The current wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has left our country gasping. Our hospitals are operating under dire situations and patients are struggling to get hold of required oxygen. India urgently needs oxygen concentrators to save thousands of lives.



<a href="https://www.feedingindia.org/donate/help-save-my-india?review_id=oxygen">Feeding India</a>, Zomato’s not-for-profit, has initiated an endeavour in association with<a href="https://twitter.com/delhivery"> </a><a href="https://www.delhivery.com/setup-business/?utm_source=google&#x26;utm_medium=cpc&#x26;utm_campaign=lt_br&#x26;adgroup_id=122952140787&#x26;campaign_id=1845681793&#x26;Keyword=delhi%20very&#x26;placement=&#x26;gclid=Cj0KCQjwppSEBhCGARIsANIs4p6Un9tPZCXEcN7fgfrXod_JeMomBmOW1hsToNlCRDygLUcEo282e04aAhF6EALw_wcB">Delhivery</a> to fulfil this gap. Within a few hours of launching the campaign, we have been able to raise ₹12.5Cr of our ₹50Cr goal.



What is ‘India Needs Oxygen’?



As a part of this endeavour, we are providing hospitals and patients with oxygen concentrators and related supplies. 



How will your donations be used?



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>We are purchasing and distributing oxygen concentrators in collaboration with our logistics partner Delhivery</li><li>Every rupee you donate will go towards supporting hospitals and patients in need</li></ul>



Who can contribute?



Anyone and everyone. One oxygen concentrator can save five lives every day<s>, and a 10L concentrator costs approx ₹35,000 on average</s>*. We need your help to raise ₹50 crores to procure oxygen concentrators** for our country immediately and save hundreds of thousands of lives. This is the need of the hour for thousands of Covid patients.



Please donate using <a href="https://www.feedingindia.org/donate">this link</a>. You can also spread the word by sharing a WhatsApp message as below:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Our country is facing an acute shortage of oxygen, and that puts our lives at risk. Help save India by contributing towards Feeding India by Zomato’s initiative *India Needs Oxygen* as they provide hospitals with much-needed oxygen and other supplies. It needs your support! 🙏🏻 *Use this link to donate – <a href="https://zoma.to/oxygen"></a><a href="http://zomato.com/oxygen">zomato.com/oxygen</a>* Please forward to as many people as you can.</blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
*Cost of Oxygen Concentrators depend upon capacity, medical-grade, delivery timelines, logistics, and distribution costs.



**Number of Concentrators procured will depend on the factors mentioned above.



<hr class="wp-block-separator">
</div></div>



Startups and companies, if you want to join hands, please reach me at d@zomato.com, or write to the team at contact@feedingindia.org

The current wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has left our country gasping. Our hospitals are operating under dire situations and patients are struggling to get hold of required oxygen. India urgently needs oxygen concentrators to save thousands of lives.



<a href="https://www.feedingindia.org/donate/help-save-my-india?review_id=oxygen">Feeding India</a>, Zomato’s not-for-profit, has initiated an endeavour in association with<a href="https://twitter.com/delhivery"> </a><a href="https://www.delhivery.com/setup-business/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=lt_br&amp;adgroup_id=122952140787&amp;campaign_id=1845681793&amp;Keyword=delhi%20very&amp;placement=&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwppSEBhCGARIsANIs4p6Un9tPZCXEcN7fgfrXod_JeMomBmOW1hsToNlCRDygLUcEo282e04aAhF6EALw_wcB">Delhivery</a> to fulfil this gap. Within a few hours of launching the campaign, we have been able to raise ₹12.5Cr of our ₹50Cr goal.



What is ‘India Needs Oxygen’?



As a part of this endeavour, we are providing hospitals and patients with oxygen concentrators and related supplies.&nbsp;



How will your donations be used?



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>We are purchasing and distributing oxygen concentrators in collaboration with our logistics partner Delhivery</li><li>Every rupee you donate will go towards supporting hospitals and patients in need</li></ul>



Who can contribute?



Anyone and everyone. One oxygen concentrator can save five lives every day<s>, and a 10L concentrator costs approx ₹35,000 on average</s>*. We need your help to raise ₹50 crores to procure oxygen concentrators** for our country immediately and save hundreds of thousands of lives. This is the need of the hour for thousands of Covid patients.



