Paper short abstract:

The paper brings a feminist lens to understanding the effects of the platform economy on women workers, using the case of domestic workers in India. It explores effects on access to decent (platformised) work, worker-employer relationships, and collective bargaining.

Paper long abstract:

Women workers in India’s informal economy have been significantly impacted by the recent digitalisation of the economy, altering how they access markets, obtain information, communicate, and organise collectively. Digital platforms are reshaping the process of collectivisation, influencing who participates, how they engage, and the outcomes of such efforts.

While emerging research on the platform economy primarily examines gig-based work, such as delivery and cab-hailing services, the platformisation of feminised domestic work remains under-explored. Consequently, women’s experiences of the digital economy are largely absent from current discourse. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining women domestic workers’ access to digital platforms, with a focus on the digital gender divide. It further investigates how platforms are reshaping workers’ experiences of domestic work—both in terms of income and broader working conditions—as well as their identity and legitimacy as workers.

This comparative study analyses two groups of domestic workers: those affiliated with cooperatives or unions and those who remain unaffiliated. By comparing these groups, the paper explores how collectivisation and social dialogue have been transformed within the platform economy, particularly for women workers.

Grounded in qualitative research methods, this paper applies a Fraserian framework to examine how digital platforms operationalise the ideals of social justice for domestic workers. Specifically, it focuses on the dimensions of redistribution and recognition, offering critical insights into the pathways for informal women workers to achieving social justice, in the new platform economy in India.