Monday, August 1, 2016

These stunning photos show the ‘invisible’ jobs women do around the world

ACCRA, GHANA: Informal head porter Percent Boateng (left) and Lusaka Fuseina (right) each carry a load full of goods on their heads at Agbogbloshie Market. Head load porters, known as kayayei, are young women (including adolescents) who migrate from the Northern regions of the country to the major cities, often in an attempt to escape abject poverty and earn money. In the markets, these young women are informally employed to conduct the hard physical labour of transporting materials for vendors, or assisting buyers in carrying their shopping to vehicles. Many also work for shop owners in the markets in re-stocking, packing, and tidying up. In 2012, WIEGO facilitated a health policy dialogue between 100 kayayei and represenatives of the Ministry of Health and National Insurance Scheme. The kayayei shared their stories and as a direct result of this dialogue, 1,000 kayayei were able to register and gain better information on available health care services through the Ghanaian National Insurance Scheme. Photo taken August 11, 2015 in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC017 & ACC018

Jonathan Torgovnik


When searching for stock photos of women at work, one typically finds pages of ladies in business suits, sitting behind desks. Less common are photos of women in developing nations cleaning homes, collecting waste, sewing fabric, or selling goods in local markets. Yet for millions of women across the globe, these too-often “invisible” jobs empower them and enable them to provide for their families and communities.


A new collection of photos aims to better showcase these workers. The inspiring series from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Getty Images Reportage, and Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WEIGO) highlight women from six different countries engaging in work that “is often informal and outside state regulations or protections,” according to a statement, yet crucial to their well-being.


“Most people are surprised to learn that informal employment is more than half of non-agricultural employment in most developing regions,” Rhonda Douglas, the global projects director for WIEGO, said in the statement. “Informal is the new normal, and these photos highlight the immense contributions of informal workers as they go about their daily lives. The dignity of individual workers shines through in every photo.”


The photos, which are available for public use, come from India, Ghana, Thailand, South Africa, Peru, and Colombia. We’ve selected some of our favorites, but the entire collection is visually arresting and educational.


India



Ahmedabad, India: Umja Ambalal (right) and Praba Maya, both members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a trade union for poor, self-employed women in the informal sector, work at a factory that makes modular roofs for slum houses. They enjoy the supportive work environment of the factory, which collaborates with SEWA to train the women, and have more secure and steady daily incomes than when they worked as construction labourers.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Reportage

These two women work at a factory that makes modular roofs for slum houses. According to Getty, the women enjoy the supportive work environment of the factory, which collaborates with a local trade union to train the women and ensure steady daily incomes.



 



Ahmedabad, India: Rookmani Ram Naryan (left) and her daughter, Kavita Harshiresh Yemul, spend many hours each day on the floor of their small home hand rolling Indian-style cigarettes called bidi. Home-based workers such as Rookmani and Kavita, both members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a trade union for poor, self-employed women in the informal sector, are vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen and suppliers. As SEWA members, they have more bargaining power and visibility for their hard-earned income.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Reportage

This mother and daughter spend hours every day on the floor of their small home, Getty reports, hand rolling Indian-style cigarettes called "bidi." The same trade union that protects the factory workers above ensures they have bargaining power and visibility.



 



Ahmedabad, India: Every evening, Hansa Danjani sells jewelry at a local market. As a vendor, she earns a small income to help support her family. She is also a member of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a trade union for poor, self-employed women in the informal sector.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Reportage

Every evening, this woman sells jewelry at a local market, allowing her to earn a small income to support her family.



 


Ghana



ACCRA, GHANA: Market vendor Vida Ofori stands proudly at her tomato stand in the Makola Market. For 34 years now, since completing her middle school education, Vida has been trading at the Makola Market. Vida's story parallels that of the thousands of street vendors across the city: She began trading at an early age, following in her parents' footsteps, and now shares a stall with her sister, demonstrating the generational and family aspects of vending in the informal economy. Like the hundreds of market vendors here, Vida pays daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly tolls ito the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, as well as to Ghana's Internal Revenue Service. The New Makola Market Traders Union, under the nationwide organization of the Ghana Trade Union Council, represents more than 2,000 workers like Vida, fostering unity between workers via weekly meetings, and enabling its members to become self-supporting. Photo taken August 13, 2015 in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC036Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage

This market vendor has been trading tomatoes for 34 years, according to Getty.



 



ACCRA, GHANA: Twenty five-year-old Aisha Adam carries goods on her head at Kantamanto Market, a busy market in Accra's Central Business District. Aisha came to Accra to work as a head porter (kayayei) in order to earn money to start a cloth vending business in her home town of Tamale, in Northern Ghana. Work as a kayeyei is rife with challenges; Aisha describes the physical challenges of carrying heavy loads, the low pay, the risks of violence and theft. At night, many kayeyei, due to their inability to afford accommodation, sleep outside or in the marketplace, making them a target for thieves who would steal their day's wages. Aisha says she stays with 14 other head porters at a hostel not far from Kantamanto, allowing them to share costs and be safe. Photo taken August 10, 2015 in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). .FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC009Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage

This head porter, or "kayayei," is earning money to start a cloth vending business.



 



ACCRA, GHANA: Informal worker Martha Kotey sells fabrics at Makola market. For more than 17 years now, Martha has been trading in fabrics, first in brightly colored printed clothes, and now in school uniform fabrics. Changing her business to school uniform fabric was a deliberate decision and a market opportunity, she said. "People are opening different schools, education is moving forward, that's why I want to trade in school uniforms," she explained. Martha's transition in trading goods demonstrates the entrepreneurism of many street vendors who continually aim to maximize their sales and profits by selling goods in high demand. Martha is one of more than 2,000 members of the Makola Market Traders Union, an affiliate of the Ghana Trade Union Congress. Its main intervention activities include development projects in the market and negotiations with local and national government for better conditions for its members. Photo taken August 10, 2015 in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: ACC005Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage

This woman sells school uniform fabric at a local market, where she is a longtime vendor.



