NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, aiming to increase women’s participation in the gig economy, has suggested several incentives such as tax breaks or startup grants for companies with about one-third of their workforce as women and people with disabilities (PwDs).
“Likewise, a platform with high accessibility or high degree of participation of PwDs too may be rewarded with fiscal incentives,” NITI Aayog mentioned in a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’. The report is based on a survey conducted across India.
The report reveals that female participation in the Indian gig economy is low and has gone up to a maximum of 23 per cent in recent years. Even the participation of people with disabilities has been rather low. “Structural barriers like access to education and lack of skilling have hindered the participation of the two demographic groups in the country’s labour force,” the report said.
The report also says that the gig economy is booming in India and it can go on to become 4.1 per cent of total livelihood, in the next eight years. Since platform work offers flexibility and opportunities for income, the report suggests it can be empowering for many women.
Currently, while platform companies (especially those that offer online work) are creating several job opportunities, they come with gender disparity in terms of hiring and remuneration.
The report also suggests that there should be more women managers in the companies to shatter gender stereotypes and create more opportunities for other women. “To encourage more women, platforms may develop better infrastructure and work design, enhance skill development, asset ownership, access to digital skills and technology, undertake gender sensitisation and accessibility awareness programmes for workers and their families,” Sakshi Khurana, consultant at NITI Aayog’s skill development, labour and employment vertical, and part of the research team for the report, told The Indian Express.
The report further added that gig workers should receive more social security benefits which can be a “critical step in providing assured minimum earnings and social security from income loss in the wake of uncertainty or irregularity in work”.
Since gig workers are not considered employees, they miss out on several benefits such as provident fund savings, paid leaves, insurance cover, etc. “Such plans and policies may be uniquely designed by a firm, in partnership with insurance companies, or could be designed and offered in collaboration with the government, as envisaged under the Code on Social Security, 2020,” NITI Aayog noted in the report.