Bangalore, 2 August 2024: Red Dot Foundation (RDF), in collaboration with Swiggy, has launched a learning initiative to build awareness around gender biases and sexual harassment among Swiggy’s delivery partners. This partnership marks a significant step towards creating a safer and more inclusive society.
While many organizations and governments have started addressing gender bias and sexual harassment, this is an industry-first initiative for gig workers whose number is expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30*.
As India strides towards the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, the goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls remains paramount. However, recent reports such as the Global Gender Gap Index and the UNDP report on gender bias highlight the substantial challenges that persist. In the rapidly expanding gig economy, gaps in understanding, education, and action with regard to issues like gender bias and sexual harassment are sometimes pronounced, and addressing them is crucial for fostering an inclusive environment.
Swiggy and RDF have stepped up to understand and improve the current awareness levels among gig workers by partnering through the Safecity Initiative.
Mihir Rajesh Shah, Head of Operations, Swiggy said, “Swiggy has consistently prioritised fostering a safe and inclusive environment for our delivery partners, with industry-first initiatives like period time off, a sexual harassment policy for women delivery partners, and the Swiggy Skills program. Sexual harassment and gender bias are important subjects to understand in every society and we hope that through the right training and awareness, our delivery partners can identify and act upon such instances.”
Supreet K Singh, Co-Founder & CEO, Red Dot Foundation said, “We will train more than 4 lakh Swiggy delivery partners on understanding and recognising gender-based violence around them, knowing the redressal mechanism, and provide them with the Safecity platform to report anonymously. Considering that they are in public spaces during and in between deliveries, they can be active bystanders and share their knowledge with someone in need. No knowledge is worth it unless it leads to action that helps resolve a problem. Through this collaboration, we hope to empower Swiggy’s delivery partners to become change agents for society.”
Under the Safecity Initiative, Swiggy and RDF have developed comprehensive video training modules for delivery partners that include topics such as the definition of sexual harassment, relevant laws, prevention strategies, and identifying unconscious bias. The training also includes a practical guide on using the Safecity app to report harassment incidents and how reporting incidents makes a difference in society. Accessible in multiple languages, these videos will ensure Swiggy’s delivery partners can understand and apply their knowledge effectively, thus bridging the awareness gap.
Thomas Henry, L&D Head, Swiggy said, “At Swiggy, we are committed to addressing gender bias and sexual harassment by enhancing our educational initiatives and using our digital platforms to raise awareness. Our specially designed learning modules empower our delivery partners to identify and address such issues, fostering a safe and respectful community. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone is valued and protected”.
“Since May ’24, more than ten thousand delivery partners have watched these videos in the app. Additionally, 6000+ delivery partners have watched these on the YouTube channels. A post-survey has also been conducted with them to gauge movement in the awareness levels.” Shubham prasad, Project lead, Swiggy. Those delivery partners who interact with the course, are more aware of gender biases and sexual harassment. They are better equipped to help someone in these situations and know how to use the Safecity platform to report such incidents.
About Red Dot Foundation:
Red Dot Foundation (www.reddotfoundation.in) was created in response to the horrific gang rape of Jyoti Singh in 2012. It is a United Nations ECOSOC-accredited non-profit that works on gender equity, safety and justice. Safecity is its flagship program. Safecity (https://webapp.safecity.in/) is a mobile and web platform that crowdsources personal stories of sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. Its data, which can be anonymous, gets aggregated as hot spots on a map indicating trends at a local level. The strategy is to make this data useful for individuals, communities, and local governments to identify factors that lead to violence and to improve public safety. Red Dot Foundation aims to make cities safer by encouraging equal access to public and private spaces for everyone, especially women and girls, through the use of education, advocacy, crowdsourced data, community engagement and institutional accountability.
About Swiggy:
Swiggy is India’s pioneering on-demand convenience platform, catering to millions of consumers each month. Founded in 2014, its mission is to elevate the quality of life for the urban consumer by offering unparalleled convenience. With an extensive footprint in food delivery, Swiggy Food collaborates with nearly 2 lakh restaurants across 600+ cities. Swiggy Instamart, its quick commerce platform operating in 25+ cities, delivers groceries and other essentials across 20+ categories in 10 minutes. Fueled by a commitment to innovation, Swiggy continually incubates and integrates new services like Swiggy Dineout and Swiggy Genie into its multi-service app. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and Swiggy One, the country’s only membership program offering benefits across food, quick commerce, dining out, and pick-up and drop services, Swiggy aims to provide a superior experience to its consumers. For more information, visit www.swiggy.com
For more information, please write to cryschelle@reddotfoundation.org
