The Gender Lens on Informal Work: Why Presence Doesn’t Mean Progress

Proof of Employment is Power

In this episode, Gautham and Winonna from the Center for Social Justice discuss an important yet often overlooked aspect of the new Labour Codes — proof of employment. Through a worker’s lens, the conversation explores two key documents that form the foundation of formal employment: appointment letters and pay slips. These documents are not merely administrative requirements; they play a crucial role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and protection for workers. The episode reflects on why these documents matter for workers, what the new compliance expectations under the Labour Codes mean for employers, and how formal documentation can strengthen trust and fairness within workplaces. As the conversation continues, the next episode will explore another critical aspect of worker protection — grievance redressal mechanisms, and how workplaces can create systems where workers feel safe to raise concerns.

The Gender Lens on Informal Work: Why Presence Doesn’t Mean Progress

This episode of The Compact Lens builds directly on our previous conversation on fair contracting. If fair contracts are the starting point, this conversation asks what happens next—when those contracts meet lived realities on the ground, and when gender begins to shape how work is experienced, sustained, and imagined. We explore how women enter informal and blue-collar work, often in moments of crisis or necessity, and why hiring alone rarely translates into progress. While women may be present in workplaces, they are frequently concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skilled roles, with few systems that support growth, continuation through life changes, or confidence to imagine something more. This episode focuses on women’s experiences—but only as one part of the gender continuum. It recognises that gender is not binary, and that work is shaped by intersecting realities of class, caste, migration, age, disability, and caregiving. Hiring women is an important step, but it is not the finish line—and it does not address the full spectrum of gendered experiences at work. Rather than placing blame on companies or contractors, this conversation reflects on systems: how people are hired, how inclusion works in practice, how workers are supported to stay through changing life realities, and how real pathways for growth are (or aren’t) created. This is the first of many conversations through a gender lens. There is much more to unpack—across identities, roles, and workplaces. Stay tuned for more episodes as we continue to widen the lens. If this conversation resonates with you—whether you’re a company, contractor, or organisation looking to engage more deeply—reach out to us at support@socialcompact.co. Let’s build workplaces where presence can truly become progress.

Fair Contracting for India's Informal Workers

Gautham and Dipankar unpack what good contracting and bad contracting really look like on the ground — beyond paperwork and compliance. Through lived examples, they explore why worker wellbeing cannot sit with either the company or the contractor alone, but must be treated as a shared responsibility. When contracting systems are designed with dignity at the centre, they argue, the outcomes go far beyond compliance — leading to stronger impact, greater efficiency, and more sustainable growth for both companies and contractors. The conversation closes by setting the stage for the next episode, where Gautham and Dipankar turn to gender, unpacking its many layers and how they shape the experiences of informal workers.

Beyond Certification, Towards Dignified Work

Certificates can validate systems — but they cannot validate lived experience. In this episode of The Compact Lens, Sneha and Arshath take you beyond audit checklists and into the real stories unfolding across factories, worksites, and supply chains. Through deep field insights and firsthand conversations with workers, they reveal a powerful truth. Drawing from Social Compact’s work with 65+ companies, this episode unpacks: * Why certifications capture process partially, not people * The invisible realities of contractual and migrant workers * How systems can appear compliant while exploitation continues * The role of worker voice as the true indicator of dignity * The shift from reactive compliance to proactive wellbeing * What companies gain when they reflect, not just report This conversation calls on leaders, contractors, and organisations to rethink responsibility — not as a once-a-year audit, but as a daily practice embedded in culture, relationships, and listening. Write to us at support@socialcompact.co for any queries / questions. Stay tuned!

Compliance and Beyond - Different Approaches by Businesses and its Impact

In this second episode of The Compact Lens, we explore the idea of thinking beyond compliance. Through the lens of Social Compact’s work, we discuss how businesses have different approaches which are reactive and proactive and how that impacts them and the workers. The episode closes by setting the stage for Episode 3, where we go beyond certification to uncover what it really takes to create lasting, systemic change.