Engendering social security and protection: The case of Asia

Abstract

Informal labour – with insecurity of contracts or tenure, low pay, and no coverage of unemployment, health or other needs – tends to be the norm in Asia. Informal sector employment is on the rise, with women constituting the bulk of informal workers. The current public debates on social security and protection in Asia focus on rightsbased approaches and in India, for instance, pit neoliberals against rights activists in a vibrant and often acrimonious exchange. The context for these debates is the inadequacy of basic human development in South Asia. Despite many similarities, there are important differences between sub-regions, between South Asia versus Southeast, East, and Central Asia, that determine the focus of social security and protection concerns. The path to development based on cheap labour may appear, at least on first sight, to offer an inclusive pathway for women since gaining an income of their own holds the possibility of empowerment. The continuance of this pathway, however, puts tremendous pressure on women in terms of managing their own survival and that of their families. The medium- to long-term solution must therefore be to get men and women alike off of this pathway and to transform the ›precariat‹ by embedding social protection and security in the rights of people.