Gender Digital Divide in India: Impacting Women’s Participation in the Labour Market

Abstract

Digital technology and globalization has brought in a sea change in the landscape of work with increasing access to work, information, newer production hubs, etc. In India, there had been significant strides in digital intervention through Digital India initiative, Aadhaar (unique identity number), JAM, ICT initiatives to enhance women’s economic autonomy, newer production structure, digital transactions, etc. In the labour market in India, however, most of the workers are informal workers. Women are either self-employed (mostly unpaid family workers) or casual workers, working mostly at the lower rung of the occupational ladder as agricultural labourers, petty traders, manufacturing outworkers, etc. In this context, the paper explores whether women can leverage the opportunities, be it trade or manufacturing or financial services, created by digital transformation. The study argues that differences in access along with factors like inequality in education and professional training, access to finance, asset holding, etc. lead to gender digital divide, restricting the transformational effects that digital technologies are creating. Women are typically employed at the last end of the value chains or occupational chain and bereft of any social security and in survivalist state, rather than growing. The paper suggests a set of policies so that women in India are a part of and benefit from the digital dividends.