Within the larger debates on institutionalising gig work, the challenges women face in gig work is often overlooked.
In today’s rapidly evolving economy, gig work has merged as to be a defining feature of the modern workforce. The transition from traditional workplace to gig economy has altered relation between employee and employer. As people increase engagement in gig work, it is imperative that we understand the multifaceted nature of gig work, its advantages, challenges along with its impact on the economy and social factors.
A student delivering food in their free time, a homemaker freelancing with time to spare, or a recent graduate looking to make supplementary income aside from their primary work, gig economy is being termed the next massive thing. The gig economy provided people with an informal stream of income at their convenience. Let us investigate what a gig economy is first. Oxford defines the gig economy as “gig work that can be both online and offline.”
The study by NITI Aayog, ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy,’ put an estimate of seventy-seven lakh workers engaged in the gig economy, and this is only expected to increase by 2.35 crores by 2029. Gig work allowed people to juggle multiple streams of income instead of relying on one paycheck. With the expansion of the gig economy in recent times, there have been debates about whether the workforce in the gig economy needs to be recognised for their contribution to the economy.
There has been considerable progress in the gig economy, aspects such as flexibility, independence, as well as a stream to generate additional income, have seen this economy boost immensely post pandemic.
Within the larger debate of whether gig work should be classified under a formal employment procedure, the gendered aspect of gig work is often overlooked. Let us dive into how jobs are segregated based on gender.
Factors contributing to women’s participation in the gig economy:
With an increase in demand for low skilled workers, the gig economy is predicted to expand appreciably in the coming years. Here are factors that contribute to women’s participation in the gig economy.
1.Opportunity to enter the workforce: Women often face setbacks in their careers due to their domestic responsibilities. In such instances, it becomes easier to ease into the workforce through gig work at their own convenience.
2.Convenience: Digitisation has ensured the democratisation of knowledge, and it becomes easier for women to provide services such as copywriting, digital marketing at the comfort of their homes while devoting time to their personal lives.
3.Economic independence: Due to domestic responsibilities, women find it difficult to juggle their professional and personal lives. Gig work helps them have economic independence and employment for limited hours.
Gig work has become an enticing opportunity for early career aspirants. Experts see a rise in the workforce that is engaged in gig work either for supplementary income or primary income.
Challenges faced by women in the gig economy:
There are a number of problems faced by gig workers namely lack of timely compensation and lack of benefits such as medical insurance, paid leaves, and other perks that come with permanent employment in traditional workplaces.
- Gender pay-gap: The gender pay-gap and occupational segregation based on gender have followed women’s entry into the gig economy. Gig workers like OLA and UBER have a higher male workforce. In a report on employment outlook by Teamlease in 2019 shared with ET, it stated that women in gig economy earned pay at an 8%–10% disparity.
- Socio-cultural norms: As mentioned above, there are restrictions imposed on women and socio-cultural norms that do not allow flexibility to earn through offline gig work like food delivery, or cab driving. In such cases, women who participate in gig work often allocate themselves to female oriented jobs like at home salon service, cooking, and cleaning. Discriminatory gender norms are at play in these circumstances.
- Lack of protection against workplace harassment: Digital platforms do not provide any protection against workplace harassment. Furthermore, women in gig work are not included in any workplace harassment laws by the state.
When we look at these through a gendered lens, the problems are magnified in offline gig work, as women already experience setbacks in terms of payment, and other benefits.
Policymakers’ stance on the gig economy
There are truly few laws or policies in place to safeguard the interests of gig workers in India. Policies to protect workers’ rights are important, especially in this instance of the gig economy, where the employee-employer relationship is altered and temporary. Additionally, we need to track data intensively on the intersectional workforce in the gig economy and conduct periodic analysis on their unique issues.
Labour regulation is the need of the hour, and as such, there should be institutionalised social and legal protection for gig workers. Policymakers and legal experts should come together to extend protections against workplace harassment to women in the gig economy.
The government of India has formulated new labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020. These codes include unorganised workers as well. These labour codes envisage protection for statutory minimum wages, healthcare, and social security.
To infer, the gig economy in India is booming, and adequate measures need to be taken to ensure platforms do not exploit workers, and worker dignity is maintained even within informal sectors of employment.
