A/HRC/20/15 temporary, self-employed or contingent workers. While such workers are not technically part of the informal economy because their work and workplaces are likely to be still regulated, they may face difficulties similar to those faced by informal workers. For example, in many developed economies, employers are not required to provide health benefits to part-time and temporary employees. Both contractualization and the trend towards replacing standard work with atypical work often represent attempts by employers to evade their responsibility under existing occupational health regimes. 15. The right to health requires States to pay special attention to the needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups. Most workers in the informal economy face significant social and economic difficulties. These include lack of legal protection, lack of access to formal financial services, lack of social protection or social health insurance afforded to formal sector employees, exposure to harsh law enforcement, lack of job security, discrimination and others. Moreover, many workers in the informal economy often face increased risk of occupational disease and injury as compared to formal workers. In some cases when informal workers are injured, they are not granted compensation for their injuries. 18 As a result, informal workers are amongst the least secure and most vulnerable of all workers, and thus require special attention under the right to occupational health. 16. Though there are regional variations, women are more likely than men to work within the informal economy than in the formal economy.19 And, like the formal economy, the informal economy is highly segmented in terms of gender. Approximately two-thirds of all female workers in the developing world work in the informal economy (not including agriculture). Moreover, women earn less than men, and are in lower paid and less skilled jobs.20 17. More research about the informal economy and informal workforce is needed at the local and national levels. The lack of disaggregated data, in particular, prevents States from understanding the demographic landscape of the informal economy and the particular vulnerabilities faced by informal workers. States must systematically engage informal workers in order to effectively conduct human rights and health impact assessments and risk surveillance, with a view to identifying and controlling known risks, as well as epidemiological and disease surveillance to detect and manage disease and prevent long term risks. 18. Informal work and workplaces do not fall under the purview of existing national occupational health laws therefore the employer-employee relationship in the informal economy goes unregulated. States have an obligation to fulfil workers‟ right to health through direct occupational health interventions in the informal economy. In some instances, this may require formalization through the introduction or extension of occupational health regulations into the informal economy. The ILO and other organizations have attempted to address the occupational health vulnerability of informal workers by implementing programmes in coordination with national governments aimed at reaching informal workers. These include the integration of occupational health services into primary health-care services;21 participatory health and safety training programmes for 18 19 20 21 Rene Loewenson, “Health impact of occupational risks in the informal sector in Zimbabwe,” International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, vol. 4, No. 4 (1998), pp. 264-274. ILO, Women and men in the informal economy, p. 8. Mary Cornish, “Realizing the right of women to safe work – Building gender equality into occupational safety and health governance,” ILO concept note, XVIII World Congress on Occupational Safety and Health, Seoul, 29 June-2 July 2008, p.10. ILO, “Report on the thirteenth session of the joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health,” Geneva, 9-12 December 2003 (GB.289/STM/7); Tsuyoshi Kawakami, “Participatory approaches to 7