Bringing Work Home: Internet-Mediated Gig Work & Women’s Employment

The characteristics of internet-mediated gig work–the ability to work from home, at flexible hours, with relatively little training–suggest it may be well-suited to facilitate labor force participation for women who would otherwise be excluded. This randomized evaluation addresses two sets of questions: (1) How valuable are job attributes such as flexibility in location and hours in increasing female employment? and (2) What are the impacts of this part-time, at-home employment, and to what degree are these opportunities a stepping stone to full-time employment? To address these questions, we elicit willingness-to-pay for job attributes which are hypothesized barriers to women’s employment. Second, we offer a month-long, work-from-home opportunity in digital crowd work and estimate its effects on household members’ gender attitudes, aspirations, and wellbeing. After the job intervention, we connect women to nearby opportunities in skills training and employment, measuring take up as a primary outcome.