Women in the Gig Economy: Urgency of Gender-Sensitive Regulation for Women Gig Workers in Indonesia

Abstract

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia’s labor structure has undergone a significant transformation, marked by a rise in the proportion of informal workers. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS, 2025) indicate that 59.4 percent of the total working population is employed in the informal sector, 64 percent of whom are women. This phenomenon may reflect the rapid expansion of the gig economy, which is supported by digital platforms offering services such as freelancing, ride-hailing, delivery, and other forms of app-based work. While the growth of the gig economy 
offers convenience and flexibility, in practice it often reinforces the precarity of women workers. Women in the gig economy frequently face issues such as the absence of formal employment status, gender-based discrimination, double burdens resulting from flexible work arrangements, and economic insecurity. The persistence of patriarchal culture and social constructions positions women gig workers as an oppressed group, even though they play a crucial role in sustaining both household 
and national economies. The proposed revisions to Indonesia’s Manpower Law, currently included in the National Legislative Program (Prolegnas), have yet to fully accommodate this critical issue. Therefore, it is imperative to emphasize the urgency of developing gender-responsive regulations either by refining existing labor laws or by formulating separate legislation specifically governing independent workers in the gig economy. The state must recognize independent workers as legal subjects within labor law and design gender-sensitive social protection schemes. Without policy 
interventions that prioritize their needs, women gig workers risk remaining trapped in a cycle of structural vulnerability.