Studies & Publications

This Trainer-of-Trainers (ToT) style curriculum is intended to lead a trainings for worker-led organizations to learn and practice foundations of advocacy and policy engagement. The main objective of this guide is to provide a reference framework and practical tools to design, implement, and evaluate advocacy and policy engagement initiatives aimed at influencing decision- makers to recognize, protect, and promote human rights. The guide is organized into ten complementary sections: 1. Understanding Advocacy 2. Strategic Foundations of Advocacy 3. Steps in Advocacy Planning 4. Advocacy Tools 5. Advocacy Strategies 6. Advocacy Tactics 7. Communication and Influence 8. Political Engagement 9. Developing and Implementing an Action Plan 10. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Sustainability Each section combines a theoretical framework, practical tools, exercises and case studies to encourage learning by doing, and operational recommendations for turning knowledge into concrete action.

This self-directed guide is intended for worker-led organizations to learn and practice foundations of advocacy and policy engagement. The guide is organized into 4 major phases: 1) Analyze 2) Plan 3) Communicate & Act and 4) Evaluate & Sustain. Each phase ends with practical worksheets for worker-led organizations to design an implement an effective advocacy strategy.

In June, Global Fairness Initiative (GFI) and our partners, the Informal Sector Federation of Kenya (ISFEK), Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals & Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), the Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers (AUKMW) and Dataworld Research convened the Grassroots Forum on the Future of Work in Nairobi, Kenya. Rooted in GFI's belief that worker voice is key to equitable and sustainable economic growth, the forum provided a unique platform for informal economy workers to shape the dialogue on Africa's rapidly changing labour landscape. The forum explored three interconnected themes and developed recommendations on: pathways to formalization and social protection; the specific realities of women and youth in the informal economy; and new and emerging forms of work reshaping employment across the continent.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) and social media platforms are often thought of as amorphous, autonomous technologies, they require a vast unseen human labor force to be produced and operated. Content moderators, who determine if user-generated content meets community guidelines, and data annotators, who train AI models by identifying objects, patterns, and audio, make this tech possible. Data worker vulnerabilities parallel those of workers in the informal economy, where workers have temporary or no work contracts and lack access to social security benefits. This informality undermines data workers’ agency in global supply chains and leads to lower wages, poor working conditions, and minimal social protections. Moreover, the data work outsourcing system is embedded in a broader system of “digital colonialism,” in which value flows out of the Global South while decision-making power remains with actors in the Global North, perpetuating a vicious cycle of exploitation.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) and social media platforms are often thought of as amorphous, autonomous technologies, they require a vast unseen human labor force to be produced and operated. Content moderators, who determine if user-generated content meets community guidelines, and data annotators, who train AI models by identifying objects, patterns, and audio, make this tech possible. Data worker vulnerabilities parallel those of workers in the informal economy, where workers have temporary or no work contracts and lack access to social security benefits. This informality undermines data workers’ agency in global supply chains and leads to lower wages, poor working conditions, and minimal social protections. Moreover, the data work outsourcing system is embedded in a broader system of “digital colonialism,” in which value flows out of the Global South while decision-making power remains with actors in the Global North, perpetuating a vicious cycle of exploitation.

Tunisia, like the majority of developing countries, is experiencing an expansion of informality, both in the number of people employed and in terms of the number of informal sectors. The platform economy is one of these areas of expansion in the informal economy. Informal work is generally characterized by a lack of social protection; undefined workplaces; indecent working conditions; low-skill work; irregular incomes; and difficult access to finance, training, and government benefits. Despite sharing high rates of informality as characterized by lack of formal registration, the platform economy may not necessarily have many other characteristics in common with the traditional informal economy. Given its relative novelty, work in the sector may present new challenges in terms of rights and protections but also may provide new opportunities in terms of employment and income. To address these possibilities, our study aims to better understand the social and economic situation of informal workers in the platform economy. This report was carried out with support from the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI, under the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D), housed at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business, The American University in Cairo.

The study examined the working conditions of informal workers in Nairobi and Kiambu counties to assess the existing policies and explore opportunities for formalization. The study was motivated by recognition that informal workers are a critical source of livelihood in Kenya, providing employment and sustaining millions of livelihoods. The sector is dominated by women and youth who engage in street vending, domestic work, small-scale trading, and artisanal services as sources of income. While this sector has proven to be resilient and adaptive, it is also marked by instability, poverty, and exclusion from the protections and benefits available in the formal economy.

This issue of Southasiadisasters.net, coordinated by All India Disaster Mitigation Institute and Inclusive Labor Institute, brings together powerful insights from Africa and Asia on how communities are confronting climate change and extreme heat. From informal workers adapting to rising temperatures and girls’ education strengthening long-term resilience, to community-led early warnings in Tajikistan, agroforestry in Ghana, and heat-safe urban practices in India, the issue showcases practical, scalable solutions emerging from the ground up. Featuring contributions from 16 authors across the region, it highlights one message clearly: communities are not waiting—they are innovating, adapting, and leading the way toward a more climate-resilient future. Find other issues of southasiadisasters.net here: aidmi.org/topic/southasiadisasters-net/

This report presents the findings of the research study on the barriers to business formalization and entrepreneurship gaps and challenges faced by women in informal business in Kampala, Wakiso, Mayuge, and Mbarara districts, Uganda. The study was conducted by the Council for Economic Empowerment for Women in Africa, Uganda in Chapter (CEEWA-U) and the Uganda Hotels Food, Tourism, Supermarkets and Allied Workers’ Union (HTS-Union), commissioned by Global Fairness Initiative (GFI). The study is being implemented by GFI under the Grassroots Center for Women in Work (GCWW) initiative in Uganda. The purpose of this research was to examine why informal business owners are not transitioning to the formal sector as well as to understand the entrepreneurial and capacity gaps faced by women-owned informal businesses.