Abstract
The rapid rise of the ride-hailing sector with increased digital connectivity coupled with low barriers to entry for workers, flexibility of timings and the promise of inclusivity are opening new avenues for women to participate in the Indian platform economy. However, women continue to be underrepresented as transport providers as much of the debate in the ride-hailing sector centers around women as transport users, and not as transport workers. In this paper, we critically explore the strategies to enhance the participation of women drivers in the ride-hailing sector by conducting 11 in-depth qualitative interviews with the stakeholders such as women taxi drivers, platform providers, NGOs, and policy and research support groups in India. The interviews are supported by carrying out a document analysis of over 50 documents related to the government policies, platform companies, organizations and the policies and references mentioned by the participants. This study builds on the Feminist HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) theory that propose technologies should integrate feminist values such as agency, fulfillment, identity, equity, empowerment, and social justice in the design (Bardzell, 2010). It helps in bringing forth the otherwise neglected sector and advocates for redesigning the ride-hailing platforms in alignment with the marginalized actors.
Presenters
Pallavi BansalAssistant Professor, Times School of Media, Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, India Payal Arora
Associate Professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Ride Hailing Sector, Platform Economy, Feminist Design, Inclusive Design