Please donate using <a href="https://www.feedingindia.org/donate">this link</a>. You can also spread the word by sharing a WhatsApp message as below:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Our country is facing an acute shortage of oxygen, and that puts our lives at risk. Help save India by contributing towards Feeding India by Zomato&#8217;s initiative *India Needs Oxygen* as they provide hospitals with much-needed oxygen and other supplies. It needs your support! 🙏🏻 *Use this link to donate – <a href="https://zoma.to/oxygen"></a><a href="http://zomato.com/oxygen">zomato.com/oxygen</a>* Please forward to as many people as you can.</blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
*Cost of Oxygen Concentrators depend upon capacity, medical-grade, delivery timelines, logistics, and distribution costs.



**Number of Concentrators procured will depend on the factors mentioned above.



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />
</div></div>



Startups and companies, if you want to join hands, please reach me at d@zomato.com, or write to the team at contact@feedingindia.org

India Needs Oxygen

At Zomato, the well-being of the delivery partners is the cornerstone of our commitment to create a sustainable, responsible and inclusive business.



Over the years, Zomato has successfully launched multiple initiatives to enhance the well-being of delivery partners including the ‘Shelter Project’, emergency ambulance systems, real-time weather notifications, a facility to file income taxes and facilitation of EV renting services, maternity benefits, amongst others.



Today, we are launching a comprehensive delivery partner well-being framework &#8211; covering their social, financial, physical, mental and professional well-being.



We’ve developed this framework through a year-long process of detailed discussions and interactions with thousands of delivery partners across the country. We have also received inputs from worker rights research organizations and experts including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dasraus.org/social-compact.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Social Compact</a>&nbsp;and members of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.janpahal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jan Pahal</a>. We believe it is not only relevant to our context, but also exhaustive and practical for other gig worker- based platforms in India.



The framework encompasses five key areas of well-being: financial, social, physical, mental and professional. These areas are supported by nine elements, including payouts and earnings, order delivery experience, grievance redressal, health and safety, financial inclusion and security, assets (t-shirts, bags, etc.), diversity and respect, knowledge acquisition, and growth and retention.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="365" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=640%2C365&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-14172" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=1024%2C584&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=300%2C171&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=768%2C438&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=1536%2C876&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=2048%2C1168&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=1200%2C684&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?resize=1568%2C894&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blog-Slide.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></div>


Each element is further divided into multiple sub-elements for more detailed assessment for the well-being of the delivery partners. For example, the &#8220;payouts and earnings&#8221; element includes sub-elements such as timeliness of payout, seamless access to tips, and support for other delivery expenses like charging and fuel costs through collaborations with third party(ies).



We believe that this framework can be adopted by gig work-based platforms to evaluate their delivery partner well-being initiatives through a holistic yardstick. We hope that more platforms use this and as an industry we are collectively able to elevate the standards of well-being for delivery partners in India.



To view the framework with all the elements and sub-elements please <a href="https://zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DP-Well-Being-Press-Release.pdf" data-type="link" data-id="https://zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DP-Well-Being-Press-Release.pdf">click here</a>.

Delivery Partner Well-being – Introducing a framework to guide our efforts

At Zomato, we’re committed to building an inclusive world by sharing our learnings from our own experiences with creating a diverse workforce in our company and value chain. In our <a href="https://blog.zomato.com/the-business-benefits-of-having-more-women-working-in-warehouses">previous diversity dialogue</a>, we talked about the business benefits of having women in warehouses and dark stores. This one is dedicated to our learnings from an 18 month long journey of onboarding over 400 Persons with Disabilities onto Zomato’s platform as delivery partners.



