- 25/03/2021
- Category: Commentaries
“When they see us (picking up the customer), they go, ‘You are a woman? I am sorry, I am not used to being on a ride with a woman, may I cancel (the order)?”
Gig economy, especially the ride-hailing sector, appeared as a promising working-mechanism for Indonesian urban motorbike-owners, especially women. Despite its promise of flexibility and decent income, gig work seems to maintain the same old gender gap in employment. Safety and social stigma have become huge concerns for female drivers. A survey from International Finance Corporation (IFC, 2018) showed that 64% of female respondents in six countries cited security reasons as their primary factor for not applying as an Uber driver. A study in England shows that female taxi drivers were five times more likely to be sexually harassed during work than their male counterparts (Westmarland and Anderson, 2001). In China, there have been many instances of sexual harassment towards female drivers that led to a discussion on whether platforms should allow female drivers only to pick female customers (Guo et al., 2019). Female drivers also felt that ride-hailing platforms did not do enough to ensure their physical safety, especially related to harassment from the passengers (Rizk et al., 2018).
Higher Cancelation Rate
In Indonesia, women drivers of ride-hailing platform Gojek experience a higher cancelation rate from their customers than their fellow men drivers (Dessy Setyowati, KataData, 2018). Other than that, women drivers often faced cultural constraints due to their femininity, which some may believe impacted their driving skills (Linnea Roman, 2020).
“Yes, I often experience that, when I come to pick up the customer, and he is wearing trousers (signifying that a customer is a man), they cancel it … they said, ‘Ma’am, I want a male driver,’ and I said, ‘Okay, Sir, no worries’ and then (they) cancel (the order)”
The stigma has been affecting women drivers’ performance in the platform since they cannot pick as many customers as their male counterparts due to this cancellation problem.
“… If the customer (man) were canceling his order, he would be asked the reason for the cancellation, which includes several options. However, the reason for cancellation due to our gender (the driver is women) is not available. We usually asked them to choose “the driver too far away” option, which has the least impact on our working performance.”
Sexual Harassment
In terms of task-related risks, women drivers also experienced sexual harassment from the customers.
“Yes, one day, there was this guy who sits very close to me. I want to throw my anger away, but I remember that customers are the ‘king’. I want to push him away, but he always gets too close, it is very uncomfortable for me.”
“ … most often, I just want to get away with it and get to the destination as fast as possible. It is quite traumatic for me”
Gender-based harassment is something that needs to be addressed by platforms as well as us, Indonesian society. Following some incidents that affect drivers, platforms have now also established regulations regarding harassment against women. One of Indonesia’s largest platforms even took further measures to improve female drivers’ work safety by appointing the National Commission on Violence Against Women in making the company’s Code of Conduct. Having a set of regulations that are women and minority-driven is a good start. Still, it won’t be sufficient to enable equality and equity in the gig economy in the long run.
Customers’ safety is an important aspect and has been championed by platforms with regulations that give sanctions for drivers who have done gender-based harassment. Drivers who are reported doing any misconduct will be immediately suspended and permanently banned from the platforms. On the contrary, customers who commit gender-based harassment toward female drivers rarely receive any form of consequences. Platform’s actions to also give ‘scores’ based on customers’ attitudes is a bold move that shall diminish the likelihood of such events to happen in the future. Nonetheless, more burden is placed on the drivers, still, since the scoring would happen after the incidents. Without proper platforms and society’s support, female drivers often feel left out and have no other option but to ‘normalize’ gender-based harassment as part of working experience as a gig worker.
Double Burden: Flexibility Doesn’t Take Away the Burden
The flexibility jargon also possesses its labor-reinforcing mechanism by the platform algorithms. Many women drivers with families have to carry a long working time and their domestic burden at home.
“I work here because I need to provide for my family, I need more money to support my family … I start my day at 7 am and then stopped working at 9 pm, on average, I worked for 12 hours a day” (A, 39)
The expansion of working hours often occurs to the women breadwinner. In fact, the reality of these women is far from the flexibility favoring their work-life balance. They have to work overtime (more than 10 hours/day) to obtain a decent income for their family needs. Yet, their role as a mother also put another burden upon their domestic job. While working as a “full-time” driver, these women also have obligations to doing chores and taking care of their children. Meanwhile, there is only very little time left for them to rest.
This echoes the situation in the conventional workplace for women. While discussing the gig economy and the promise of flexible working, we notice that the situation may not have shifted at all. If not, it only extends the existing burden since “you can work anytime”, which can also mean “you should maximize your leisure time for work”, which pushes women to only have two options left: work as ojek driver and work as in domestic work.This reality should be something that we, as society, need to reevaluate. Shouldn’t house-chores be something for people who live in the house to share responsibility?
This year International Women’s Day put #Choosetochallenge as its theme. In the era of the digital economy, we aim to challenge the unfair practice of gig work that brings a disproportionate amount of burden to women. The good practice that has been exercised by platforms such as a move toward gender-inclusive policy and anti-sexual harassment shall be continued. While doing so, we as society should also together create a safer working environment for these women. We must challenge the status quo and the patriarchal systems within it.
Written by Treviliana Eka Putri, Amelinda Pandu Kusumaningtyas, Ruth T. Simanjuntak, Paska Darmawan
Image credit: tribunnews.com
This project was made possible by the support from Canada’s International Development Research Centre for its “Future of Work in the Global South” initiative and the Faculty of Social and Political Science (FISIPOL) UGM 2020 Research Grant.
