Given the paucity of literature on the gendered experiences of women gig workers globally, this study,
“Exploratory research on Women workers in the Gig economy in India” aims to fill in the gaping hole. The study has
taken a multidimensional approach to critically analyze women workers engagement with in the gig economy
and particularly in the platform economy in India. The study looks at women workers in the four work sectors
where they were found to be engaged in - domestic work, beauty work cab driving and food delivery in three
urban cities of Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai. This report showcases their experiences of working in the gig
economy and juxtaposes this with working in the informal economy in the country. The report has also explored a
larger question of changing modalities of gig platforms in India in the context of its increasingly informalized
economy, its gendered structures and practices and working conditions, juxtaposing these ideas with worker
rights. The study takes a lens of gender and labour on a gig platform and explores this framework through various
aspects of gig economy shaping up in India. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with a wide
range of actors in the ‘gig universe’ - women workers, platform representatives, government officials and trade
union members, across the four sectors. An in-depth literature review was also undertaken to illustrate and
critically analyse the existing labour practices within the gig economy in India and globally and repercussions of
the same on labour relationships in the gig and larger informal economy.
