Worldwide, the number of digital labour platforms operating in the domestic work and care sectors has multiplied by eight in the last decade, according to the International Labour Organisation. However, little is still known about these platforms, their business models and the impact they have in different regions of the world including Latin America and the Caribbean.
To help fill this knowledge gap, the think tank of Digital Future Society and the Interamerican Development Bank have written this report with a double objective. One is to contribute to the generation of knowledge about the rise of care and domestic work platforms in the region. A second objective is to understand the potential of WorkerTech services (digital services that offer independent workers benefits to improve their access to social protection and other benefits). With this aim in mind, we have reviewed the literature available and done a mapping of the digital labour platforms operating in care services in the region. The report includes case studies of seven platforms selected from the mapping.
The analysis confirms that the digitalization of domestic work and home care services in the region is still in its initial stages, but the potential for growth is enormous. Now is an optimal time to learn from the experience and lessons learnt from the rise of platforms in other sectors and to advocate for platforms to prioritise the working conditions of workers who, in the case of domestic work and care, have historically been socially undervalued and invisible.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, women represent 87% of workers who work in the care sector. In the region, on average, 11% of female employment is in domestic work (including home care). This means that domestic work is a main source of income for many women, especially for indigenous urban women, afro descendants and migrant women, all of whom are over-represented in this sector.
More information about the report (at the moment available in Spanish only): https://publications.iadb.org/es/las-plataformas-digitales-de-cuidados-y-sus-servicios-workertech-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe
To help fill this knowledge gap, the think tank of Digital Future Society and the Interamerican Development Bank have written this report with a double objective. One is to contribute to the generation of knowledge about the rise of care and domestic work platforms in the region. A second objective is to understand the potential of WorkerTech services (digital services that offer independent workers benefits to improve their access to social protection and other benefits). With this aim in mind, we have reviewed the literature available and done a mapping of the digital labour platforms operating in care services in the region. The report includes case studies of seven platforms selected from the mapping.
The analysis confirms that the digitalization of domestic work and home care services in the region is still in its initial stages, but the potential for growth is enormous. Now is an optimal time to learn from the experience and lessons learnt from the rise of platforms in other sectors and to advocate for platforms to prioritise the working conditions of workers who, in the case of domestic work and care, have historically been socially undervalued and invisible.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, women represent 87% of workers who work in the care sector. In the region, on average, 11% of female employment is in domestic work (including home care). This means that domestic work is a main source of income for many women, especially for indigenous urban women, afro descendants and migrant women, all of whom are over-represented in this sector.
More information about the report (at the moment available in Spanish only): https://publications.iadb.org/es/las-plataformas-digitales-de-cuidados-y-sus-servicios-workertech-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe
The need to consolidate policy frameworks that guarantee the protection of domestic workers is even more urgent in the context of digitalisation and the regional and global exponential growth of digital labour platforms.
Authors
Olivia Blanchard
Olivia Blanchard, senior researcher at Digital Future Society Think Tank
