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Information Technology for Development

Author ORCID Identifier

Huê-Tâm Jamme: 0000-0003-3659-51920000-0002-3065-5388

Gregory F. Randolph: 0000-0003-3659-51920000-0003-3659-5192

Abstract

The platform economy has been promoted by development institutions as an empowerment pathway for women, based on the assumption that it enables women to participate in the labor market while sustaining their role as caregivers. We investigate this claim critically within the field of ICT4D. Specifically, our goal is to identify whether and how the platform economy offers a pathway for women to expand their capabilities. We conducted a survey (N=130) and in-depth interviews (N=72) with women working on digital platforms in Cambodia and Thailand. We use descriptive statistics to summarize empowerment scale measures, and thematic analysis within Nussbaum’s capabilities framework to examine the mechanisms linking platform work with women’s capabilities. Our findings show some benefits of working in the platform economy, including an increase in women’s digital skills and self-confidence. However, women’s capabilities are circumscribed by two gendered dimensions of platform economy work that we identify as the ‘intermittent shift’ and the ‘digital ceiling.’ General features of the platform economy – labor supply that outstrips demand, the capital investment required to stand out in a saturated online marketplace, and the lack of career progression – not only hinder its capacity to deliver economic security, but reinforce disadvantages women face in entrepreneurship, thus creating a ‘digital ceiling.’ Additionally, due to gendered demands on their time, many women squeeze platform economy work into tiny fragments of their day. While this flexibility initially appears as an advantage of platform work, in reality the ‘intermittent shift’ is inadequate for growing a business with meaningful revenue. These mutually reinforcing dynamics of the platform economy cast doubt on its potential to empower women.

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