Delivering food and livelihoods: The role of gig work in empowering PwDs



India has over 26.8 million<a href="#cb58586b-1eae-40d6-aa9f-4346277d5962" id="cb58586b-1eae-40d6-aa9f-4346277d5962-link">1</a> people living with disabilities, 31%<a href="#cdddbfe6-a937-45d3-bb3f-a7435ee43b66" id="cdddbfe6-a937-45d3-bb3f-a7435ee43b66-link">2</a> of whom reside in urban cities. Despite supportive laws and policies, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is at a shocking 64%. Thus, dignified employment and livelihood opportunities remains a key challenge for persons with disabilities in India. Platforms like Zomato offer flexible earning opportunities with minimal barriers to entry. At present, anyone with a PAN card, knowledge of using a smartphone and riding a two wheeler can undertake deliveries and onboard themselves with Zomato as a delivery partner.



In December 2022, Project ZEAL was launched (Zomato’s Equitable Action for Livelihood) to explore if gig-based delivery work could offer livelihood opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. As on 31 March 2024, 400+ persons with locomotor disabilities, mostly wheelchair users, were onboarded on Zomato as delivery partners. These delivery partners have completed more than 6 lakh food delivery orders traveling over 15 lakh kms in 50 cities of India such as New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Agra and Lucknow.



Making the impossible possible: Through technology, commitment and sheer self-belief



Project ZEAL was conceived in collaboration with <a href="https://www.neomotion.in/">Neomotion Assistive Solutions Private Limited</a>, an IIT Madras incubated start-up that creates life transformative products for persons with locomotor disabilities and the elderly. They provide personalized wheelchairs ‘NeoFly’ as well as a motor-powered clip-on ‘NeoBolt’ which converts the NeoFly into a safe driving vehicle.



While Neomotion’s vehicles solved for the issue of mobility, Zomato also worked to reduce other barriers to entry including waiving onboarding fees, establishing a system to register wheelchairs separately and assigning wheelchair users only short-distance food order deliveries.



In addition, for every food order assigned to a wheelchair user, customers and restaurant partners are notified via the app that their delivery partner has special needs and are encouraged to lend a helping hand in handing over/ collecting their order from the delivery partner.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="360" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-13720" style="width:677px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?resize=1568%2C882&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?w=1999&amp;ssl=1 1999w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image1.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></div>


Wide-ranging impact



Initially launched as a pilot, the scale and variety of impact from project ZEAL has completely surpassed expectations. Zomato engaged Pacta as its research partner to study the impacts of Project ZEAL from a multi stakeholder lens



Impact on delivery partners



Impact on finances: Enabling independence through earnings Due to scarce opportunities, persons with disabilities often resort to taking up earning opportunities that do not provide much stability or security. Associating with Zomato not only provides the opportunity to earn but working flexibly leaves room for rest and rejuvenation.



When interviewed, many delivery partners expressed that:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Working as delivery partners has enabled them to earn after a long break or for the first time.</li>



<li>Zomato offered them a higher earning potential compared to the other opportunities available to them.</li>



<li>The instances of discrimination on grounds of their disability were very low.</li>
</ul>



A delivery partner spoke about the shift in their life post onboarding with Zomato, “Now I feel like I’ve got a new life. Zomato has given me an opportunity where I can proudly talk about my earnings with family and friends.



Impact on social life: From isolation and loneliness to friendships and communities For ZEAL delivery partners, the opportunities for social interaction have increased multifold with both professional and personal benefits.&nbsp;Delivering food comes with multiple stakeholder interactions &#8211; restaurants, customers and fellow delivery partners. These stakeholders often offer encouragement and support that makes ZEAL delivery partners feel seen and appreciated. The ability to step out of their homes motivates delivery partners to travel independently, engage and build a community of friends.



Impact on both physical and mental wellbeing: A shift in the quality of life NeoMotion’s customized wheelchairs allow for better physical comfort and lower strain, despite travel on bumpy roads. With their improved finances, ZEAL delivery partners are not only able to fulfill their basic needs but also go the extra mile in supporting their families. The increased social interactions have also helped partners fight loneliness and self doubt, harboring within these individuals for several years. With improved financial, health and social conditions, the overall quality of life for ZEAL delivery partners has seen an improvement.



