Flexible for whom? The hidden inequalities behind women’s work in gig economy

Flexible for whom? The hidden inequalities behind women’s work in gig economy

By Shraddha Pratapa and Manisha Dhulipala Every morning at 7-00 am, Rehana logs into the Urban Company app, hopeful the algorithm will finally send her a job. Most days, she waits. Hours pass with no notifications. When a job finally arrives, it’s often miles from home, barely covers her commute, and ends with a poor rating—this time the client didn’t like her accent. Rehana is told she’s an entrepreneur, a flexible “partner” in charge of her sc…

Automated Hiring and Firing: How the Data Act will harm gig workers

The Data Use and Access (DUA) Act, which was finally passed last week, could particularly impact the estimated 4.4 million people who work for ‘gig’ economy platforms in the UK, who are classed as self employed, and therefore not protected by employment law. Instead, they rely on data protection law to protect their basic employment rights at work. The DUA Act brings in changes to subject access requests and automated decision-making that favour…