Impact of Pluralism on Shared Economies

India boasts of a young and vibrant population with about 35% of them in the age group of 15-24. Around 50% of the population between age groups of 16-64 is actively employed.Census of India 2011 states that about 139 million individuals moved internally (intra-state or inter-state) across India. The youth presented a dominant group comprising 12 million in the age group of 20-29 , migrating in search of better employment and education. Essentially, since mobility is high, the will for asset ownership is low. The need for‘on-the-go services’ and a trend for fast consumerism makes millennials resonate with the idea of sharing services. Ride-hailing services, clothing rentals, app-based task agents, shared work and living spaces and food delivery services have successfully captured the imagination of the young and the restless.

Incidentally, India is also an admixture of diverse religious, caste, tribal and linguistic groups. This milieu, when played out in the scenario of shared spaces, leads to minor ripples of disruption.The gig economies operate on shared resources andare driven entirely by profit motives with scant regard for their customers beliefs. In a heterogenous country like India, incidents of bias keep making news from time to time. For instance, a customer cancelled his order on food-delivery app Zomato after being assigned a non-Hindu delivery person. There have also been issues where Hindu employees have refused to deliver beef and Muslim delivery persons objected to handling pork-based orders.

The nature of these apps and their products makes segregation on partisan lines extremely difficult. Similar issues have also cropped with Swiggy, another food delivery service. The food preferences stem from religious and cultural practices among Indians, whereas most of these apps are designed to be typically secular and indifferent to religious dogmas. Segregating employees and food on communal lines is not acceptable parlance in such services.

Co-living spaces include a kitchen, living room and other facilities that are shared with residents in the complex. They’re designed with the intent of fostering community interactions by way of communal events and spaces. Contrary to other rental spaces governed by landlords, the residents here are not screened based on their religion or caste, neither are eating preferences of the occupants a matter of concern for these companies. In co-working spaces as well, there is no visible trend of separation among social groups and the common kitchen does not cater to customary cooking habits.

Drivers from ride-hailing apps are trained to be apathetic to the identity of those being driven around. Air BnBis a service that lets homeowners rent their houses to short-term residents and travelers. As a part of its policy, ABB affirms its commitment to inclusion and respect for all genders, castes, races , religions, colors , sexual orientations , colors and ethnicities . However ,  there have been incidents reflecting the hosts intolerance to certain religious groups, sexual orientations and eating practices.

While shared economies are positive disturbances to bigotry and prejudices, they also give unfettered access to an individual’s personal data, leaving them more vulnerable to discrimination. Platform economies operate in grey areas when it comes to regulation and privacy protection is rarely implicit in their scheme of operation. The industry is still in its nascent stage and has a long way to go to overcome challenges of inclusion and diversity. Another aspect that remains to be seen is how a pluralistic society like India adapts to dispassionate delivery of services, one that disregards their distinct identity.These companies offering shared goods and service in their respective policiesare affirmative in building an inclusive and non-discriminatory workplace, but they must also in all their endeavors reflect high regards for ethics. The industry is redefining workplaces and community relationships.However, a lot will depend on consumers willing to inculcate similar values and shelving aside parochial tendencies.