The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a women’s trade union that was started by women workers in Gujarat under the guidance of Smt. Ela Bhatt in 1972. Originally borne out of the Textile Labour Association (TLA), India’s oldest and largest union of textile workers, SEWA is now a globally recognised trade union of women workers in the informal economy. In order to secure economic, social, and legal rights for women workers, SEWA supports the formation of member-based organisations of poor working-women. The first such organisation was the SEWA Bank, followed by diverse cooperatives and producer groups of women with livelihoods as artisans, milk producers, and farmers. Later on, women formed service co-operatives like those around health and child-care. After over 48 years, SEWA has expanded across the country and has become a multi-state movement owned by women in the informal economy. By the end of 2019, there were over 1.7 million SEWA members representing 18 states of India. SEWA Bharat’s membership institutions help the movement reach out to vulnerable women working in the informal economy.