The gig economy – which sees Uber-style platforms link workers to the purchasers of their services – is growing globally. Policy players from the World Bank to the European Parliament have lauded platforms for their role in creating jobs – including for women, who are often excluded from labour markets. Gig economy platforms tell a similar story, claiming they offer women flexible work, allowing them to balance employment with caring responsibilities such as childcare.
Supporting women to manage disproportionate childcare load is welcome – globally, women are held responsible for unpaid care, carrying out three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men do. But as new research from the Overseas Development Institute shows, the gig economy is not necessarily living up to its promise to tackle care inequalities and support women’s work-family balance.
We looked at workers’ experiences of platforms offering services such as home cleaning, ride-sharing, beauty and massage services and home maintenance in Kenya and South Africa, finding in both countries that managing childcare continues to pose significant difficulties to many women workers.
