Thematic page on the cooperative, social and solidarity economy
SSE: Gender equality
ILO’s work on cooperatives and women’s empowerment and gender equality spans across many years and includes policy, research and training activities in order to ensure women’s fuller participation in the functioning and governance of cooperatives, providing opportunities for employment and career advancement for women workers, and enabling access for women members to cooperative resources and services such as education and training, financial services, and child care.
9 February 2017
The adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 laid the foundation for action towards gender equality in all aspects of economic, social, cultural and political life. As women’s empowerment and gender equality emerges as a goal of the sustainable development agenda, organizational and entrepreneurial models that are egalitarian and build on principles of democratic participation are needed.
ILO’s work on cooperatives and women’s empowerment and gender equality spans across many years and includes policy, research and training activities in order to ensure women’s fuller participation in the functioning and governance of cooperatives, providing opportunities for employment and career advancement for women workers, and enabling access for women members to cooperative resources and services such as education and training, financial services, and child care.
Related content

ILO sends message for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the ICA-AP Committee on Women

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Interview with Elizabeth Nzilani Peter – Machakos Cooperative Union

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
StreetNet International: Organizing street vendors towards formalization and economic empowerment

Japan International Labour Foundation reaches out to hundreds of informal workers in South East Asia using ILO’s orientation and learning tools on cooperatives

ILO presents on women’s cooperatives at a side event during the 60th session of the UN Committee on Social Development (CSD)

ILO contributes to the HomeNet Southeast Asia (HNSEA) Thematic Workshop on Social Solidarity Economy

ILO COOP contributes to the HomeNet International webinar on “Home-based workers and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)”

ILO COOP contributes to the HomeNet International webinar on “Home-based workers and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)”

ILO contributes to an International Cooperative Week event on women cooperative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

At a WIPO programme, the ILO shares how the cooperative model can be used by indigenous women entrepreneurs

ILC Daily Show features questions and answers on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy

ILO COOP participates in two parallel events at CSW65

ILO COOP participated in a virtual coffee talk on good practices on women’s leadership in cooperatives in the recovery from COVID19

ILO launches FORTER'ESS project to promote decent work through women-led social and solidarity economy organizations in Tunisia

ILO COOP Manager interviewed for the second edition of Co-op Women's Voices

Our impact, Their voices
Growing a field of dreams

Launch of FORTER'ESS Project - Strengthening the resilience and promotion of decent work of women-led SSE organizations in Tunisia

ILO COOP participates in a Masterclass on gender equality and women’s empowerment in social economy

The ILO Participates in a session on Gender and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at the GSEF Global Virtual Forum

ILO COOP participated and presented on implications of COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality within the cooperative movement

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
HomeNet South Asia, a network of home-based worker organisations across all South Asian countries

ILO COOP 100 Webinar II - Advancing gender equality though cooperatives

COVID-19 Response: SEWA Cooperative Federation on health, livelihood and social protection strategies for immediate and long-term relief among informal women workers

How women fare in East African cooperatives: the case of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

Leadership training manual for women leaders of cooperatives

Turning waste fruit into a profitable business

Policy brief
Findings of the Assessment of Agricultural Cooperatives in West Bank: Challenges and Opportunities

Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 1
Leveraging the cooperative advantage for women’s empowerment and gender equality

Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 2
Cooperating out of isolation: Domestic workers’ cooperatives

Working Paper
Cooperating out of Isolation: The Case of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon, Jordan and Kuwait

Issue brief # 3
Rural women producers and cooperatives in conflict settings in Arab States

Policy brief # 6
Enhancing the Participation of Rural Women Producers in Cooperatives in Yemen

Cooperatives
Global survey shows rising women’s participation in cooperatives

Advancing gender equality: The co-operative way

Providing Care through Cooperatives 1: Survey and Interview Findings

National voices from the cooperative movement at the International Labour Conference 2016

A First Step Toward Strengthening Domestic Workers’ Cooperatives in Trinidad and Tobago

Interview with Suman More, Solid Waste Collection and Handling (SWaCH)

Formalizing informal employment of domestic workers through cooperatives in Trinidad & Tobago

Policy brief
Findings of the Assessment of Service, Consumer and Handicraft Cooperatives in the West Bank: Challenges and Opportunities

Rural women producers and cooperatives in conflicts settings in the Arab States

Providing Care through Cooperatives 2: Literature Review and Case Studies

Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 10
Cooperatives and the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: Cooperatives and Non-Discrimination at Work

Domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago develop a business plan for their cooperative

Summary
Summary of Key Findings - Cooperation among workers in the informal economy: A focus on home based workers and waste pickers

Cooperation among workers in the informal economy: A focus on home-based workers and waste pickers - A Joint ILO and WIEGO Initiative

Spotlight Interviews with Cooperators
SEWA Cooperative Federation in India: Towards self-reliance

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Rah-e-Roshd: The first cooperative school working to advance inclusive and quality education in Iran

The 2017 edition of the ITC ILO Gender Academy includes an elective and a master course touching upon cooperatives

Promoting rural women economic empowerment through cooperatives in Upper Egypt

Think.COOP - an orientation on the cooperative business model

ILO reports on cooperative approach to care

ILO joins the conversation on women’s empowerment through cooperatives, an Italian perspective

A cooperative 2030 series
Transforming our world: A cooperative 2030 - Cooperative contributions to SDG 5

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Advancing women’s cooperatives in Turkey

Role of cooperatives in rural women empowerment discussed during a side event at CSW62 in NY with ILO participating for COPAC

Summary report - Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way

A step taken toward a common social cooperative framework in Turkey

Advancing domestic workers’ rights through cooperatives in Trinidad and Tobago: An ILO, NUDE and SWCC initiative

Cooperatives meeting informal economy workers' child care needs - A Joint ILO and WIEGO Initiative

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Redesol - Building sustainable and solidary links among waste pickers in the informal economy in Brazil

Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way

Our impact, Their voices
All-female cooperative brings women farmers to the fore in Sri Lanka

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Cooperative of Associated Work Planeta Verde: Improving living conditions of waste pickers in Colombia

Start.COOP - a Step-by-step tool to start up a cooperative - Training Guide

My.Coop – empowering women coffee producers in Colombia

Our impact, their voices
Sri Lankan women making waves in local industry

ILO shares its message for a parallel event at the 63rd CSW on empowering women in waste management

ILO’s message to a conference on Italian cooperative responses toward advancing gender equality at work

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
GDA Pure Nature: Empowering rural women thorough a cheese making cooperative in Tunisia

ILO shares its orientation tool on coops with indigenous women entrepreneurs at WIPO training

The 2019 Edition of the ITC Turin Gender Academy includes a panel presentation and an orientation session on cooperatives

Sri Lankan women improve their livelihoods through cooperatives in the groundnut value chain

Our impact, Their voices
Sweet dreams are made of sugar and spice

Indian women co-operators are being trained to roll out Think.Coop