South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics

Women’s labour force participation in India remains persistently low, shaped not only by limited employment opportunities but also by the unequal distribution of unpaid domestic and caregiving work. This study examines the role of women-led platform entrepreneurship in promoting an inclusive labour market by addressing the care burden and enhancing female labour force participation. It asks how digital transformation has enabled platform entrepreneurship, how platform entrepreneurship shapes women’s entry and terms of participation, whether platform entrepreneurship accommodates, relieves or intensifies care, how it relates to inclusive growth, and what constraints limit these outcomes. The paper adopts a conceptual and analytical approach, drawing on existing literature and descriptive analysis of Time Use Survey (TUS), 2024. It compares gender differences in participation and average time spent per participant in employment, unpaid domestic and caregiving activities across sixteen major states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The findings indicate that the gender gap is associated with unequal allocation of unpaid work as much as with differential access to employment, with notable variation across states. The analysis argues that platform entrepreneurship may alter the conditions of women’s income-generating work rather than eliminate care burden. Flexibility in timing and location may benefit caregivers, yet may coexist with income insecurity, unequal working conditions and limited social protection,the flexibility paradox. Key constraints include digital, financial, market and enterprise barriers, time poverty, platform vulnerabilities, restrictive gender norms and limited support networks. The study concludes that employment-focused policies are insufficient without recognising, reducing and redistributing unpaid care work, and that linking digital access with finance, skills, markets, social protection and care support, tailored regionally, is essential for inclusive participation.

Although the Time Use Survey 2024 captures gender differences in participation and time use across states, it does not separately identify women platform entrepreneurs, so the links between platform work and care burden are inferred rather than directly measured.