4 The right to social security of the workers in the informal economy/ sector Work informality exists in all countries, although it is more prevalent in developing countries, which includes the Philippines.2 This is likewise true in situations where there is high unemployment, inequality, and poverty.3 Studies reveal that the entry of workers into the informal economy is driven by the need to survive, rather than the worker’s option or choice. Nonetheless, 61.2 percent of the world’s employed population, or around two (2) billion people, earn a living through the informal economy. It is a greater source of employment for men (63 percent) than for women (58 percent) across the globe, but women are more often to be found in the more vulnerable and low-paying categories of work, such as domestic workers, street vendors, or self-employed home-based workers.4 The Labor Force Survey of the ILO revealed that 38.3 percent of those employed are in vulnerable forms of employment. Accordingly, two (2) out of five (5) workers are less likely to have formal work arrangements and access to social protection and are more at risk during a crisis or shock.5 The informal economy cushions the impact of economic crises and provides jobs and economic opportunities to workers that cannot be absorbed into the formal economy.6 In a research conducted by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the very nature of the informal economy, where Philippine Commission on Women, Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy, available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informaleconomy/#:~:text=The%20Informal%20Sector%20Survey%20(ISS,to%20be%20at%2015.68%20milli on, (last accessed 4 March 2021). 3 Philippine Commission on Women, Policy Brief No. 8 Up Upholding the Rights of Women in the Informal Economy: Providing Measures for the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy, available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informal-economy-2/ (last accessed 5 March 2021). 4 Philippine Commission on Women, Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy, available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informaleconomy/#:~:text=The%20Informal%20Sector%20Survey%20(ISS,to%20be%20at%2015.68%20milli on, (last accessed 4 March 2021). 5 International Labour Organization, Informal economy in the Philippines, available at https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/informal-economy/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 4 March 2021). Philippine Commission on Women, Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy, available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informaleconomy/#:~:text=The%20Informal%20Sector%20Survey%20(ISS,to%20be%20at%2015.68%20milli on, (last accessed 4 March 2021). 6 International Labour Organization, Informal economy in the Philippines, available at https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/informal-economy/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 4 March 2021). Philippine Commission on Women, Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy, available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informaleconomy/#:~:text=The%20Informal%20Sector%20Survey%20(ISS,to%20be%20at%2015.68%20milli on, (last accessed 4 March 2021). 2