Women from tier-2 cities dominate in gig economy: Report

Women have opened the doors of financial freedom and self-sufficiency for themselves by seizing all opportunities and choosing job roles that were dominated by their male counterparts until now.

An upsurge is seen in the participation of women from tier-2 cities in the gig economy, according to a report. Jobs and professional networking platform 'Apna' highlighted that there was a 34% increase in the number of women taking up delivery, drivers, factory workers, and lab technicians jobs.

Besides, the platform underscored that there was a 67% growth in job applications from women for part-time jobs and a 34% rise in full-time jobs. More women applied for night shifts, the job platform added. "There has also been an increase in the number of women applying for night shifts, to the tune of a whopping 60%," the report stated.

In 2022, Apna witnessed more than 3.1 crore professional conversations among women from Tier 1, tier 2, and beyond cities with an overall 36% year-on-year rise in women users on the platform.

Further, an analysis of the data from the platform showed that companies like Paytm, Zomato, Rapido, and Swiggy, among others, were the top companies that posted maximum jobs for women to diversify workplaces.

As many as one lakh women applied for jobs in delivery services platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and others between January and December 2022, Apna told Mint. Among the one lakh applications, demand for the telecaller category was high among women.

At present, women staff in Rapido comprises 43,236 while Zomato's female headcount stands at 29,623, and Swiggy's at 23,120, respectively, according to Apna.

Women from tier 2 cities have been enthusiastically participating to be a part of the workforce. Cities like Chandigarh and Lucknow topped the list in terms of the highest number of job applications received from women across tier 2 cities with a 71% and a 55% YoY increase in the year 2022, respectively. Most job applications from women were received in categories like telecalling, BPO, and back office, the report added. In 2022, women from tier-2 and beyond cities engaged in about one crore professional conversations on the platform.

Manas Singh, Chief Business Officer, apna. co, said, "2022 has demonstrated that female users are not just looking for jobs out of necessity but to be financially independent, and to create their own identities in the increasingly competitive job market".