The Food Delivery Apps, a Blessing for Women?

Technology could hold the promise of empowering women in reshaping daily practices and traditional gender roles. Digital technologies, such as food delivery apps, can assist women in managing their traditional cooking responsibilities, potentially relieving them from this daily duty, either partly or entirely. This paper examines the effects of food delivery apps on women's daily practices and perceptions, exploring the interconnection between digital technology and female empowerment within patriarchal norms.

India, while generally a traditional society with strong gender role distinctions, is also one of the largest and fastest-growing digital markets globally, including for food delivery services. Thus, an in-depth study in Pune, India, involving twenty-two women, was conducted to observe the dynamic shift in societal norms.

The findings suggest that in a traditional society like India, food delivery apps initially offered a sense of liberation for the women as they artificially relieved them from the daily burden of cooking, sensibly freeing their minds. But cooking responsibilities predominantly remain a female duty. Additionally, these apps tend to originate compulsive behaviors, compromising a certain degree of self-control, and raising questions about the true extent of empowerment promised by digitalization.