Fairwork’s 2023 Gender and Platform Work report is based on research into working conditions on online platforms spanning four years, 38 countries, over 190 unique platforms, and interviews with more than 5000 platform workers. It finds that:

• Commonplace practices in the platform economy—such as failing to guarantee a living wage, safe working conditions, and failing to tackle gender-based discrimination—risk widening the gender pay gap, reducing workforce participation rates of women and cementing gender inequality.

• Though many women and gender minorities want to participate in location-based digital platform work (such as delivery and ride-hailing), few feel they can do so because of entrenched gender-based discrimination, harassment, and abuse.

• Women’s participation in the platform economy is highly visible in beauty, care, and domestic work. Historically, this kind of “feminised” work has taken place within private homes. Yet many platforms fail to successfully account for and fully monetise this work, leading to workers conducting unpaid work, and being inadequately protected from workplace harassment and abuse.

• When confronted with deep-seated social issues like gender discrimination, many platforms deploy technological solutions such as unilaterally banning female workers from doing perceived ‘unsafe jobs’ and working at night, as well as subjecting them to intrusive and uncompensated surveillance measures to monitor their work. These quick-fix technical solutions can decrease earnings and increase platform control, while doing little to keep workers safe or providing them with ownership over their work.

The report concludes that platforms need to be more responsive to women and gender minorities. At a minimum, they should formally consult worker associations and institutionalise measures such as conducting client ID checks and allowing workers to rate and flag clients as well as appeal bad reviews left on the platform about them. Fairwork’s principles—fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation—are a guide for how platforms can do better.