Digital Pathways to Empowerment: A Qualitative Study on Technology, Work, and Wellbeing among Women in Urban Informal Settlements of Kolkata

This qualitative study explores how digital technologies shape work, agency, and wellbeing among women living in the informal settlements of Kolkata, India. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 40 married working women engaged in informal or home-based occupations, the study examines how mobile phones, social media, and online platforms influence their economic participation, caregiving practices, and psychosocial experiences. Guided by feminist and intersectional frameworks, the analysis reveals that digital access operates as both an enabler and a constraint. For some women, mobile connectivity facilitates micro-enterprise, digital upskilling, and enhanced decision-making autonomy, offering a sense of empowerment understood across economic, emotional, and relational dimensions. For others, limited digital literacy, gendered control over devices, and algorithmic dependence reinforce existing inequalities and emotional stress. Focus group narratives highlight how women creatively negotiate work-life boundaries by integrating digital tools into daily routines of caregiving and income generation. Yet, these negotiations occur within contexts of poverty, social surveillance, and fragile support systems. The findings underscore that digital empowerment is not a linear process but a dynamic negotiation shaped by intersecting structures of class, gender, and urban precarity. The paper concludes by advocating for community-based digital literacy initiatives, gender-sensitive technology design, and policies that integrate wellbeing and mental health into digital inclusion programs for women in low-income urban communities.