, Centre for Communications, New Delhi, April 1996.
“Invisible Workers Reach International Heights,” Economic and Political Weekly, December 9, 1995.
“Ahmedabad 2001: Planning for the Poor—A Focus on Self employed Women” by Renana Jhabvala and Usha Jumani, Reprint from Nagarlok, Vol. XX, No.4, October–December, 1988.
“Claiming What Is Theirs: Struggle of Vegetable Vendors in Ahmedabad,” Manushi, Issue 32, January–February, 1986.
“From the Mills to the Streets: A Study of Retrenchment of Women from the Ahmedabad Textile Mills,” Manushi, Issue 26, 1985.
“Neither A Complete Success Nor A Complete Failure: SEWA Organises Bidi Workers,” Manushi, Issue 22, May–June, 1984.
“Globalisation, Liberalisation and Women in the Informal Economy” in Veena Jha (ed.) Trade, Globalisation and Gender—Evidence from South Asia. UNIFEM publication in collaboration with UNDP and UNCTAD, 2003.
“Women as the Leaders of Development” in Jude Fernando and Alyssa Ayres, Progress, Promise and Partnerships. Asia Society, New York, 1998. Also as a keynote address delivered at the Asia Society Conference, New York, 5 October 1998.
“Working Women: Myth and Reality—Experiences of a Group of Muslim Women Workers” in Vina Mazumdar (ed.) Women Workers in India. Chanakya Publications for ICSSR, 1990.
“Poor Women in Urban Areas: Reaching a Vulnerable Group” in Social Dimensions of Urban Poverty in India. National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, 1999.
The World of Work in People’s Sector and Its Inherent Strength: SEWA Experience by Renana Jhabvala and Ela Bhatt, 1995.
Women in the Informal Economy by Renana Jhabvala, 1995.
“My Home, My Workplace: A Life of Struggle from Security” in Tana Vana: The Warp and Weft of Life, with Karl Osner and Manali Shah) (n.d.).
The Role of Street Vendors in the Growing Urban Economies (n.d.).
Wage-based Fixation for Home-based Piece Rate Workers: Technical Study based on a Survey of Workers in Gujarat, India with Rahima Shaikh and SEWA Academy Team, 1995.
Textiles in the People’s Sector: Impact of Global Trading Practices on Women in the Unorganised Textile Sector in India, 1995. Also part of Proceedings of the Regional Seminar on Global Trading Practices and Poverty Alleviation in South Asia: A Gender Perspective, organised by UNIFEM and Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), New Delhi, January 30-February 1, 1995.
“My Life, My Work: A Sociological Study of SEWA’s Urban Members,” with Namrata Bali, Working Paper, Series II, 1991.
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
from the Government of India.
Early Life and Education
Renana Jhabvala was born in Delhi to the Booker-prize winner, Ruth Prawer JhabvalaRuth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and the late producer Ismail Merchant...
, and well-known architect Cyrus S. H. Jhabvala. She was raised and schooled in Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University, in 1972 with a distinction in BSc Math. She attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to pursue an additional degree in BA Math. She then went on to the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
to pursue post-graduate studies in Economics. After completing her MA, she joined SEWA in Ahmedabad, India, where she has spent her career.
Career Milestones and Honours
Jhabvala joined SEWA in 1977 as an organizer when SEWA was five years old. She worked first with the women workers stitching quilts in the Muslim area of Ahmedabad; she was instrumental in forming the first Cooperative in SEWA. Her main work was organizing women into SEWA as a trade union. In 1981, she was elected Secretary of SEWA under the leadership of Ela BhattEla Bhatt
Ela Ramesh Bhatt is the founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India . A lawyer by training, Bhatt is a respected leader of the international labour, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements who has won several national and international awards.-Early life:Ela Bhatt was born in...
and organized beedi
Beedi
A beedi is a thin, South Asian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end.The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments....
workers, agricultural workers, garment workers, street vendors and many others to bargain for higher income, better working conditions, space to work and social security. She was active in fostering the growth of SEWA across India, taking the experiences of the organization to States like Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and most recently to Uttrakhand and West Bengal.
Jhabvala was instrumental in forming SEWA Bharat, a National Federation of SEWAs now in nine States of India. In 1995, she became the National Coordinator of SEWA and started the national office in Delhi.
When the women members of SEWA began expressing the need for basic infrastructure and housing, she was one of the founders of the Mahila Housing SEWA Trust. In 2002 she became the Chair of SEWA Bank and helped to increase finance for poor women in many parts of the country.
She has been active at the international level, representing SEWA at the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
(ILO) in 1995 and 1996 during the discussion on Convention for Home Workers; and subsequently in 2002 during the Resolution on the Informal Economy. At the South Asia level she was instrumental in forming HomeNet South Asia, bringing together organizations in India, Pakistan. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan working with women home-based workers. She is presently the Chair of HomeNet South Asia. She is one of the founders and present Chair of WIEGO
WIEGO
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing is a global action -research - policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor in the informal economy...
(Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) and has been active in the formation of international networks for women workers in the informal economy.
In addition to organizing women into trade unions and co-operatives she has been interested and involved in policy issues of poor women and of the informal economy. She has been active in many Government committees and task forces which have formulated policies ranging from National Policy for Street Vendors, to the Law for Social Security of Unorganised Workers, to policies for unorganised workers in various States. She has written widely on these issues in journals and newspapers and has co-authored seven books.
Personal life
She is married to Harish KhareHarish Khare
Harish Khare is Media Advisor at the Indian Prime Minister's . He has worked as Resident Editor and chief of bureau with The Hindu in New Delhi, India. The Hindu, is widely considered India's left leaning and most respected broadsheet...
. The couple has one son, Uday Jhabvala Khare, who graduated from the National Law School, India, and is a lawyer by profession.
In SEWA Family of Organizations
Chairperson, SEWA Bank (2002–2008)National Co-ordinator, SEWA (1995 – present)
Chairperson, SEWA Bharat (All India SEWA) (2001 – present)
Executive Trustee, Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (1994 – present)
Secretary, SEWA (1981–1995)
In International Organizations (selected)
Chairperson, WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing)Chairperson, HomeNet South Asia (2007 – present)
In Government (selected)
Member, Steering Committee, Working Group on Urban poverty, slum and service delivery system in the context of formulation of the 12th five-year plan (2012–2017) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India (2011 – present)Member , Expert Group to recommend the detailed methodology for Identification of Families living Below Poverty Line in the Urban Areas, Planning Commission, (2010 – present )
Member, Task Force on Affordable Housing, Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation (2008)
Member, Prime Minister’s National Skill Development Council. (2009 – present)
Chairperson, Task Force on Workers in Unorganised Sector, Government of Madhya Pradesh. (2001–2002)
Member, Task Force on National Policy for Street Vendors. (2002–2003)
Chairperson, Group on Women workers and Child labour, National Commission on Labour, Government of India (2000)
Other
Board Member, Invest India Micro Pensions (a company for pension for the poor) (2006 – present)Board member, Institute for Human Development. New Delhi (2006 – present)
Board Member, India Development Foundation, Gurgaon (2010 – present)
Board Member, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (2010 – present)
Awards
Outstanding Work in Social Service, Awarded by Vineet Gupta Memorial Trust, 1991Padma Shri, awarded by Government of India, 1990
Outstanding Social Worker, awarded of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries Ladies Organisation, 1990
Award for Outstanding Young Person, Given by Jaycees Karnavati – 1984
National Science Talent Scholarship Awarded for Excellence in Science, 1969–1972
1. Books
Social Income and Insecurity: A Study in Gujarat. Co-authored with Guy Standing, Jeemol Unni, and Uma Rani. Routledge, 2010.Empowering Women in an Insecure World: Joining SEWA Makes a Difference. Co-authored with Sapna Desai and Jignasa Dave. SEWA Academy, 2010.
Membership-Based Organization of the Poor. Co-edited with Martha Chen
Martha Chen
Martha Alter Chen is an American academic, scholar and social worker, who presently a Lecturer in Public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and International Coordinator of the global research-policy-action network WIEGO . Dr...
, Ravi Kanbur and Carol Richards. Routledge, 2007.
Women, Work and Poverty. Co-authored by Martha Chen, Joann Vanek, Francie Lund, James Heinz, with Renana Jhabvala and Christine Bonner. UNIFEM, New York, 2005.
Informal Economy Centrestage: New Structures of Employment. Co-edited with Ratna M. Sudarshan and Jeemol Unni. Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2003.
The Unorganised Sector: Work Security and Social Protection. Co-edited with R.K.A. Subrahmanya. Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2000.
Speaking Out: Women’s Economic Empowerment in South Asia. Co-edited with Martha Chen and Marilyn Carr. IT Publications, 1997.
2. Selected Articles in Journals
“Clogged Pipes and Bureaucratic Blinkers” (with Guy Standing) in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLV, Nos. 26 & 27, 2010.“Social Protection for Women Workers in the Informal Economy” (with Shalini Sinha) in Comparative Labour Law & Policy Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2, Winter 2006.
“The Idea of Work” (with Ela Bhatt) in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXIX, No. 48, 2004.
“Indian Women Use Video to Spark Collective Action” in Communication for Change, 2003.
“New Forms of Workers’ Organisations: Towards A System of Representation and Voice” in The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 46, No. 2, April–June, 2003.
Liberalisation and the Woman Worker (with Shalini Sinha) in Economic and Political Weekly, 25 May 2002.
“Humanitarian Trade Unionist: Jhabvala’s Pioneering Efforts for Workers’ Rights” in Manushi, Issue 127, November–December, 2001.
“In the Wake of a Quake: SEWA’s Relief Efforts in Kutch,” in Manushi, Issue 122.
