This paper examines the intersection of algorithmic bias, employment and digital rights as they play out in the Indian context. It argues, first, that AI-related job displacement in India is not gender-neutral: occupations dominated by women, particularly clerical, retail, data-entry and customer-facing roles, are disproportionately exposed to automation and generative AI[1]. Second, it argues that the same digital exclusion that keeps women off the internet also keeps them out of the rooms where AI systems are designed, trained and deployed, producing a loop in which women are simultaneously under-represented as AI's builders and over-exposed as its subjects[2]. Third, it maps how India's evolving digital-rights framework the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the IT Rules addresses, and fails to address, AI-enabled harms such as deepfakes, cyberstalking and non-consensual image manipulation that disproportionately target women[3]. Finally, it surveys India's emerging policy response, including the India AI Mission's gender provisions and the AI Governance Guidelines released in November 2025[4], before setting out recommendations for a more gender-responsive AI ecosystem. The discussion draws on labour statistics, industry and multilateral reports, government documents and case law.
[1] "AI Bias May Worsen Gender Inequality in Jobs: ILO Report," Deccan Chronicle, 19 March 2026.
[2] "AI and Gender Equality," Drishti IAS, 13 February 2023 (citing World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022).
[3] Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2591, answered 11 December 2024.
[4] "AI's Next Test Reaching India's Informal Women Worker," The Hindu, summarised in Superkalam Current Affairs, 28 July 2026.
[1] "AI Bias May Worsen Gender Inequality in Jobs: ILO Report," Deccan Chronicle, 19 March 2026.
[1] "AI and Gender Equality," Drishti IAS, 13 February 2023 (citing World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022).
[1] Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2591, answered 11 December 2024.
[1] "AI's Next Test Reaching India's Informal Women Worker," The Hindu, summarised in Superkalam Current Affairs, 28 July 2026.
[1] World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022, cited in "Have More Women First to Have Multiplier Effect in AI Domain," India AI, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, https://indiaai.gov.in/article/have-more-women-first-to-have-multiplier-effect-in-ai-domain.
[1] "AI's Hidden Gender Fault Line: Why India's Boards Can't Afford to Look Away," BW Businessworld, 22 June 2026, https://www.businessworld.in/article/ai-s-hidden-gender-fault-line-why-india-s-boards-can-t-afford-to-look-away-611322.
[1] "India's Gendered Digital Divide: How the Absence of Digital Access Is Leaving Women Behind," Observer Research Foundation, https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indias-gendered-digital-divide (citing GSMA, Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021).
[1] Vijay Pal Dalmia and Rajat Jain, "The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act)," Vaish Associates Advocates, Mondaq, 20 October 2023.
[1] "Gender and Feminist Considerations in Artificial Intelligence from a Developing-World Perspective, with India as a Case Study," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Nature), 26 January 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01043-5.
[1] "Gender and Feminist Considerations in Artificial Intelligence from a Developing-World Perspective, with India as a Case Study," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Nature), 26 January 2022.
[1] Ibid.
[1] "The AI Gender Equation Driving Inclusive Growth in India's AI Ecosystem," Udaiti Foundation, https://backend.udaiti.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AI-Gender-Equation-Report_compressed.pdf.
[1] "The Default Bias: Why Women's Underrepresentation in AI Is Turning the World Crooked," Sify, 24 February 2026.
[1] "The AI Gender Equation Driving Inclusive Growth in India's AI Ecosystem," Udaiti Foundation.
[1] "Gender Biases within Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT: Evidence, Sources of Biases and Solutions," ScienceDirect, 24 March 2025.
[1] "AI Bias May Worsen Gender Inequality in Jobs: ILO Report," Deccan Chronicle, 19 March 2026.
[1] "AI's Hidden Gender Fault Line: Why India's Boards Can't Afford To Look Away," BW Businessworld, 22 June 2026.
[1] "AI's Next Test Reaching India's Informal Women Worker," The Hindu, summarised in Superkalam Current Affairs, 28 July 2026 (citing Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24 and a 2018 ILO report).
[1] "AI Bias May Worsen Gender Inequality in Jobs: ILO Report," Deccan Chronicle, 19 March 2026.
[1] "AI's Hidden Gender Fault Line: Why India's Boards Can't Afford To Look Away," BW Businessworld, 22 June 2026.
[1] "AI and Gender Equality," Drishti IAS, 13 February 2023 (citing World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022).
[1] "9 out of 10 Women Agree Generative AI Is Crucial for Career Growth, Nasscom Report," Knowledge Hub, Clover Infotech, https://www.cloverinfotech.com/?p=88172 (citing Nasscom and Boston Consulting Group).
