Gig Economy and Women Empowerment: How Platforms Reshape Female Work

A gig is one task, paid by the task. It is not a monthly job. Food delivery, cab rides and home services are the usual examples.

What do the legal terms mean?

• The Code on Social Security, 2020 is the first central law to define these terms.
• A gig worker works outside a traditional employer-employee relationship. The worker earns from such work.
• A platform worker does gig work through an online platform.
• An aggregator is a digital intermediary. It connects a buyer with a service provider.

What is a simple example?

• A rider takes orders through a food app. The app is the aggregator. The rider is a platform worker and also a gig worker.
• This is only an illustration.

What is the common misconception?

• Some students treat the two terms as the same. Every platform worker is a gig worker. The reverse is not always true.

NITI Aayog made the first official estimate in 2022. It counted gig workers using both main and side jobs.

What are the numbers?

• About 6.8 million gig workers in 2019-20.
• About 7.7 million in 2020-21. That was 2.6% of the non-farm workforce.
• A projected 23.5 million by 2029-30. That would be 6.7% of the non-farm workforce.
• About 47% of gig work is in medium-skill jobs.

Is the work formal?

• NITI found that 82.5% of gig workers were in informal work relations in 2019-20.

Women’s labour force participation in India is low. NITI Aayog put it between 16% and 23%. Platforms offer a way in.

What are the gains?

• Platforms give flexible hours. Women can fit work around home duties.
• Workers can earn from assets they already have, when and where they choose.
• NITI found women more likely to take platform jobs after education and marriage.
• This runs against the usual trend. Many married women leave work.

What is a simple example?

• A woman tutors online for two hours after the children sleep. Her earnings reach her own bank account.
• This is only an illustration.

The same flexibility can hide weak protection. Access is also uneven.

What are the barriers?

• Phones: NITI cited a 2021 report by GSMA, the global body of mobile phone operators. Only 25% of women owned smartphones, against 41% of men.
• Fewer women in delivery and taxi work. NITI said these sectors are largely male. Worldwide, women are under 10% of their workers.
• Safety on routes and at customers’ homes remains a worry.
• Thin protection: being on e-Shram, the government’s national database of unorganised workers, brings no minimum wage, paid leave or notice before removal.

What is the common misconception?

• Some think flexible work means secure work. Flexibility is not the same as protection.

Central help came in steps. A Budget promise came first. A law and rules followed.

What happened in 2025?

• The Budget of 2025-26 announced e-Shram registration, identity cards and health cover under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) for platform workers.
• In March 2025 the Labour Ministry asked platform workers to register on e-Shram.

What does the Code say now?

• The Code on Social Security, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025.
• Section 114 sets the aggregator’s share at 1% to 2% of annual turnover. It is capped at 5% of what the aggregator pays workers.
• Chapter IX lets the government make schemes. These can include maternity benefits.
• The Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 were notified on 8 May 2026.
• A worker needs 90 days with one aggregator, or 120 days across several, in the previous year.

What is still missing?

• The start date and rate of the aggregator share were not notified at the time of writing.

States moved before the Centre. Rajasthan led in 2023.

Which states have laws?

• Rajasthan, 2023: the first state law. Its welfare board must have at least one-third women among nominated members.
• Karnataka, 2025: its Act was notified on 12 September 2025. The welfare fee is 1% to 5% of the payout in each transaction.
• Bihar, 2025: passed its law the same year.
• Telangana, 2026: the Assembly passed its Bill on 30 March 2026. It plans a 1-2% levy on transactions. The fund would pay insurance, pension and maternity benefits.

What is a simple example?

• A rider in Jaipur falls under Rajasthan’s law. A rider in Kolkata falls under the central Code alone.
• This is only an illustration.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) asked this in the Mains. Use a balanced answer.

What did UPSC ask?

• UPSC asked this in Civil Services Mains (CSM) 2021, General Studies Paper I (GS-I), Question 10.
• The question: “Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India.”
• It carried 10 marks and a 150-word limit.

How do you answer in 150 words?

• Define gig work in one line.
• Give two gains: flexibility and own income.
• Give two limits: digital gaps and weak protection.
• Close with the Code on Social Security and the state laws.

What else may come?

• Which Act defines a gig worker? Code on Social Security, 2020.
• Which state passed the first gig law? Rajasthan, 2023.

Five slips are common on this topic.

What are the traps?

• One-sided answer: the question asks for the role. Show gains and limits.
• Women as majority: fewer women than men work in app taxi and delivery.
• Rajasthan for the Centre: Rajasthan’s law is a state law. The Code is central.
• Old status: the Code is now in force. It came into force on 21 November 2025.
• Fund running: the aggregator share had no notified rate or start date.

How do you remember it?

• Use this line: gain, gap, Code, states.