“Social Security for Women Workers in the Unorganised Sector,” (with Shalini Sinha) in The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, October–December, 2001 (Conference Issue).
"Liberalisation and Women” in Seminar, Special Issue on “Footloose Labour,” November 2000.
“Roles and Perceptions” in Seminar, Special Issue on “Street Vendors,” July 2000.
“Minimum Wages Based on Workers’ Needs” in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No.10, 1998.
“Social Security for the Unorganised Sector” in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXIII, No.22, May 1998.
“A Case Study of Interventions in the Labour Market in Gender, Employment and Health,” National Council of Applied Economic Research Publication, 1998.
“Policies Affecting the Unorganised Sector: Lesson from the SEWA Experience” in Margin, Vol. 30, No.1, NCAER Publication, October–December, 1997.
“Women in the People’s Sector: Experiences of SEWA” in Social Welfare, Vol. 44, No. 5-6, August–September, 1997.
"Wages for Unorganised Labour" in Seminar, April 1997.
“Out of the Shadows: Home-based Workers Organise for International Recognition” (with Jane Tate) in SEEDS, No. 18, 1996.
“India Can Take the Lead” in Labour File, Vol. 2, No. 4, Centre for Communications, New Delhi, April 1996.
“Invisible Workers Reach International Heights,” Economic and Political Weekly, December 9, 1995.
“Ahmedabad 2001: Planning for the Poor—A Focus on Self employed Women” by Renana Jhabvala and Usha Jumani, Reprint from Nagarlok, Vol. XX, No.4, October–December, 1988.
“Claiming What Is Theirs: Struggle of Vegetable Vendors in Ahmedabad,” Manushi, Issue 32, January–February, 1986.
“From the Mills to the Streets: A Study of Retrenchment of Women from the Ahmedabad Textile Mills,” Manushi, Issue 26, 1985.
“Neither A Complete Success Nor A Complete Failure: SEWA Organises Bidi Workers,” Manushi, Issue 22, May–June, 1984.
3. Selected Articles in Edited Volumes
“Globalisation and Economic Reform as Seen from the Ground: SEWA’s Experience in India” (with Ravi Kanbur) in K. Basu (ed.) India’s Emerging Economy: Performance and Prospects in the 1990s and Beyond, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 2004. Also presented as a paper at the Indian Economy Conference, Cornell University, 19–20 April 2002.“Globalisation, Liberalisation and Women in the Informal Economy” in Veena Jha (ed.) Trade, Globalisation and Gender—Evidence from South Asia. UNIFEM publication in collaboration with UNDP and UNCTAD, 2003.
“Women as the Leaders of Development” in Jude Fernando and Alyssa Ayres, Progress, Promise and Partnerships. Asia Society, New York, 1998. Also as a keynote address delivered at the Asia Society Conference, New York, 5 October 1998.
“Working Women: Myth and Reality—Experiences of a Group of Muslim Women Workers” in Vina Mazumdar (ed.) Women Workers in India. Chanakya Publications for ICSSR, 1990.
“Poor Women in Urban Areas: Reaching a Vulnerable Group” in Social Dimensions of Urban Poverty in India. National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, 1999.
4. SEWA Academy Publications
Impact of Implementing the CDS through Sangini Childcare and Workers’ Co-operative, by Renana Jhabvala, Mirai Chatterjee and Mita Parikh, 1996.The World of Work in People’s Sector and Its Inherent Strength: SEWA Experience by Renana Jhabvala and Ela Bhatt, 1995.
Women in the Informal Economy by Renana Jhabvala, 1995.
“My Home, My Workplace: A Life of Struggle from Security” in Tana Vana: The Warp and Weft of Life, with Karl Osner and Manali Shah) (n.d.).
The Role of Street Vendors in the Growing Urban Economies (n.d.).
Wage-based Fixation for Home-based Piece Rate Workers: Technical Study based on a Survey of Workers in Gujarat, India with Rahima Shaikh and SEWA Academy Team, 1995.
Textiles in the People’s Sector: Impact of Global Trading Practices on Women in the Unorganised Textile Sector in India, 1995. Also part of Proceedings of the Regional Seminar on Global Trading Practices and Poverty Alleviation in South Asia: A Gender Perspective, organised by UNIFEM and Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), New Delhi, January 30-February 1, 1995.
“My Life, My Work: A Sociological Study of SEWA’s Urban Members,” with Namrata Bali, Working Paper, Series II, 1991.
External links
- Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) - http://www.sewa.org/
- SEWA Bank - http://www.sewabank.com/
- SEWA Bharat - http://www.sewabharat.org/
- WIEGO – Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (http://www.wiego.org)
- Law for Social Security of Unorganised Workers - http://labour.nic.in/act/acts/Unorganised-workers-social-security-act-2008.pdf
- National Policy for Street Vendors - http://mhupa.gov.in/policies/natpol.htm
- Mahila Housing SEWA Trust - http://www.sewahousing.org/