Twenty percent is not enough

One of my favorite topics to write about is the gig economy. I have witnessed the birth and progression of it in Turkey. However, it had not occurred to me to compare gig economy statistics of Turkey with countries that have similar demographics. Thankfully, we have the internet. That’s how Ela Battal, content manager of Appjobs, found one of my previous articles and offered information that they have gathered.

According to their findings, Turkish women contributed 20 percent of the gig economy workforce with babysitting as the most popular job category.

Other important points are as follows:

v Men make up the majority of the Turkish workforce (80 percent) whereas in South Africa they make up around half (45 percent).
v In the gig economy, 20 percent of the Turkish workforce is composed of women in comparison with 59 percent in South Africa.
v While the level of unemployment for the working age population in Turkey was only 14.1 percent, the figure in South Africa was over double (29 percent).
v Women are more likely to work gig jobs in fields such as babysitting compared with men who are more likely to work in areas such as delivery and driving.
v The level of perceived discrimination of female workers is lower in gig jobs than in traditional employment in both Turkey and South Africa.

The number of women who are contributing to the gig economy must be increased. They also should be provided with more job options.

Another issue for the Turkish gig economy’s growth is legislation. All around the world, authorities are moving against the principles of the gig economy. According to Wall Street Journal, a bill passed in the U.S. state of California this week that requires ride-hailing companies to make drivers into employees, rather than independent contractors, is the latest move by regulators and courts around the globe that could curtail companies like Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and food-delivery businesses like DoorDash Inc.

I am sure that many states and countries will follow Californian lawmakers. We should think for ourselves and create better legislative solutions. I think that it is imperative to foster a gig economy without harming people who work in it. We cannot let people who work as freelancers become modern-day slaves. But we also cannot make it too hard for freelancers to compete against the established order with heavy regulations.