COVID-19 Impact on Informal Women Workers and their Cooperatives: Recommendations from SEWA Cooperative Federation documents the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on informal women workers and the collective enterprises they own and manage. Based on an assessment of SEWA’s member cooperatives across agriculture, handicrafts, services, health, and finance, the note highlights severe income losses, enterprise disruptions, and growing vulnerabilities experienced during the lockdown.
At the same time, it demonstrates how women’s cooperatives adapted to the crisis through collective action, local production, and mutual support. Drawing from these experiences, the publication presents recommendations on access to working capital, market linkages, digital inclusion, and social protection, arguing that women-owned collective enterprises require targeted support to recover from crises and build long-term resilience. The note positions cooperatives not only as economic institutions but also as critical community-based mechanisms for livelihood security during times of uncertainty.