Fiza, a ZEAL delivery partner from Bangalore, who has challenged multiple stereotypes says “I was not working before, this is my first working experience, it feels really good. Earlier I used to stay home and it impacted my mental health. I feel fresh and liberated as I step out. My mother often used to worry about my well-being, but I had the confidence and I tried onboarding with Zomato as a delivery partner. People are very supportive too. When customers see me, they encourage me to carry on my journey. I have stepped out after 11 years. I pay my own bills now.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="386" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=640%2C386&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-13724" style="width:674px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=1024%2C618&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=300%2C181&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=768%2C464&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=1536%2C927&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?resize=1568%2C947&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?w=1999&amp;ssl=1 1999w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image3.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></div>


Impact on customers



Many customers who have interacted with ZEAL delivery partners while collecting their food orders have expressed profound appreciation for the latter’s resilience. Customers are surprised and often overwhelmed that their order has been delivered by someone with locomotor disability, overcoming both societal and infrastructural challenges. Many customers often take to social media to express their thoughts, and offer words of encouragement to ZEAL delivery partners. People on the streets appreciate, interact with and take photos with ZEAL delivery partners, making delivery partners feel seen and instilling a sense of achievement.



The project has helped break stereotypes about disability for customers. For many, it is the first time they have seen a person with disabilities as a contributing member of the workforce. Customer ratings, an indicator of customer satisfaction, are also high for ZEAL delivery partners &#8211; ranging between 4.5 to 5 stars.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="448" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=640%2C448&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-13767" style="width:654px;height:auto" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=1024%2C717&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=300%2C210&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=768%2C538&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=1536%2C1076&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?resize=1568%2C1098&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?w=1928&amp;ssl=1 1928w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-14-at-11.05.24%E2%80%AFAM-1.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></div>


<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"></figure>



 Impact on the ecosystem of organizations working on disability



Zomato and Neomotion&#8217;s collaboration has galvanized the ecosystem of charitable organizations working across different aspects of disability, to directly and indirectly support livelihoods for persons with disabilities.&nbsp; Civil society organizations have come forward to provide grant funding to help individuals purchase the NeoMotion wheelchair, some provide accessible residential accommodation and developmental support to ZEAL delivery partners, and others provide coverage of their food and living expenses. Project ZEAL has helped to&nbsp; successfully unlock CSR and philanthropic funds for the cause of disability.



Learnings and key challenges



Allyship for new-onboards Shortly after launching Project ZEAL, we realized that while many delivery partners had completed the onboarding process, they remained hesitant to start making deliveries. To address this challenge, we allowed new ZEAL delivery partners to shadow existing delivery partners, providing them with first hand experience and guidance. Additionally, we scheduled daily check-in and motivational calls from the Zomato team to offer support and encouragement to the new delivery partners, helping alleviate their concerns and boost their confidence. Stakeholder sensitisation Disability sensitisation proved to be an integral part of establishing an inclusive environment for people with disabilities in our fleet. We learnt that the discomfort in interacting with people with disability is based on lack of knowledge and stereotypes. Internally, we organized sensitisation and awareness sessions for fleet coaches which enabled them to have healthier interactions with our ZEAL partners and understand their requirements better. Awareness and sensitisation of staff at restaurants and customers is equally important. We ensured both restaurants and customers were notified about the delivery partners&#8217; disability and encouraged them to extend their support to the delivery partners.



Advocacy for accessibility of built environment The city-infrastructure that the delivery partners navigate has not been fully built from an inclusive perspective, making it additionally difficult for delivery partners to do what may be perceived as “ordinary”. For greater inclusion we need to collectively advocate to make physical accessibility mandatory across our public and private infrastructure.



Diversified funding sources required for inclusion Funding from government and domestic philanthropic sources remains a challenge in the disability sector. High quality assistive technologies today are far out of reach of people with limited means including millions of persons with disabilities. While the technology for Project ZEAL is currently funded by different charitable organizations and CSR funds, to achieve a scale, the goal is to be able to attract new sources of fundings/ finance for Project ZEAL.



