Women's Day 2021: Three female gig economy workers on what their jobs mean for them

India has one of the highest numbers of gig workers in the world, a byproduct of its booming consumer internet economy. This Women's Day, Moneycontrol brings you the story of three women who braved the odds and are part of the gig economy today: An Uber driver, an e-commerce delivery worker for Amazon and Flipkart, and a Swiggy delivery partner. For them, this is more than a job. It is a source of empowerment, financial independence, and security.

Seema Gupta

All of 29, Gupta has seen her life go upside down following a failed marriage. From day one, she was harassed for dowry by her in-laws. The situation worsened to an extent where they tried to burn her by pouring kerosene oil. A heavily pregnant Gupta managed to somehow escape and file a police complaint. She stayed at her parents' house for the next two years where she gave birth to her son. Soon, her parents started forcing her to return to her husband’s house. However she was determined that she won't risk her as well as her son's life by returning. She then left her parents’ house and got a place to stay with her baby.

Her tryst with driving began in 2015 when she enrolled for driving lessons through an NGO, Azaad Foundation. She started off by driving for the Delhi women helpline 181 for three years and then joined Uber for better opportunities. She rides across Delhi-NCR, preferably during the day time so that she can give time to her child by the evening. The domestic violence case against her husband and in-laws is under litigation for which she has to visit the court regularly.

In the last three years, she said she has never faced any major road rage but whenever there has been any dispute, the cops are just a call away. Gupta dials the driver's customer care line of Uber that quickly connects her to the cops. In a conversation with Moneycontrol she said that the domestic violence against her had started after her father had refused to meet the in-laws demand for a car. Ironically, Gupta bought a Hyundai Accent two years ago with her own income. "If only my husband was responsible enough, buying a car for us would have never been a big deal," she says.

Kiran Thakur

Not all men are alike. Take Kiran's father, for example. A farmer, he chose to stay back in his village near Muradabad to look after his fields, sending his wife and daughters to Delhi for better education.

Thakur, 21, works with e-commerce service provider Even Cargo that delivers products for Amazon and Flipkart among other companies.  On an average she tries to deliver 20 packets a day. She takes home around Rs 12,000 and is taking care of the household expenses along with her mother who works as a cook in private houses. In a conversation, she told Moneycontrol that during the lockdown when her mother had lost almost all her clients, due to the COVID scare, she took care of the entire house expense single-handedly. E-commerce was one of the few sectors which got benefitted following the pandemic and the lockdown given that people couldn't step out of their houses for a long time. It helped companies like Even Cargo whose order volume spiked like never before during that period.

Currently, Thakur spends most of her salary in paying the rent of the house which is Rs 4,000, her younger sister's education and other household expenses. Her father visits them every few days. Currently, Thakur is trying to save a little money to buy a laptop for her sister because she believes it will help her study better.

Dipa Singh

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a huge blow to Dipa Singh's household in Kolkata. 29-year old Dipa, a mother of a 6-year-old girl, stared at an uncertain future as her husband lost his job amid COVID-induced layoffs. Her small business, where she used to sell assorted items for women door to door, had also wound up by then as sales were down.

Through a contact, Dipa learnt about food-delivery app Swiggy and joined its delivery fleet in March 2020. She says her day typically starts at 8 am and ends at 5 pm. Her husband stayed at home to take care of their daughter while Dipa worked at a busy pace, as contactless food delivery began to see a pick up after the initial fears duirng the lockdown. Things are beginning to look up on the home front as well, as Dipa's husband too secured a job in Swiggy a few months ago. What dish does Dipa like ordering online? Pat comes the answer- Biryani!