 


Thailand



BANGKOK, THAILAND: Samnvay Tocharoen works in a small factory producing bronze silverware, a traditional Thai craft. The work poses a number of occupational health and safety issues, which the group, as members of HomeNet Thailand, have been addressing. Their long-time work in this area led to the introduction of the Universal Healthcare Coverage Scheme in Thailand in 2001, which provides unprecedented health coverage to all informal workers, including home-based workers in Thailand.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Reportage

These women work in a small factory producing bronze silverware, a traditional Thai craft.



 



BANGKOK, THAILAND: Khamhla Tongburan works at a small garment factory on the outskirts of Bangkok with 15 other workers. Together, they form the Solidarity Group, a collective of former factory garment workers who now run their own enterprise, providing fair wages and working hours in a safe environment. The Solidarity Group has its own brand: "Dignity Returns." Members have joined other home-based garment worker groups under HomeNet Thailand's Informal Worker Association to establish a garment cooperative.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Rep

This woman works at a small garment factory on the outskirts of Bangkok with 15 other workers, Getty reports.



 



BANGKOK, THAILAND: Aurapin Sakvichit shows off her clothing for sale at a local market. Aurapin has worked as a garment home-based worker for decades. When her business began to expand, she distributed her work to fellow home-based workers living in the area. HomeNet Thailand, a member-based organization of informal workers, recently helped these home-based workers officially register themselves as a garment home-based worker group to get access to benefits, including loans provided by the Ministry of Labour.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Rep

This woman sells her homemade clothing at a local market.



 


South Africa


JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 18, 2015: Sitsa Ncube emigrated to South Africa to find employment as a domestic worker. Unlike many who have come from Zimbabwe, she is officially registered. Sitsa does the cooking, laundry, and dusting. When she came to work for her current employers in 2015, they sent her to kosher cooking classes so she could perform her kitchen duties knowledgeably. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: JHB003Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage

 


JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 18, 2015: Lucy Mokheles physically demanding workday in a private home involves cleaning and cooking for her elderly employer and other family members in Johannesburg. A respectful and flexible employment relationship helps make the hard domestic work easier. Once ashamed of her occupation, Lucy now says she feels proud to be earning an income and contributing to her community and country through domestic work. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: JHB001 & JHB001AJonathan Torgovnik

 



JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 18, 2015: Laundry, cooking, and cleaning are all part of Martha Mahlalas tasks as a domestic worker in a Johannesburg household, where she has worked for 23 years. However, she prefers gardening to housework, and her green thumb is evident around her employers house. She lives in a small cottage on her employers premises. Her own house is hours away, and like many domestic workers in this city, she travels home once a month. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage). FULLY RELEASED - CONSENT NUMBER: JHB002Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Reportage

All three women pictured above work as domestic workers.



 


Peru


July 31, 2015. LIMA, PERU. Sofia Bravo is a food vendor on the district of los Olivos in Lima is part of the national network of self-employed workers RENATTA (Red Nacional de Trabajadoras/es Autoempleadas), one of several organizations of informal workers in Lima that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRLIMA-001" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/ Reportage by Getty Images Reportage

 


July 31, 2015. LIMA, PERU. Luzmila Elba Rojas Morales is a food vendor on the district of los Olivos in Lima is part of the national network of self-employed workers RENATTA (Red Nacional de Trabajadoras/es Autoempleadas), one of several organizations of informal workers in Lima that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRLIMA-002" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage

 



July 31, 2015. LIMA, PERU. Rosa Hidalgo Beltran is a food vendor on the district of los Olivos in Lima is part of the national network of self-employed workers RENATTA (Red Nacional de Trabajadoras/es Autoempleadas), one of several organizations of informal workers in Lima that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRLIMA-004" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage

All three women pictured above work as food vendors. They are all members of a network of self-employed workers, Getty reports—one of several organizations of informal workers in Lima that works closely with WIEGO.




Colombia


July 21, 2015. BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA. Ruby Janeth Valencia Manjarres is a recycler and waste picker in Bogota and member of the ARB (Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá) Waste Picker’s Association of Bogotá working at the warehouse operated by ARB in Bogotá, ARB is an organization of informal workers in Bogotá that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRBOG-024" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage

 


July 21, 2015. BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA. Cindy Paola Castiblanco is a recycler and waste picker in Bogota and member of the ARB (Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá) Waste Picker’s Association of Bogotá making a round of waste collection around Puente Aranda neighborhood in Bogotá, ARB is an organization of informal workers in Bogotá that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRBOG-049" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage

 



July 21, 2015. BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA. Sonia Janeth Barriga is a recycler and waste picker in the neighborhood of Chapinero Bogotá and member of the ARB (Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá) Waste Picker’s Association of Bogotá, ARB is an organization of informal workers in Bogotá that works closely with WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) in several initiatives, including to improve capacities of membership-based organizations through training in advocacy, communications, regulatory and legal frame work, occupational health and safety , and social inclusion campaigns. (Photo by Juan Arredondo/Reportage by Getty Images).Special Instructions - Full release: all subjects signed our form of model release MRBOG-018" width="670" height="447"/>Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage

All three women pictured above are recyclers and waste pickers in Bogota.



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These stunning photos show the ‘invisible’ jobs women do around the world
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