Women in the Platform Economy: Descriptive Evidence from Drivers in India and Indonesia

Achyuta Adhvaryu, Levina Adiputri, Valentina Brailovskaya, Priyanka Dua, Jenny Susan John, Pratibha Joshi, Terry Muthahhari, Rivandra Royono and Jack Thunde

No 35467, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We provide descriptive evidence on women's experiences in platform-based driving and delivery work using survey and administrative data from India and Indonesia. Partnering with major two-wheeler platforms, we study representative samples of drivers, oversampling women to examine gender differences (India: 404 women, 2,153 men; Indonesia: 892 women, 2,114 men). Female participation is extremely low -- 0.8% in India and 1.5% in Indonesia -- consistent with barriers related to safety concerns, cultural norms, and limited access to required assets. Among women who do enter, platform work is used differently than by men: women work fewer hours, are more likely to log in during free time, and place greater value on flexibility and supplemental earnings. Women earn less per hour than men -- by 6-8% in India and 8-22% in Indonesia -- differences that align with gendered choices over working times, locations, and service types, likely shaped by safety and domestic constraints. Women also face distinct challenges: higher reported harassment in both countries and, in Indonesia, widespread customer discrimination and higher accident rates. At the same time, a disproportionate share of women were unemployed before joining the platform, and women are more likely than men to report higher current earnings relative to prior work. Together, the evidence highlights how flexibility coexists with persistent gender-specific risks, constraints, and unequal returns in location-based platform work in low- and middle-income country contexts.

JEL-codes: J22 J46 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
Note: DAE LS
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