Representing a gig economy: gender, visibility, and news coverage of on-demand work during the pandemic
31st October 2024
This report examines news media narratives surrounding the gig economy in the UK press during the first two years of the Covid pandemic (2020-21).
Key findings:
• It finds a disproportionate news media focus on the gig economy in its ‘masculinised’ forms – such as driving and delivery – at the expense of other, more neglected parts of the gig economy, such as care work.
• The report is grounded in a content analysis of two samples of coverage from three British newspapers: The Times, The Sun and The Guardian.
• Sample One covers the early stage of the Covid pandemic (March-April 2020), while Sample Two covers the same months a year later (March-April 2021).
• Focusing on Sample One, from March to April 2020:
• Most stories focused on couriers (52% of stories). This was followed by driving and cab hailing (22%).
• The least represented were care workers (4% of stories), sanitation workers (4%), childcare workers/babysitters (4%), and sex workers (4%).
• In terms of the images that publications chose to accompany stories, of 45 images, 62% showed men, while only 15% showed women.
• Looking instead at Sample two, from March to April 2021:
• 50% of stories revolving around driving and ride hailing, and 46.1% focussing on couriers and delivery.
• There were small percentages involving those working in hospitality (3.8%) and 11.5% of stories covered forms of work covered by the ‘Other’ category (including designers, photographers, beauticians, and those working in the wellness industry). This suggests the 2021 sample was substantially more focussed on masculinised forms of gig economy work than 2020.
• 61.5% of news stories focused on or discussed men. Only 15.3% of stories contained references to women.
Authors
Sumaya Alnahed
Helen Hester
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all members of the research team, most notably Eldika Edwards and Erica Fletcher, for their assistance in putting this report together. They would also like to thank the London School of Film, Media, and Design at the University of West London for its ongoing support, and everybody at the Autonomy Institute for facilitating the project.