In Solidarity

In this episode of In Solidarity, we’re joined by Dr. Ranjitha Puskur, socio-economist and Country Representative at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). With over two decades of experience across CGIAR institutions, Dr. Puskur’s work bridges research, policy, and practice—all with a gender lens. Together, we explore:1. How women farmers across the Global South are adapting to climate...

We’re excited to host Dr. Aditi Surie, a Senior Consultant at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) and a leading researcher on digital labour platforms, worker well-being, and livelihoods in India. At IIHS, Dr. Surie leads the academic and policy research portfolio on technology and society, focusing on how digital platforms shape work, employment, and economic opportunities, especial...

The recent global health crises, the impending climate crises, global economic instability and recession, highlights the loopholes in our existing understanding of the economy and the current development paradigm. Yet, what is the alternative? On April 18, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development”. Sim...

Welcome to Episode 11 of "In Solidarity" with Dr. Padmini Ray Murray. Dr. Padmini comes from a background in design and technology, with a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She is the founder of Design Beku, a feminist collective dedicated to making approaches to design and technology more locally rooted, contextual and ethical. In this episode, we delve into the barriers to digital inclusion,...

Welcome to episode 10 of In Solidarity . Today, we are joined by Bhanupriya Rao, the founder and editor of BehanBox, an independent digital media startup for gender journalism established in 2019. With 13 years of experience in journalism, advocacy, research, and campaigns across Asia, Africa, and Europe, Bhanupriya has also worked as a governance and public policy specialist with organisations li...

In this episode of In Solidarity, we're joined by Nalini Nayak, a SEWA leader from Kerala, India. With over three decades of experience organising informal women workers, Nalini Ben's journey and vision highlights SEWA’s commitment to creating empowering platforms. She has played a pivotal role in the fish workers movement in Kerala, in organising domestic and migrant workers and expanding SEWA's...

Recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, reveals a concerning trend. Despite some improvements in recent years, India's female labour force participation rate continues to remain alarmingly low. Why aren’t women participating in paid work? Or are we not counting them adequately?  To guide us through this exploration, we are honored to have with us today Dr. Ashwini Deshpande, a distingui...

With the internet usage and penetration breaking all records across the globe, the hope to bridge existinggender inequalities in India, that pushes women further to the margins ofsociety, brightens. To tell us more about how the idea for women’s internet emerged, its challenges, about how we can take digitization to women in the informal economy, we have with us on this episode, Shaili Chopra, jou...

It is not a secret that women, especially in the informal economy,  in both rural and urban India are working all the time. Then what does falling labour force participation mean? To better explain the gaps in data for women working in the informal economy, to give us an idea of what story the numbers are failing to tell, and what we can do together to represent women’s work better, we spoke to Ru...

'In Solidarity' is a SEWA Cooperative Federation podcast that explores themes relevant to women's economic empowerment and challenges that women-owned, women-run enterprises face. In the fourth episode, titled ' Exploring Informal Economy and Women's Work ,' we are in conversation with Martha Chen, Padma Shree awardee and the co-founder of the WIEGO network, which works to raise the voice and visi...

'In Solidarity' is a SEWA Cooperative Federation podcast that explores themes relevant to women's economic empowerment and challenges that women-owned, women-run enterprises face. In the third episode, titled ' Changing the lens: Making visible the invisible ,' we are in conversation with Shrayana Bhattacharya, an economist trained at Delhi University and the Harvard Kennedy School. Her book, "Des...

'In Solidarity' is a SEWA Cooperative Federation podcast that explores themes relevant to women's economic empowerment and challenges that women-owned, women-run enterprises face. In the second episode, titled ' Changing the lens: communicating women's lives and livelihoods ,' we are in conversation with P Sainath, veteran journalist and winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism and Found...

'In Solidarity' is a SEWA Cooperative Federation podcast that explores themes relevant to women's economic empowerment and challenges that women-owned, women-run enterprises face. In the first episode, titled ' The Great Gender Digital Divide,' we are in conversation with Anita Gurumurthy, Founding Member and Executive Director, IT for Change. According to an article by Mitali Nikore for the Obser...