New Report Highlights Discrimination Issues in Online Platforms - National Employment Law Project
▻https://www.nelp.org/blog/new-report-highlights-discrimination-issues-online-platforms
n important new report by Data & Society highlights the employment barriers and discrimination risks created by online labor platforms for non-white, low-income, older, or non-native-English-speaking workers, who may be frozen out of use of the platforms altogether.[1]
Researchers interviewed in-home child and elder care workers and housecleaners who use online platforms, such as Care.com, Handy, and UrbanSitter, to find work. The researchers found that these platforms required job-seekers to have certain skills—such as self-branding, digital communication fluency, and social media savviness—that do not reflect the skills or experience required for the work. Job-seekers also needed to know how to navigate the unspoken cultural norms that shape activity on these platforms, e.g., presenting a compelling work history while providing an appealing mix of information about one’s private life.
Job seekers also need resources—such as reliable, high-speed Internet access and the time needed to manage their accounts—so that they can apply to jobs, update their profiles, and respond to messages, all of which can impact their rating and future job offers. Care.com, for example, identifies some platform users as “CarePros,” indicated by a badge next to a user’s profile, based on criteria such as opting in to mobile alerts, maintaining a high-star rating, and responding to 75 percent of messages within 24 hours.[3] And, because platform job openings can receive dozens of applicants in a short amount of time, users need to constantly check their accounts so that they don’t lose out on opportunities. Many caregivers simply can’t afford the resources needed to participate fully in online platforms.[4]
The authors of the project concluded that the skills needed to navigate online labor platforms exacerbate inequalities in the domestic work industry, because workers need to understand the unspoken cultural norms that shape activity on the platforms.[5] White, U.S.-born caregivers typically have access to higher-paying and higher-status jobs than non-white or foreign-born caregivers because of their perceived cultural matching or fit with employers, which is often based on stereotypes about a worker’s race or ethnicity.
#Travail #Plateformes #Marché_emploi #Réseaux_sociaux #Inégalités