Woman on the road

ZEITY Azrina, a 37 year old mum, has been delivering with ShopeeFood since Dec last year.

She is one of over 100 female riders employed by the company to deliver food in the Klang Valley and Johor Bahru while more opportunities are in the pipeline.

"I started doing food delivery in 2020 with another food delivery company before joining ShopeeFood in Dec 2021. I enjoy meeting people and like to explore different parts of the cities and being a delivery rider provides me with a chance to do both," says Zeity.

Zeity and others like her are part of ShopeeFood's goal of creating a gender-equal working environment, especially given International Women's Day 2022.

Although this is a male-dominated industry, Zeity feels female riders are treated equal to males. She has never been belittled or pressured by peers or merchants in this line of work.

"In earlier days customers might find it shocking to see a female delivery rider sending their food, but we are all good now," she says.

But with every job comes a set of challenges and the same applies to those in the food delivery industry.

Unpredictable weather, traffic, road conditions and road safety are some of the daily challenges faced by a food delivery rider.

Zeity says fulfilling an order in bad weather is challenging and they often have to be extra careful on the road to navigate their way to customers' houses.

She is thankful to have a supportive family that helps take care of her child while she is at work.

"My family keeps me going. Working as a rider gives me the flexibility to plan my work days which is very important to me. Every day, when I head out to work, I set a target that I need to reach and I look forward to meeting that target so I can go home and spend time with my child," she adds.

Zeity has always believed that women are strong in their own way and if something makes them happy, they should keep doing it.

"Sometimes, people ask me, why do I do this job? It involves long hours and the weather can be quite nasty. My answer will always be - why not? No one should ever dictate what you can or cannot do."

In conjunction with Women's Day, ShopeeFood is inviting users to participate in a special campaign. Simply mention a female figure that inspires you the most and explain why. The contest runs until March 10. Ten lucky winners will stand a chance to walk away with RM20 ShopeeFood vouchers.

For more info on how to join the contest, visit: https://www.facebook.com/ShopeeFoodMY/ or https://www.instagram.com/shopeefood_my/

meera@mediaprima.com.my