Divya Varma
Cofounder and Director of Policy and Practice, Work Fair and Free
“I dream of a world where everyone can live and work with dignity everywhere. This is a world that treats migrant workers with dignity, where migrant worker communities are integrated into their receiving societies and are able to seamlessly access all their fundamental rights.”
Divya Varma is the cofounder and director of policy and practice at Work Fair and Free, an organization that supports domestic migrant workers in India. Through research, policy work, and trainings, Work Fair and Free aims to bring lasting change for 140 million migrant workers in India—largely communities at the margins—who relocate seasonally in search of employment, often to low income informal jobs that leave them vulnerable to challenges related to worker rights and dignity.
Work Fair and Free generates research and data grounded in the everyday struggles and lived realities of migrant workers. The narratives it amplifies are curated in collaboration with workers themselves, with aims to advocate for more effective policies and fairer industry practices. The organization also forges multi-stakeholder partnerships within the labor ecosystem, including governments at various levels and industry, to advocate for system-level changes through dialogue and collaborative action. Divya was inspired to join grassroots labor advocacy in India while completing graduate studies in rural management at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand in Gujarat and public administration at Harvard University.
Divya believes that ending inequality for all can only be achieved when everyone—regardless of their background or economic status—has a meaningful voice and agency in decision-making processes that affect them. By supporting and empowering migrant workers as they demand accountability and labor rights, we can strengthen communities and build a brighter, more equitable future for everyone.