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On the 30th anniversary of the ILO’s Convention 177, home‑based workers like Shehnaz Bano in New Delhi still earn barely $1 per piece while producing garments sold for over $200, underscoring the gap between formal recognition and everyday rights.The 1996 Home Work Convention and Its Limited AdoptionThe International Labour Organisation adopted the landmark Home Work Convention on June 20, 1996 in Geneva, calling for equal treatment of home‑based workers (HBWs) and traditional wage earners. It entered into force on April 22, 2000. Despite its ambition, only 13 countries have ratified the treaty and none are from South Asia, a region that hosts the world’s largest concentration of HBWs.Adoption date: June 20, 1996Entry into force: April 22, 2000Ratifications to date: 13 countriesNumbers Behind the Struggle: Scale, Gender Gap, and Pay DisparitiesGlobally, an estimated 260 million workers are classified as HBWs, with women comprising 57% of this workforce (WIEGO, 2024). In India, workers like Bano receive 100 rupees (≈$1) per leather‑jacket piece, while the finished product sells for upwards of $200 abroad. Another worker, Sangeeta Devi, earns roughly $1 for every 100 garment pieces, translating to an annual income far below the national poverty line.Global HBWs: 260 millionWomen HBWs: 57%Typical piece‑rate in Delhi: 100 rupees ($1)Export value of a finished jacket: > $200Why India’s Home‑Based Workforce Remains MarginalisedActivists such as Renana Jhabvala (SEWA) and specialists like Deepa Bharathi (ILO Decent Work Team) point to three intertwined barriers: invisibility in labour statistics, gender‑biased perceptions that treat home work as “care work,” and the complexity of subcontracting arrangements that obscure employment relationships. The 2020 Indian Social Security Code mentions HBWs, yet implementation remains unclear, leaving workers without formal social protection, minimum wages, or collective bargaining rights.Key barriers: statistical invisibility, gender bias, subcontracting opacityLegal reference: Indian Social Security Code 2020Policy gap: no dedicated HBW law despite Convention 177What the Next Decade Could Hold for Home‑Based Workers in South AsiaExperts suggest that improved data collection—leveraging technology‑aided counting and gender‑sensitive surveys—could create the evidence base needed for policy action. If the Indian government expands the Social Security Code to explicitly cover HBWs, introduces a minimum piece‑rate, and enforces the creation of a national HBW registry, the sector could move from “invisible” to “protected.” However, without ratification of Convention 177 by South Asian nations, progress is likely to remain incremental.In the words of veteran activist Renana Jhabvala, the convention is “a weapon, a tool of change”—its impact will depend on whether governments choose to wield it.