Ride-hailing boost for women: In India’s major cities, half a million more to join workforce by 2028

The study reflects how ride-hailing services have become a vital vehicle for women to access the workforce or move up the ladder to achieve financial independence and makes projections about how:

• Access to mobility could increase female workforce by over 6% by 2028 in India’s top 5 cities
• With ride-hailing boost to women – over half a million more women will join workforce in these cities
• This bump up could result in a boost to the size of cities’ economies by over 1%

Appreciating the initiative and focusing on the need for further work in ride hailing sector, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs Smriti Irani said, “It helps that organizations such as Uber recognize or understand better, not only the challenges related to women’s participation in workforce, but the opportunities at the grassroots level. We have 55% of our GDP’s contribution from service sector; there is a lot that is happening at the grassroot, which can get serviced or supported by initiatives such as yours”.

VIDEO | "Today, we have released our report, a joint effort with Oxford Economics, on the impact of ride-hailing in creating economic opportunities for women. This report utilises proprietary data from our user base and combines it with qualitative research conducted by an… pic.twitter.com/zruSOqGXl4

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 14, 2023

Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia said, “Greater women’s participation in the workforce is vital for India to realise its economic potential. This research by Oxford Economics highlights how a lack of safe, reliable commuting options are preventing women from working outside the home. I’m heartened to see how Uber and other ride hailing options are helping solve this ‘gender commute gap’ by providing women a safe and convenient option to get to work, whether directly or to their nearest mass transit station. Uber is proud to help Indian women take part in the country’s economic success story – today and in the future.”

Bali Kaur Sodhi, Lead Economist, Oxford Economics said, “Women around the world still participate less than men in paid work. The issue is not that women are less educated or less qualified; it largely reflects the fact that women still take the burden of household and care work, especially in emerging markets. This report gives an evidence-based policy recommendation for adoption of technology in helping remove mobility barriers for women to enter the workforce or move up in their careers.

The research report also draws from a survey conducted across five Indian cities. In partnership with Uber, Oxford Economics conducted a survey of Uber riders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the ride-hailing behaviours of women and men across five cities in India—Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. It reveals interesting insights into the impact of ride-hailing on women’s workforce participation:

• Joining the Workforce: Four out of 10 working women riders agreed that ride-hailing enabled them to join the workforce, helping women overcome some of the key barriers to participation.
• Work-Family Balance: Half of the working women surveyed felt that ride-hailing was a crucial factor in helping them strike a balance between work and family responsibilities, providing them with the flexibility they needed.
• Safety as a Priority: A staggering 75% of women who used ride-hailing to commute to work cited safety as a primary reason. This reflects the critical role ride-hailing plays in ensuring safe and secure transportation options for women.
• Access to Opportunities: One in three working women riders agreed that ride-hailing enabled them to access a wider pool of suitable work opportunities, broadening their horizons and career prospects.

Women in Indian cities have lower labour force participation rates than their global peers. Compared with a worldwide female labour force participation rate of 47% in 2022, the figure for India was just 37%. As per the report, the two biggest challenges to women’s mobility are a lack of access to safe transport and the current imbalance in their work-family arrangements.

Commissioned by Uber –  Oxford Economics, an independent global advisory firm, has authored the report which illuminates the important subject of women’s participation in the workforce and offers a glimpse into the potential economic benefits to the individuals and the larger economy that can be realized by 2028. To estimate the economic benefits from increasing access to ride-hailing, Oxford Economics was given access to anonymised and aggregated proprietary data from Uber.