Women’s (im)mobility strategies and digital platform adoption: the case study of employees doing desk work in Pune, India

Abstract

This paper investigates the shift in (im)mobility through the digitalization of practices, based on the views of women working in a multinational IT company in Pune, India. The digital phenomenon, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, influences all areas of society, pushing forward the online economy and transforming daily strategies by facilitating mobility and enabling immobility. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 digitally active female participants to determine the role of digital tools in transforming their daily planning strategy, and in motivating their (im)mobility decision. The results demonstrated that the evolution of commuting practices and the adoption of digital platform solutions, as seen by the women themselves, were closely related to their desire for comfortable mobility implying time control and optimization to better complete professional and household duties. The task of driving appeared to be the main avoidance due to inevitable hectic traffic, favoring the use of taxis or company cabs presuming financial status. A preference was given to work from home, and basically to immobility as mobility was regarded as time-consuming. Overall, these digitally privileged women carried out diverse (im)mobility strategies according to their perceptions and multiple structural factors.