The Contributions and Vulnerabilities of Gig Worker Housewives in the Digital Economy Ecosystem

Abstract

Digital transformation opens up new job opportunities for women, especially housewives, through platform-based jobs in the digital economy. Professions such as virtual assistants, KOL managers, and online motorcycle taxi drivers offer flexibility in terms of working hours and location. This allows women to contribute to household income without neglecting their domestic responsibilities. However, behind this flexibility lies a complex vulnerability. This study highlights the experiences of female gig workers in West Java who offer international client assistance services, management services in the creative and social media fields, and services in the online transportation sector. At the same time, they also manage household and childcare tasks. Using a qualitative approach and case study method, this study combines in-depth interviews with housewives gig workers in Bandung City and Sukabumi Regency with macro perspectives from the provincial government as regulator, industrial psychologists, and public policy academics. The analysis focuses on three dimensions, namely psychological well-being, structural vulnerability and income instability, and gaps in worker protection policies at the regional level. The results of the study show that the digital economy trend has significantly increased the economic contribution of gig worker housewives in West Java as well as their financial independence and self-efficacy. However, this also has vulnerabilities to quality of life and job sustainability, namely structural vulnerabilities rooted in an undefined legal status, barriers to access to social security and maternity rights, and platform algorithms that are still gender biased. This study recommends the need for collaboration between local governments, digital platforms, and worker communities to ensure a sustainable and gender-inclusive gig economy.