ABSTRACT
The successful representation of poor people on the part of membership-based organizations depends partly on internal governance structures that are responsive to members’ needs and aspirations. Among organizations of informal workers, members depend on their leaders to channel their demands and influence government policies that affect their livelihoods, in particular when hostile regulations threaten to prevent these workers from earning a minimal daily income. Yet, not all organizations of informal workers have successfully achieved such influence. While positive examples like the Self-Employed Women’s Association in India show that informal workers can successfully represent demands to policy makers, cases of more mixed success abound in other developing countries.
