Racial discrimination in the platform economy: comparative experiences from food delivery riders in London and São Paulo

This article investigates how racial discrimination affects food delivery riders' experiences of work in the platform economy, drawing on qualitative case studies in London and São Paulo. Based on 58 interviews, it shows that while platform companies portray themselves as neutral intermediaries, racial hierarchies remain central to shaping workers' entry into and persistence within platform labour. In London, workers racialised in disadvantage described being excluded from formal employment through subtle and overt racism. They perceived food delivery platforms as relatively bias-free, enabling them to sustain themselves while pursuing studies, childcare, or entrepreneurial goals. In São Paulo, by contrast, higher earnings pulled workers into the platform economy, but their daily experiences were marked by racism intertwined with class stigma, policing, and spatial segregation. The article argues that platform work must be understood in relation to national histories of race, class, and migration. These findings contribute to scholarship on racial capitalism and digital labour, highlighting how platform work reproduces, rather than transcends, global inequalities.