Driving inclusion through empowerment and decent work: the case of Filipino women in online work

Online work promises autonomy and flexibility, and it has the potential to address women’s unpaid care responsibilities and to broaden their market opportunities. What is less certain is how to harness potential benefits while avoiding the risk of deepening inequality. This project will fill a critical knowledge gap related to women’s engagement in the digital platform economy in the Philippines, which has one of the world’s highest rates of people engaging in online work.

The research will look at women’s access to digital platforms, their choices, demographics, and whether platforms have improved women’s labour force participation in terms of quantity and quality. It will also examine other empowerment indicators like balancing unpaid care, and avenues for collaboration between platforms and government to ensure platforms foster decent work for women without deepening gender inequalities. Finally, it will consider how informal women workers in rural areas can benefit from the rise of platform work.

Strong collaboration among stakeholders will help create awareness on issues and challenges in the online platform. It will also provide a forum to actively discuss potential initiatives for women. This will lead to stronger collaboration among key stakeholders to craft strategies and policies to promote gender-equal and inclusive platforms for a more equal future of work.