New Delhi, Sep 8 (UNI) The new phenomenon of Gig Economy has empowered and opened up a wealth of opportunity for students, workers and professionals in both male and female category and some 58 per cent of female gig workers surveyed were between 18-35 years old.

Gig, as the name suggests, is a project and Gig Economy Professionals means a professional who works for a specific project within a specific timeframe.

However as per a study conducted by FlexiOrg, a global platform for transparent staffing solution, it has been found that women have been majorly impacted with Gig Work Economy.

The study which surveyed, 2,500 female gig workers in the India, explored the reasons why women have taken gig jobs, the income they make, which jobs are the most popular for women, and the drawbacks of gig work for women, among other issues.

Some 58 per cent of female gig workers surveyed were between 18-35 years old, 30 per cent were 35-50, and 12 per cent were 51-65.

Most were educated, with 88 per cent of female gig workers reported that they had completed at least some college. And 70 per cent said they were the primary caregivers for their family.

In the study, it was found that almost one third, around 33 per cent of female gig workers reported that they are managing their job and gig assignment as well, while 48 per cent left their jobs continued their career as a gig worker as they get equal treatment, flexibility of work and good remuneration on the

basis of assignment.

Twenty-eight per cent needed time to care for a family member. Wanting a career change was the reason cited by 23 per cent of female gig workers and 14 per cent turned to gig work after being laid off. However for female legal workers, that figure is 42 per cent.

Out of the total number of female gig workers, 32 per cent said they took on the work because they wanted to leave more stressful jobs.

A total 63 per cent of female gig workers rely on gig work as their primary source of income.

The study shows that 82 per cent of female gig workers see their jobs as providing an opportunity for equal pay.

The core reason of joining Gig work was flexible hours, no commute, variety of projects to work and more personal time.

Almost 90 per cent female gig workers said they would recommend gig work to a female friend, 57 per cent said they don’t want their children to take gig work, which highlights that these jobs are still far from ideal source of income.

Showing concern over the same issue, Future of Work Strategist, Ajay Sharma, Founder, Flexiorg said the most popular types of Gig Work for women were professional freelance work, direct selling, digital marketing, graphic designing, content management, legal work among others.

Mr Sharma expressed his concern and said as in India, women are underrepresented and paid less than their male peers in the almost every sphere. However, in Gig Economy Profession there is no disparity between male and female.

From India’s perspective, he said that some of the basic social security system needs to be made available to women gig professionals like maternity benefits, health insurance and emotional support system as they work in isolation.

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