Social media, digital commerce and women’s economic participation in Jaipur: Empowerment versus vulnerability

Abstract

Social media and digital commerce offer women new ways to earn, reach customers and develop a public business identity. In Jaipur, these possibilities intersect with craft production, neighbourhood services and enterprises operated from home. However, the ability to advertise online does not necessarily establish economic independence. Earnings may remain insecure, household responsibilities may intensify, and the visibility needed to attract customers may expose sellers to harassment or fraud. This article examines the conditions under which digitally mediated participation can expand women’s choices and the circumstances in which it can reproduce disadvantage. It adopts a qualitative, secondary-source approach, drawing on scholarship on empowerment and intersectionality, official Indian surveys, international reports and Rajasthan policy documents. National statistics are used as contextual evidence rather than estimates of Jaipur’s women entrepreneurs. The analysis distinguishes access to technology, participation in transactions and control over economic outcomes. It considers customer acquisition, payments, pricing, platform dependence, unpaid work, online safety and institutional support. The central argument is that empowerment and vulnerability may develop together within the same enterprise. Digital commerce becomes more empowering when women retain control over accounts and income, receive fair returns for their labour, obtain practical support and can challenge abusive or arbitrary treatment. For Jaipur, the article proposes locally accessible business assistance, shared services, safer platform practices and evaluation based on income quality and agency. Future research should follow women who continue, discontinue or never enter digital commerce, allowing policy to address exclusion as well as visible success.