WOMEN’S HEALTH AND LIVELIHOOD ALLIANCE (WOHLA)

Ensuring Health and Economic Well-being of Women

Samhita–CGF partners with AMHSSC to aid 50,000 women to create thriving livelihood pathways

The REVIVE Alliance was set up with the mission of creating economic opportunities for vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the Alliance’s mission, REVIVE Women@Work is to collectively drive economic recovery and resilience for low-income working women (small women-entrepreneurs and workers) through financial and digital inclusion, access to social security, skilling, and market linkages. Through these interventions, we aim to create sustainable and impactful livelihood opportunities for women to enter, sustain, and grow at their workplaces.

As part of this mission, we are happy to announce that Samhita – Collective Good Foundation (Samhita – CGF) has partnered with Apparel Made-Ups and Home Furnishings Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) to complement the Government of India’s skilling mandate and augment the journey of 50,000 women to grow beyond gainful employment and create thriving livelihood pathways.

“Economically empowered women can be powerful catalysts for change. They tend to invest more of their income into the well-being of their families, have greater control over their reproductive health, and can significantly drive economic growth. Samhita’s partnership with AMHSSC aims to serve as a model to increase meaningful participation of women in the workforce and enhance their journey through skill building, adoption of positive health practices, and eventually become an agent of change in her community”

Priya Naik, Founder & CEO, Samhita Social Ventures.

Through this partnership, Samhita – CGF will enable livelihood linkages of 50,000 women to manufacturing units of large corporate houses, and support AMHSSC in offering customised and relevant services across 4 key areas critical to thrive in the workforce:

  • Worker health & well-being education and services
  • Awareness and Protection from Violence and harassment in the workplace
  • Economic Empowerment and Professional development
  • Encouraging Entrepreneurship

 “In today’s world, one not only needs to be skilled in a Particular sector but must also be aware of his/her rights, especially for women to know their gender related rights. AMHSSC along with CGF is committed to provide such insights to the concerned stake holders, and support their journey into meaningful employment opportunities”

Dr Roopak Vasishtha, CEO, AMHSSC

Through Revive Women@Work, we envisage a better normal where more women are gainfully employed and acquire the necessary skills to take control of their own lives.

A coalition to create a Better Normal for India’s Working Women and Entrepreneurs

Women@Work is a coalition — of businesses, philanthropies, social organisations and other stakeholders — to drive economic recovery and resilience of low-income women workers and micro entrepreneurs, and enable them to grow and thrive. The goals of Women@Work are aligned to Samhita-CGF’s REVIVE Alliance, a $15 million blended finance platform, supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), Omidyar Network India, British High Commission New Delhi and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Alliance is dedicated to the revival, resilience and growth of India’s informal economy. It is also a part of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Enabling the Recovery, Resilience and Growth of Women Workers and Micro Entrepreneurs

By bridging the gender gap in the workforce and providing more income opportunities for women, India’s GDP can be increased by a whopping $2.9 trillion. There is ample evidence to prove that enabling the growth and productivity of women has a multiplier effect on the socio-economic outcomes of families, communities and economies. We have also witnessed the same through our work over the years.

The challenges to achieving this increase in female labour force participation are immense, especially due to the limitations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the gains have the potential to push India to the next stage of growth. 

This mission cannot be achieved by any one company or government or stakeholder group. REVIVE Women@Work is a call-to-action for a joint effort to spur the Recovery, Resilience and Growth of Women Workers and Micro Entrepreneurs.

How are we going to create a better normal for working women and microentrepreneurs?

With Women@Work, companies, foundations, social organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, through business and CSR channels, will:

To impact India’s women by facilitating their:


Range of Interventions

The Women@Work coalition will leverage technology to maximise opportunities for women at two levels:

  1. Creating a tracking system that will provide evidence on the value of the interventions for the beneficiary. This will enable better decision-making and evidence-backed program design.
  2. Creating a digital profile of the woman, to understand the social products and services required to create a continuum of support. This will enable us to maximise the support available through her life cycle.

Alignment with the REVIVE Alliance and U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment

We launched REVIVE to create a pathway to prosperity for the restoration of worker and micro entrepreneur livelihoods. Aspects of Women@Work are supported by the USAID-funded REVIVE Alliance, which launched in October 2020 to focus on economic recovery, predominantly for women and youth.

Women@Work is also a part of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, a public-private partnership between USAID, the U.S Department of State, USISPF, and George Washington University, launched by USAID Administrator Samantha Power in September 2021.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power launches Women@Work

USAID Administrator Samantha Power, during the launch event of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, announced the Alliance’s first initiative: Women@Work.

As a member of the US-India Alliance, Samhita-CGF will develop a coalition of businesses, philanthropies, and other stakeholders to drive the economic recovery and resilience of low-income women workers and small entrepreneurs, and enable them to grow and thrive.

Women@Work is an initiative by the USAID-funded REVIVE Alliance, one of the largest private sector and philanthropy-led alliances in India, which is helping to facilitate a long-term recovery of the informal sector workers whose livelihoods are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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