Towards a feminist understanding of digital platform work

TL;DR

The paper scrutinizes how the rapid growth of the digital platform economy reinforces gendered, racial, and colonial inequalities through algorithmic management and surveillance, yielding precarity and blurring traditional employment boundaries. It adopts feminist theoretical lenses—especially feminist economics and social reproduction theory—to construct a four-dimension framework: precarity and exploitation, surveillance and control, blurring of employment boundaries, and persistence of colonial lines. By linking historical power dynamics to contemporary platform work, it highlights global North–South disparities and the capitalization of life as data, while emphasizing intersectionality and ethical governance. The authors advocate participatory research, greater transparency in platform governance, and the expansion of digital platform cooperativism as practical foundations for more equitable labor conditions and democratic control of digital labor futures.

Abstract

The rapid growth of the digital platform economy is transforming labor markets, offering new employment opportunities with promises of flexibility and accessibility. However, these benefits often come at the expense of increased economic exploitation, occupational segregation, and deteriorating working conditions. Research highlights that algorithmic management disproportionately impacts marginalized groups, reinforcing gendered and racial inequalities while deepening power imbalances within capitalist systems. This study seeks to elucidate the complex nature of digital platform work by drawing on feminist theories that have historically scrutinized and contested the structures of power within society, especially in the workplace. It presents a framework focused on four key dimensions to lay a foundation for future research: (i) precarity and exploitation, (ii) surveillance and control, (iii) blurring employment boundaries, and (iv) colonial legacies. It advocates for participatory research, transparency in platform governance, and structural changes to promote more equitable conditions for digital platform workers.