Way ahead Zomato is committed to growing Project ZEAL to 1000 delivery partners by the end of 2024 and creating an inclusive last-mile deliveries ecosystem that welcomes and supports people with disabilities. We welcome enquiries from organizations that seek to learn from our journey or contribute to making it possible for more PwDs to get on boarded as delivery partners: ProjectZEAL@zomato.com



In March 2024, <a href="https://www.pacta.in/">Pacta</a>, a law firm and policy think tank pursuing rigorous research on bridging gaps in implementation of laws and policy was engaged as a research partner to evaluate the one-year impact of Project ZEAL and identify pathways for scaling the participation of persons with disabilities in gig work. The above dialogue is an excerpt of PACTA’s detailed analysis with multiple stakeholders. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the CSR partners and stakeholders for supporting this research and making Project ZEAL a success.


<ol class="wp-block-footnotes"><li id="cb58586b-1eae-40d6-aa9f-4346277d5962"><a href="https://www.nhfdc.nic.in/upload/nhfdc/Persons_Disabilities_31mar21.pdf">https://www.nhfdc.nic.in/upload/nhfdc/Persons_Disabilities_31mar21.pdf</a> <a href="#cb58586b-1eae-40d6-aa9f-4346277d5962-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 1">↩︎</a></li><li id="cdddbfe6-a937-45d3-bb3f-a7435ee43b66"><a href="https://www.nhfdc.nic.in/upload/nhfdc/Persons_Disabilities_31mar21.pdf">https://www.nhfdc.nic.in/upload/nhfdc/Persons_Disabilities_31mar21.pdf</a> <a href="#cdddbfe6-a937-45d3-bb3f-a7435ee43b66-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 2">↩︎</a></li></ol>

Diversity Dialogue II –  Building an Inclusive Fleet: Insights from Zomato’s Equitable Action for Livelihood

We want to make Zomato a place that provides equitable access to opportunities for all genders. We want to be a sustainable company that the nation, and equally importantly, our parents will be proud of, in how we help in creating a better society. As part of this effort, we have been introducing more women workers into different parts of our business, so our efforts at creating meaningful opportunities for women do not stop within the confines of our offices.



We have already onboarded over 2,000 women delivery partners into our food delivery fleet and will continue to work hard to multiply that number. Another crucial area where we see opportunity to create roles for women is in our warehouses and dark stores, housed within our Hyperpure and Blinkit businesses. Here are some learnings as we start introducing women workers into supply chain jobs at these facilities &#8211;&nbsp; What we’re learning about gender diversity in our warehouses and dark stores



Both the Blinkit and Hyperpure businesses rely on workers in roles such as loading, unloading, picking, sorting, grading, security and housekeeping. However, the proportion of women across our warehouse and dark store facilities is currently low (&lt;5%).&nbsp;



We initiated a pilot at two of our Delhi and Mumbai warehouses and a dark store in Delhi to learn about the impact of having more women on the shopfloor, the targets we could feasibly set and investments required to make the warehouse/store environment more conducive for women. 



We onboarded 46 women in total &#8211; about 15% of the warehouse day shift workforce and 40% of the dark store workforce &#8211; and here are some business benefits we experienced in 2 months &#8211;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Women improved the metrics around handling products within stores and warehouses



We witnessed that women workers were much more careful with respect to handling perishable categories of products like eggs, fruits and vegetables. In both warehouse locations, complaints raised against orders handled by women were ~16% less than men<a href="#849c86ea-e1a0-45fd-a28a-051852666674" id="849c86ea-e1a0-45fd-a28a-051852666674-link">1</a>. Warehouse managers also highlighted that women workers paid great attention to detail and set high-quality standards for sorting and grading, especially for fresh produce. Women take fewer unplanned leaves



In dark stores, women took less than half the unplanned leaves than men took<a href="#1ec4fe67-68ef-4098-a4e1-bffd399fbeac" id="1ec4fe67-68ef-4098-a4e1-bffd399fbeac-link">2</a>. Unplanned leaves affect existing distribution of tasks among workers and hampers store productivity.



Women have lower attrition rates than men



In locations that were accessible by public transport, it was observed that no woman left within the first 15 days of joining<a href="#0ef84582-f685-495d-ad79-664ade62d30b" id="0ef84582-f685-495d-ad79-664ade62d30b-link">3</a>. This could be as much behavioural as a reflection on the availability of opportunities.



