Abuse on gig economy platforms, such as Uber and Doordash was widely reported to have risen during the pandemic, but new research from the University of British Columbia suggests that women are more likely to brush off such experiences.

The researchers interviewed female gig workers in both the United States and Canada, and found that they would often brush off harassment out of fear that they might lose work. They were also concerned that the safety tools available on the platforms weren’t sufficiently effective.

Gig experience

The participants in the study felt that they faced a disproportionate level of harassment. For instance, some reported being followed to their home and of men refusing to leave the vehicle. The researchers believe that these often stem from the gender agnostic design of the platforms themselves. This results in women often being unsupported, especially in the setting of boundaries with customers.

It’s important for the platforms to tackle this issue, as it is clear that women provide unique values to the platforms. For instance, women passengers often feel considerably safer riding with female drivers, which in turn makes the platform itself seem safer. Few platforms acknowledge such values, however, or indeed provide any means for such match-ups to be made.

The researchers also explain that gigs in domains that are often dominated by men, such as furniture assembly, are often paid more than those that are dominated by women or more equally distributed.

Legitimate stakeholders

The researchers urge platforms to do more to ensure gig workers feel like legitimate stakeholders, especially in the design of the platforms. They shouldn’t ever feel like they’re being exploited for marketing purposes to fulfill some kind of equity and inclusion agenda.

This means being far more alert to the experience of female gig workers and much clearer guidelines on how workers can manage various negative interactions with customers. For instance, highlighting when it’s acceptable to stop delivering the service and having signs in vehicles outlining the platform’s policy on the matter. They might also allow context to be added to any negative reviews so that these are incorporated into allocation algorithms.

It’s clear that much more needs to be done to ensure that platforms are a safe and enjoyable place for female workers to operate, and hopefully this study will go a small way towards making that happen.