[1] "India Lags with 64% Gender Disparity in AI Adoption," GetCoAI (citing Nasscom and Boston Consulting Group, "GenAI: The Diversity Game Changer We Can't Ignore").
[1] Smile Foundation India, blog post, https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/blog/?p=17803.
[1] Ibid.
[1] Ibid.
[1] "AI and Gender Equality," Drishti IAS, 13 February 2023 (citing Nesta).
[1] "AI's Next Test Reaching India's Informal Women Worker," The Hindu, summarised in Superkalam Current Affairs, 28 July 2026.
[1] "India's Gendered Digital Divide: How the Absence of Digital Access Is Leaving Women Behind," Observer Research Foundation (citing GSMA, Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021).
[1] Press Release, "BIF WTISD Celebrations and Responsible AI Innovation Paper Release," Broadband India Forum, 2025 (remarks of Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).
[1] "Internet: The Big Indian Gender Divide," The Tribune, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/spectrum/internet-the-big-indian-gender-divide-737100 (citing GSMA data).
[1] Ibid.
[1] "The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026," GSMA, https://www.gsma.com/gender-gap/; "The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024," GSMA Mobile for Development, 27 May 2026.
[1] "Tackling Social Norms to Reduce the Gender Digital Divide," GSMA Mobile for Development, 5 January 2023.
[1] "India's Gendered Digital Divide: How the Absence of Digital Access Is Leaving Women Behind," Observer Research Foundation.
[1] "Tackling Online Abuse," Drishti IAS.
[1] Vijay Pal Dalmia and Rajat Jain, "The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act)," Vaish Associates Advocates, Mondaq, 20 October 2023.
[1] Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2591, answered 11 December 2024.
[1] "Tackling Online Abuse," Drishti IAS.
[1] "Cyberstalking of Women on Social Media: A Social-Legal Analysis in the Age of AI and New Digital Platforms," Vidhigya: The Journal of Legal Awareness, Vol. 20, Issue 1/2, 2025.
[1] Anubooks, "Social Issues: Trends and Analysis" (chapter on cybercrime against women), https://anubooks.com/uploads/files/17627553291.pdf.
[1] Abha and Pallavi, "Cybercrime Against Women, Cyberstalking, Mass Surveillance, Right to Privacy, National Security, Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, Online Harassment, Revenge Pornography, Image-Based Sexual Abuse, Women's Digital Rights," Anubooks conference proceedings, pp. 205-216.
[1] "Tackling Online Abuse," Drishti IAS.
[1] Aditi Narayani, "Women's Safety in Digital Space," Indian Journal of Public Administration, SAGE Publications, 1 September 2024, DOI: 10.1177/00195561241271513.
[1] Abha and Pallavi, "Cybercrime Against Women, Cyberstalking, Mass Surveillance...," Anubooks conference proceedings.
[1] "Make AI Evolution Inclusive in India," The Pioneer, 2021.
[1] "Information: Safe & Trusted AI," India.gov.in, IndiaAI Mission overview.
[1] Drishti IAS, Mains Practice Question 9014, https://www.drishtiias.com/mains-practice-question/question-9014.
[1] "AI's Next Test Reaching India's Informal Women Worker," The Hindu, summarised in Superkalam Current Affairs, 28 July 2026.
[1] "Casebook on AI and Gender Empowerment, Features, Significance," Vajiram & Ravi, Current Affairs.
[1] "YASHODA AI: Digital Rights on Paper, Barriers in Practice," AIKosh, IndiaAI, Government of India.
[1] Press Release, "BIF WTISD Celebrations and Responsible AI Innovation Paper Release," Broadband India Forum, 2025.
[1] "AI Bias May Worsen Gender Inequality in Jobs: ILO Report," Deccan Chronicle, 19 March 2026.
[1] "AI's Hidden Gender Fault Line: Why India's Boards Can't Afford To Look Away," BW Businessworld, 22 June 2026.
[1] "9 out of 10 Women Agree Generative AI Is Crucial for Career Growth, Nasscom Report," Knowledge Hub, Clover Infotech.
[1] "Cyberstalking of Women on Social Media: A Social-Legal Analysis in the Age of AI and New Digital Platforms," Vidhigya: The Journal of Legal Awareness, Vol. 20, Issue 1/2, 2025.
[1] Anubooks, "Social Issues: Trends and Analysis" (chapter on cybercrime against women).
[1] "The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026," GSMA.
Article DOI: 10.62823/IJEMMASSS/8.3(III).9475
