The Role of Women in a Technology-Driven Economy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of the BPO Industry in India

The outbreak of the pandemic has impacted different sectors of the world economy. However, some of the sectors survived despite the crisis. A few sectors were able to survive due to their technology-driven nature and quick adaptability of work approach. Among those sectors is business process outsourcing (BPO). Generally, the BPO industry is considered to be gender balanced with equal opportunity. However, the recent changes have marked a negative impact on the women workforce in this industry. Technology-driven works have challenged the conventional jobs (i.e., teaching and stitching) which women were doing for centuries. Feminist scholars claim that digital works have widened the workspace to a certain degree. As a result, women have been able to enter the workforce in greater numbers in the technology-driven sector since the 1990s in India. The pandemic has become the cause of hindrance to the growth of an already under-represented section of society.The modern form of the economy does not discriminate based on caste, class, religion, race, creed and gender. Studies claim that women were already struggling in the digital economy even before COVID-19. The irony of technology-driven work is that one form of technology learning is not enough in the longer run. The demand for advanced technology and skill learning is the biggest challenge for the women workforce due to their societal and patriarchal norms. Now, the question is whether a neoliberal technology-driven economy gives equal benefits to all. This chapter will analyse the impact of technology on the women workforce during COVID-19 in the context of the BPO industry. This study adopts an ethnographic method for which interviews were conducted during the period of August–December 2020.