Women demonstrate higher productivity across a variety of roles&nbsp;



In a business that runs on hyper efficient operations, time is money. In our dark store pilot, women took ~ 28% less time than men to process orders as a result of being faster at responding, picking and billing<a href="#e238ca55-262c-4c7b-93d7-b6041552709c" id="e238ca55-262c-4c7b-93d7-b6041552709c-link">4</a>. In warehouses, when women were engaged in a variety of tasks, instead of being confined to working in a specific section, they demonstrated productivity gains in the range of 5-11% in tasks like sorting and grading.



Women significantly impact the working environment, positively



Managers across all pilot locations pointed out that the culture of the facility improved post deployment of women. These cultural improvements included improved language at the facility, fewer altercations, and higher levels of cleanliness and hygiene.



“Women keep their working environment clean and hygienic.”



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Warehouse Manager, Mumbai</li>
</ul>



—&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;



“Since the time I started working here, I have grown as a leader. I like helping out the other women here and together we have made a community where we can help and inspire each other.”



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Hina, 30 years, mother of a 10-year old who works as a picker in our Delhi facility</li>
</ul>



—&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;



Challenges we are focusing on overcoming



Planning for and maintaining additional female washrooms&nbsp;



Provisioning for additional washrooms for women is less of an issue in our warehouses as they have a lot more space for amenities. For smaller facilities, such as dark stores, we have begun planning for these in advance to enable onboarding of women. 



Providing dedicated transport to encourage better women&#8217;s participation in roles outside city centres



We have begun providing transport for women for select warehouses in outskirts of the city and have found onboarding to be much easier. In one location, we were able to onboard 75% more women than we were before. Provision of transportation also significantly improves the perceived safety associated with the opportunity.



Ideally, women need someone of their own gender to approach for support at workplace



Several women workers face challenges with expressing their desire to work and explaining their work to their families. This is in line with larger studies published by our workforce diversity programme partners <a href="https://www.fsg.org/initiatives-programs/growing-livelihood-opportunities-for-women/">FSG GLOW</a>, that show, while 1 in 2 women wish to work, 84% women need to secure family&#8217;s permission beforehand and most families prefer women don’t work at all.  During our pilot, a female packer and Master&#8217;s student in Delhi, who was uncomfortable telling her family she was also working, preferred to say she was going out to study. When the course she was enrolled in ended, she had to leave. 



To address this cultural reality, we’re ensuring that HR managers, management team and executives at warehouses include a mix of men and women. We believe women workers will find it easier to approach women managers for support and guidance, before they are forced to leave due to family pressure or other concerns.



Inclusion training for managers and workers beyond mandatory POSH training



While FSG’s research shows that women are willing to work in male-dominated environments, the on ground imbalance requires regular reinforcement of the fact that warehouses provide a safe and inclusive working environment where women’s voices are also respected. We are planning inclusion programmes, beyond mandatory training, at both manager and worker levels addressing common biases and behaviours that can come in the way of our objectives.&nbsp;



The way forward



The pilot has helped address key questions for us &#8211; the impact of having more women working in our facilities and the hard and soft infrastructure elements we need to invest in to facilitate their onboarding. The results show that women demonstrate the ability to perform many warehouse/store tasks at par or better than men. The key investments that need to be made &#8211; provisioning for and maintaining hygienic washroom facilities, providing transport for selected locations and inclusion training for managers can, potentially, be recovered over time.



We aim to reach a target of 20% women in our warehousing operations in 2024. We believe our commitment to get this agenda right, coupled with India’s vast pool of inspiring women, like Hina, will help us meet our goals, like many of our orders, before time.



We are committed to ensuring we have more women at the table, shaping the future of every business we are in today – online ordering, food and grocery deliveries, and ideating for those we will be in tomorrow.&nbsp;



Stay tuned for more diversity dialogues from Zomato.


