“Happy Holi!”
Renu Sharma greeted me with a warm smile and clasped my hands in both of
hers. She wore two bangles on each wrist, and her hair was pulled back in a
flawless bun. She exuded an air of stress-free coolness — something I failed to
embody amidst the ceaseless honking and 90°F-degree heat in Jaipur,
India. As I slid into the padded backseat of her pink rickshaw, Sharma put on her
sunglasses, started up the engine, and we took off for a heritage tour of
India’s famed “Pink
City.”
As in many Indian cities, getting around Jaipur revolves around rickshaws –
approximately 30,000 of
them.
Of these, the 20 owned by Pink City Rickshaw
Company stand out not only for their
color, but also because they’re the only ones driven by
women.
Initiated in 2017, Pink City Rickshaw Company is a women’s-empowerment
initiative supported by the non-profit organization, ACCESS Development
Services. It employs more than 60 women from low-
and mid-level-income households. Together, they provide 30 to 40 rides a day —
all of which are high-quality city tours and not simply point-to-point services.
Sharma is the chairperson overseeing the day-to-day operations and has been
part of the
initiative since
the beginning.
“I am very happy about this project,” she said through a translator. “Driving
rickshaws improves the economic conditions for these women.”
According to the World Economic
Forum,
India ranks among the lowest countries for even access to economic participation
and opportunities for women. In the private sector, including in the tourism
industry, few women hold decision-making
positions.
For women who also identify with a marginalized community (such as by class,
caste or religion), access to meaningful employment is even more challenging to
achieve.
“In India, women face various barriers that hinder their access to education,
employment and other opportunities,” said Priyanka
Singh,
Planeterra’s community tourism project manager for
the Asia-Pacific region.
Common barriers include social and cultural norms, gender-based violence and
safety concerns, inability to access tourism tools and resources, and limited
access to educational and professional opportunities. Initiatives such as Pink
City Rickshaw intentionally address these barriers and help close this
gap.
“We’re getting a better income than women working in domestic work,” Sharma
said. “Plus, this job takes less time, is more flexible and gives us dignity.”
Tourism is a natural avenue for empowering and employing women, especially since
tourism in India continues to
grow.
“Tourism provides a wide range of employment
opportunities
— including jobs in hospitality, tour guiding, as homestay hosts, running
restaurants, transportation and handicrafts,” Singh said. “By actively
participating, women can access formal employment, generate income and achieve
economic independence.”
Tourism jobs are uniquely situated to offer transferable skills, such as
language learning and customer service, which can be applied beyond the
industry. Additionally, Singh said, “women in India play a crucial role in
conserving and promoting cultural heritage — including traditional crafts,
cuisine and performing arts.”
I experienced this in Delhi, where I spent the morning with Shumayila —
a guide with No Footprints. She led me through
Nizamuddin Basti, a neighborhood densely populated by Sufi Muslims, and
introduced me to women making and selling intricate paper crafts supported by a
cooperative called
Insha-e-Noor.
The initiatives supporting women don’t end there: In Agra, I enjoyed a
casual lunch at a cafe called Sheroes
Hangout — which employs women who
are acid attack survivors. Women With
Wheels, supported by Sakha Consulting
Wings, hires women from “restrictive, resource-poor backgrounds.” At Sunder
Rang in Rajasthan, 30
women belonging to different castes work together on embroidery, sewing, weaving
and beadwork projects.
And in Kerala, Planeterra worked with 10 women to develop a meal experience
for tourists. It was a project that started with a community hall and dream.
“From being a group with zero experience, they are today a group of empowered
women
who have further built their itinerary and confidently receive travelers,” Singh
said. “It is a beautiful case of where not just economic empowerment but also
the social and cultural aspects are being addressed — the celebration of culture
and the power of women-led community experiences.”
Back in Jaipur, Sharma maneuvered the rickshaw through the Ajmeri Gate into
the old city and down streets lined with shops. We stopped for kulfi and then
mango lassi – a refreshing treat to fight the heat. As Sharma and I wound our
way through Jaipur, traffic was particularly bad due to Holi celebrations; yet
she handled the bumper-to-bumper jam like a pro.
At one point, we came to a complete standstill. In the car next to us, the male
driver rolled down his window and asked Sharma for directions. She pointed this
way, then that way — her bangled wrist snaking through the air to indicate where
to go. He thanked her just as a space magically opened in the traffic ahead of
us. Sharma pressed down on the accelerator, and our pink rickshaw continued on
its way.
(Note: Intrepid Travel hosted my
experiences with Pink City Rickshaw Company, a partner of the Intrepid Foundation, and Sheroes Hangout. No Footprints
hosted my Basti Sisterhood tour in Delhi.)
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.
Published Jul 3, 2024 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST