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Employment and Livelihoods

The SED looks at growth strategies for industrial and services sector development, improving the quality and conditions of informal work, such as domestic and home-based work, waste work, construction, gig and platform work, and nano-and-small-enterprises.

This work focuses on:

  • Inclusive, employment-intensive urban development pathways.
  • Integration of urban development with economic and industrial planning.
  • The future of work and workers on digital platforms.
  • Improving the quality of informal work through social and economic infrastructure.

Featured Projects

  • Chief Minister’s Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council (CMRETAC): A Framework for Informal Work and Workers in Urban Rajasthan (2021-2022)IIHS was commissioned to offer a long-term policy imagination for the future of informal work, informal housing and social protection in the state. The study estimated the size and distribution of the urban informal economy in Rajasthan and then offered a multi-dimensional and multi-scalar framework for improvement of the quality of work in the informal economy as well as the ease of living and access to social protection for informal workers.
  • Examining paid and unpaid domestic work in urban homes (2019-2022)This project examined paid and unpaid domestic work through a 10,000-household survey in Bengaluru and Chennai. It focused on employers’ perspectives on work quality, wages, labour rights, and social protection. Three reports presented findings on household reproduction, deficits in decent work, and employer attitudes. The project was conducted in partnership with Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), and was part of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) Work in Freedom programme.
  • Understanding and improving women’s work on digital labour platforms (2021-2023)This research examined the conditions of women workers in India’s platform economy, focusing on sectors like microtasking, freelancing, ed-tech, and BPOs in the AI supply chain. It compared women’s experiences with men’s amid rapid platformisation disrupting informal employment and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on labour policy. It was conducted in partnership with Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), and funded by International Labour Organisation (ILO).
  • Urban employment programmes (2022-2023)IIHS undertook an in-depth review of international and domestic urban employment programmes (UEPs) to understand their forms and potential to address unemployment and wage disparity. The study included a convening with representatives from government, academia, and civil society. This was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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