ABSTRACT
The majority of home-based workers in Thailand, the Philippines and other parts of South East Asia are low-income and often impoverished women working in the informal economy. As with other informal workers, they are not usually covered by laws regarding labour or social protection. In addition, as a primarily female work-force operating out of homes or neighbourhood workshops, they have been virtually invisible to policy makers. They have not been recognised as workers in spite of the fact that they are frequently the main and sometimes sole providers for their families.