<ol class="wp-block-footnotes"><li id="849c86ea-e1a0-45fd-a28a-051852666674">Data valid for complaints in April – May 2023 <a href="#849c86ea-e1a0-45fd-a28a-051852666674-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 1">↩︎</a></li><li id="1ec4fe67-68ef-4098-a4e1-bffd399fbeac">Data valid for 31st May 2023 – 6th August 2023. <a href="#1ec4fe67-68ef-4098-a4e1-bffd399fbeac-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 2">↩︎</a></li><li id="0ef84582-f685-495d-ad79-664ade62d30b">Data represents all workers who joined between 1st April 2023 and 15th May 2023. <a href="#0ef84582-f685-495d-ad79-664ade62d30b-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 3">↩︎</a></li><li id="e238ca55-262c-4c7b-93d7-b6041552709c">This includes assign to start time &#8211; billing time. <a href="#e238ca55-262c-4c7b-93d7-b6041552709c-link" aria-label="Jump to footnote reference 4">↩︎</a></li></ol>

The business benefits of having more women working in warehouses and dark stores

We are excited to launch the ‘Tips for the kitchen staff’ feature on our platform that now allows our customers to show appreciation for the food our restaurant partners prepare for them, every time they order. At Zomato, we understand that a lot of hard work, skill, and creativity goes behind preparing food, and we keep asking ourselves &#8211; how can we motivate not just the restaurants but also their kitchen staff to continue working their magic. And to motivate them, we have introduced ‘Tips for the kitchen staff’. With this feature, customers can tip the restaurant’s kitchen staff &#8211; the wonderful chefs, cleaning staff, helpers, etc. as a way of appreciation. This new feature will enrich the food ordering and delivery experience for both our restaurant partners and customers.&nbsp;



Building on the success of a 2018 initiative that allows customers to tip delivery partners, this is a similar initiative which is introduced based on inputs from Zomato’s restaurant partner network. The introduction of ‘Tips for the kitchen staff’ feature enables the customers to seamlessly express gratitude for their food deliveries, an option that was limited to traditional dining-in experience until now.



As a customer, what are the options I have to tip?



For a seamless customer experience, customers are asked if they would like to tip the restaurant’s kitchen staff after they have rated their order 4 or 5 stars. Customers also have the option to tip the restaurant kitchen staff from the live order tracking page after placing the order.&nbsp;



We recognize that the customers are used to paying a service charge in terms of % of their order value. Therefore, on the platform you will find the option to tip the kitchen staff in % ranging from 3% to 10% of your item value. However, if you do not want to select from one of the pre defined % slabs, you can also enter any amount of your choice up to a maximum cap.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/LTsnm_Uhg36IVVJCU0WooEOd_N3aixGc0J_WUIVbqsrqK8ITINHTJ0BMiVMflLpvfvyicSsnXT45ITp2JiTP5gpW25Y6lM27Bzyi3UpvZfbIpZOdyvRN7JCCBr7rQWdWhb-my7jviSdtdUECTXFyFWI" alt=""/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/0k5MAc6rleG1eJetHQsRK-GhRZMBLB6HciXePb9ZArueWEhKwvakNkg42KNQJ6bta5H4WKSOxbV_3dyC_iFMrEPLBE8m_yX_W82yH0YzBd33bJ8MVPfVxghSqdrgBsUYNy7WrS4H4hfm9fUbGU8aDV8" alt=""/></figure>



How do the restaurants receive tips?



The entire tip amount that customers pay is credited to restaurants (after any tax deductions, if applicable) to be distributed among their staff. Zomato does not keep any commissions out of the tip amount and it is passed through 100%. Our restaurant partners can keep a track of tips in their weekly payouts and statement of account on the merchant app or web dashboard.



If you are from the restaurant management, we ask you to sign a pledge to distribute the entire amount among your staff, should you be keen to be included in the program! This feature is now live on our platform and we are truly looking forward to providing an elevated food ordering and delivery experience to both our customers and restaurant partners!&nbsp;



The team that made it all possible&nbsp;



We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the team that made it all possible in a small amount of time &#8211; Prateek from the design team and Ritick, Satyaprakash, Ishika, Rishabh, Devang, Saksham, Tanishq, Dilip. Special mention to Rana &#8211; our engineering rock star for seamlessly ensuring collaboration between multiple teams such as billing tech, merchant tech, consumer tech, iOS and Android to launch this update.



The next time you love something you order from your favorite restaurant, thank the team behind the scenes in a way that motivates them a lot. With a tip!

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