Women in Outsourced Services and GST: The Intersection of Informality, Invisibility, and Systemic Neglect

Sulochana Kaleyanda Madappa; M Meera

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.73576

Women in Outsourced Services and GST: The Intersection of Informality, Invisibility, and Systemic Neglect

Author(s)	Ms. Sulochana Kaleyanda Madappa, Prof. Dr. M Meera
Country	India
Abstract	Abstract: This paper examines how informality, gender inequality, and tax law shape the impact of India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) on outsourced women workers, with a focus on low-income personnel employed through manpower supply agencies in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Employed through private agencies across government and private institutions, these workers occupy formal spaces but face informal, unstable employment with limited legal protections, social security, or welfare coverage, such as e-Shram. GST, introduced to remove cascading taxes and simplify the system for businesses, has paradoxically increased burdens. Wages are squeezed at the contract stage, and a double tax is extracted from the same base, once at the earning stage through reduced take-home pay and again when spent on household essentials. Women in housekeeping, data entry, attending, gardening, lift operation, and security roles face income and time poverty, juggling long shifts and unpaid care responsibilities while enduring exploitation. Drawing on wage calculations, field interviews, and legal-policy analysis, the study situates Karnataka’s case within broader research by NCEUS, ILO, and WIEGO, highlighting the invisibility of informal women workers in India and globally. The paper advocates gender-sensitive fiscal planning for outsourced service workers, mandating payment of at least the prescribed minimum wages and calling for strict enforcement of wage and overtime norms to ensure that taxation policy, labour law, and social equity function in alignment. Further, it emphasises the need for regular policy checks to ensure that input tax credit benefits are not retained by employers or manufacturers but are passed on through better wages, price reductions, and improved affordability for end-users. In an increasingly uncertain global climate, aligning taxation with social justice is more critical than ever.
Keywords	Outsourced workers, Livelihood insecurity, Goods and Services Tax, Informal economy, Gendered labour, Time poverty, Double taxation, Social protection, Administrative neglect
Field	Sociology > Economics
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-04-05
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.73576

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Women in Outsourced Services and GST: The Intersection of Informality, Invisibility, and Systemic Neglect

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