Gendered Inequality on Digital Labour Platforms in the Global South: Towards a Freedom-Based Inclusion

Part 1: Digital Platforms International audience The gig economy promises flexible work arrangements and decent income, but it currently maintains a gender gap in employment. This paper analyses how gig platform work exacerbates gender inequalities experienced by women gig workers in the global South. The paper argues that the digital nature of these platforms not only accelerates the already existing inequalities outside of digital platforms, but also compromises the freedom of women on these platforms. Through the lens intersectionality, the paper contributes a philosophical lens on the notions of freedom through an empirical study. Fifteen (n = 15) female gig workers who use a digital cleaning gig platform were interviewed in Cape Town, South Africa. The main research question is: How does the intersectionality of race, gender and class for black female gig workers affect their freedom and compromise human dignity. The paper proposes a freedom-based inclusion for human dignity in digital platform-driven gig economy.