India’s Emerging Gig Economy: The Future of Work for Women

This pilot study seeks to understand the role of India’s growing platform-based gig economy on women’s employment and working conditions. It presents an in-depth study of women’s work through the lens of India’s leading platform companies, and aims to understand the emerging forms of labor practices and the impact of platform engagement on workers’ experiences, challenges, and its impact on women’s security, empowerment, and agency. Through surveys and focus group discussions conducted with women gig workers, some initial findings emerge: that the gig economy is an attractive livelihood option given the flexible hours, which leaves room for women to manage both paid and unpaid work. Further, compared to conventional formal employment, it has much more income-generating potential, and also provides the opportunity for women to become potential breadwinners in the family.