New Delhi: India’s digital economy is growing–contributing 11.7 percent to the country’s GDP and projected to exceed 20 percent by 2030–but a new report warns that women remain largely on the sidelines of this transformation.
The report, ‘Decoded: Women and the Future of Digital Work in India,’ published by Krea University’s research centre LEAD in collaboration with The/Nudge Institute was released 13 November at Charcha 2025, an annual gathering of India’s social development sector.
The event brings together Sarkar (government leaders), Samaaj (civil society groups) and Bazaar (private sector) to “chart India’s roadmap to Viksit Bharat”.
The report was released in one of the sessions of the three-day event, ‘Women in the Loop: Shaping the AI Economy’, the official pre-summit event of the India AI Summit 2026.
The report highlights that women constitute only about one-fifth of India’s digital workforce, and very few hold leadership or decision-making roles in technology and data-driven sectors.
The gender digital divide continues to be stark with only 48.4 percent of rural women owning mobile phones compared to 80.7 percent of men. Just 37 percent of women use mobile internet.
Women & digital work landscape
Even though new forms of work have opened up, women remain largely concentrated in low-value and routine roles, according to the report.
Women account for around 28 percent of gig workers in India, mostly engaged in sectors such as beauty, caregiving and domestic services. In the growing AI and data value chain, women make up 40-50 percent of entry-level workers in AI-focused business process outsourcing firms, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Yet, wage inequality persists. Women earn about 82 percent of what men earn for the same tasks, the report says, reflecting enduring gender disparities in pay and progression.
The report classified India’s digital work landscape into three key segments.
The first, Digitally-Augmented Livelihoods, covers traditional jobs where women use digital tools to improve their work, such as self-help group members using mobile payments or farmers accessing AI-based crop advice.
The second, Digitally-Enabled Work, includes app-based and frontline roles in sectors like healthcare, education, and finance, where digital tools are central to coordination and service delivery.
The third, Digitally-Embedded Work, comprises jobs that exist entirely because of digital technologies, such as data annotation, content moderation, and AI model training, and is driving India’s new digital labour economy.
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Increasing participation
The report identified several factors that can enable more inclusive participation. Remote and hybrid work models, it notes, have been particularly empowering for women, offering flexibility to balance paid work with care responsibilities.
According to the report, women-led networks and community-based digital hubs have also played a crucial role in building digital confidence and peer learning. Organisations that invest in supportive measures such as childcare facilities, safe transportation, and mentorship programmes have reported higher retention and advancement rates among women in digital roles.
However, persistent barriers continue to hold back progress. Limited access to devices and poor digital literacy prevent many women from moving beyond basic participation.
Deep-rooted social norms, mobility constraints, and unpaid care burdens, like taking care of the family, further limit women’s ability to pursue and sustain digital employment.
The report warned that women face risks from unclear or opaque algorithms, informal work contracts, and exposure to harmful or disturbing material while doing online moderation jobs. These issues can cause both emotional stress and financial insecurity for women working in the digital space.
Safe digital infra
To bridge the digital divide, the report outlines a set of policy and ecosystem recommendations. It calls for “gender-intentional” digital skilling programmes that range from foundational to advanced levels, ensuring that women are not confined to low-skill tasks.
Expanding safe and affordable digital infrastructure, including access to devices, reliable connectivity, and local-language content, is described as essential for inclusive growth.
The report urges stronger trust and safety mechanisms to combat online harassment, fraud, and content-related risks. It also advocates inclusive design in AI and data ecosystems to ensure fair pay and recognition for women workers, as well as the integration of childcare and transport support into digital work models to sustain participation.
ThePrint is a media partner for charcha, organised by the*spark forum.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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