High cost to women as African apps spread gospel of gig work

A graphic illustration of different faces, with blurred out eyes and covered mouths, in front of quotation marks. From Johannesburg to Cairo, domestic workers are joining gig platforms for work but face low pay and few safety nets. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

JOHANNESBURG, LAGOS, CAIRO: Women who mop, sweep and clean homes across Africa are riding a new wave of digital platforms that promise flexible work and fresh opportunity – but critics say the fast-growing apps only expose the gig workers to age-old abuse and exploitation.

They say the women – many of them vulnerable migrants – run a gamut of risks by signing up for gig work on the new apps, from underpay to assault, injury to debt, reputational damage as well as scant benefits and zero trade union representation.