Locating women workers in the platform economy in India – old wine in a new bottle?

ABSTRACT

Using the feminist lens of women economic empowerment and the concepts of resources, agency, and achievements, and the inter-related concepts of power, this article shares the experience of women beauty workers and women cab drivers working on different types of platform models in India. While beauty work is essentially a feminised sector of work in India, ride-hailing is a male-dominated form of work. The analysis is drawn from in-depth interviews with women workers, platform management, and union leaders, among others, to understand struggles and ways of ‘being and doing’ of women workers on platforms. The article presents the different types of platform models – freelance, fixed salary, and hybrid – and the differential impacts of these models on the working conditions of the women in these two sectors. The article then continues to unravel the concept of ‘flexibility and autonomy’, and the precarious nature of work for these different contractual arrangements as well as the implications of algorithmic controls and management on women workers. It eventually highlights that this ‘new’ gig economy contributes to the continuation of the informal nature of work, along with the precarity of the same, which hinders their ability to achieve empowerment.

Cet article adopte le prisme féministe de l’autonomisation économique des femmes et des concepts de ressources, de libre-arbitre et d’accomplissements et des concepts interreliés de pouvoir, pour présenter l’expérience des travailleuses du secteur des soins esthétiques et des femmes chauffeurs de taxi qui travaillent sur différents types de modèles de plateforme en Inde. Si le travail esthétique est essentiellement un secteur féminisé en Inde, les services de taxi sont une forme de travail dominé par les hommes. Cette analyse est tirée d’entretiens approfondis avec des travailleuses, des responsables de plateformes et des leaders de syndicats, entre autres, afin de comprendre les luttes et les façons « d’être et de faire » des femmes travaillant sur ces plateformes. Cet article présente les différents types de modèles de plateforme – freelance, salaire fixe et hybride – et les effets différentiels de ces modèles sur les conditions de travail des femmes dans ces deux secteurs. L’article déchiffre ensuite le concept de « flexibilité et autonomie », et la nature précaire du travail pour ces arrangements contractuels différents, ainsi que les implications des contrôles et de la gestion algorithmiques sur les travailleuses. Enfin, il souligne que cette « nouvelle » économie des petits boulots contribue à perpétuer la nature informelle du travail, ainsi que la précarité de ce dernier, ce qui empêche les travailleuses de parvenir à l’autonomisation.

Utilizando la lente feminista del empoderamiento económico de las mujeres y los conceptos de recursos, agencia y logros, además de los conceptos interrelacionados de poder, este artículo da cuenta de la experiencia de las trabajadoras del sector de la belleza, así como de las taxistas que laboran en diferentes plataformas en la India. En este país, el de la belleza es un sector laboral esencialmente feminizado, mientras que el transporte personal es un ámbito de trabajo dominado por hombres. El análisis se sustenta en entrevistas en profundidad realizadas con trabajadoras, directivos de plataformas y líderes sindicales, entre otros. Dichas entrevistas buscaron comprender las luchas y las formas de ‘ser y hacer’ de trabajadoras que laboran a partir de plataformas. El artículo presenta los diferentes tipos de modelos de plataformas – trabajadoras independientes, salario fijo e híbrido – y los impactos diferenciales que conllevan en las condiciones de trabajo de las mujeres de estos dos sectores. A continuación, el artículo continúa desentrañando el concepto de ‘flexibilidad e independencia’ y la naturaleza precaria del trabajo para estos diferentes acuerdos contractuales, así como las implicaciones que los controles y la gestión algorítmicos suponen para las trabajadoras. Finalmente, destaca que esta ‘nueva’ economía informal contribuye a dar continuidad a la tradicional naturaleza informal del trabajo y a su precariedad, lo que obstaculiza la capacidad de las mujeres para empoderarse.

KEYWORDS:

• Women’s economic empowerment
• women platform workers
• gig economy
• platform work
• informal labour

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to sincerely thank Dr. Uma Rani for her critical comments which shaped this paper and Dr. Shivani Satija for her comments and support for bringing the article to life. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our women respondents, platform representatives, union leaders, and researchers who were part of this research and enriched it by sharing their experiences. A quick acknowledgement to our colleagues at the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) for giving us the space to explore this new domain and giving us constant feedback and encouragement throughout the study. A special mention to our librarian at ISST, Akila Ramesh, for her prompt response in sending us relevant literature for this paper.

Notes

1 Power within: the internal individual capabilities based on knowledge, self-esteem, and sense of entitlement to effect changes in lives; (b) power to: economic decision-making powers at the institutional levels of family, community, and the markets; (c) power over: access and control over material and non-material assets; and (d) power with: the ability to organise with others, or collectivise to effect a change.

2 ‘Resources include not only material resources in the more conventional economic sense, but also the various human and social resources which serve to enhance the ability to exercise choice  …  The second dimension of power relates to agency – the ability to define one’s goals and act upon them. Agency is about more than observable action; it also encompasses the meaning, motivation and purpose which individuals bring to their activity, their sense of agency, or “the power within”’ (Kabeer 1999, 437–8).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (Creating Momentum and Evidence for Gender Transformative Programming and Policies) [grant number OPP1182604]. All the research data underpinning this article can be found within the article. The findings and conclusion in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Anweshaa Ghosh

Anweshaa Ghosh is a feminist social scientist with more than 15 years of experience in development research and practice in India. Her primary work interests include women’s informal labour, digital economy, care economy, and women’s movement building. She has worked extensively with partners in India and South Asia, and has expertise in designing and conducting mixed-methods and qualitative research in the South Asian region. Postal address: Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), UG Floor, Core 6A, India Habitat Center, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003, India. Email: [email protected]

Mubashira Zaidi

Mubashira Zaidi has over 15 years of experience in the field of gender and development. She has contributed to research and analysis in the area of women’s economic empowerment, care economy, and women’s movements and claims-making processes. She is also a doctoral student at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, where she is exploring the existential meaning and value of work for women in the informal sector.

Risha Ramachandran

Risha Ramachandran is a qualitative researcher whose work focuses on the study of gender, work, and mental health from a multi-disciplinary and intersectional approach. She has engaged in research studies analysing how social and political institutions evolve, shape, and interact within the communities. She earlier worked at the Institute of Social Studies Trust as a Research Consultant.