Artificial Intelligence for the Growth of Women’s Workforce Participation in India: A Way Forward to Eliminate Gender Stereotype in the Work

The social structural basis of gender inequality in different societies of the world has varied impacts on the women’s participation in work. Industrial economy and technological advancement are not free from gender stereotypes and gender inequality. Indian society is traditionally maintaining the strict norms of gendered division of labour. Socio-culturally, women in Indian society are assigned the role of domestic affairs and men act as bread earners of family. In course of time, a significant shift has become visible in the participation of women in a diverse workforce. Despite that gender stereotypes are attached to the nature of work men and women do. Even in the era of digitalization, the general perception is that industrial, technological, scientific and other tough jobs are for men and domestic core and non-technical jobs are for women. Sociological discourse on the social construction of gender is apt to understand this gender stereotype of work.

AI offers gender-neutral work that needs knowledge and skill. Women can take up the role of specialized professionals in tech-industry, service industry, digital entrepreneurship and so on. Women can also perform work from home. It can offer significant opportunity to women, who faces societal barrier of travelling to workplace away from home. AI-powered digital entrepreneurship is one such work avenue, which can potentially increase women’s workforce participation. The study aims to examine the opportunity of AI powered digital entrepreneurship for women artisan-cum-entrepreneurs of Assam (state of India). Qualitative and quantitate methods will be applied to study the intersectionality of AI powered work and women in Assam.