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Women remain under-represented in India's platform economy despite near parity in bank-account ownership, as digital capability and credit-access gaps persist

Auhona Mukherjee 4 min read Last Updated : Aug 24 2026 | 11:07 PM IST

Women remain significantly underrepresented in India’s growing platform economy despite the country having virtually closed the gender gap in basic bank account ownership, with gaps in digital financial capability and access to credit continuing to constrain their participation, according to a joint policy brief by the International Labour Organization and National Council of Applied Economic Research, released on Monday.

The report said India’s platform workforce rose from an estimated 7.7 million in 2020 to 12 million in 2024-25 and is expected to reach 23.5 million by 2029-30. Yet women remain largely absent from location-based platform work such as delivery and ride-hailing. In one study cited by the report, women accounted for less than 1 per cent of two-wheeler delivery drivers in urban India.

The brief said this underrepresentation persists even as the traditional gender gap in access to formal bank accounts has almost disappeared. The share of women with an account at a bank or similar financial institution rose from 43 per cent in 2014 to 89 per cent in 2024, while the corresponding share for men rose from 62 per cent to 88 per cent.

“The principal constraint facing women has consequently shifted from whether they possess a formal account to whether they can use financial services actively, independently and effectively.

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