Social Protection under Conditions of Inequality – Gender-Specific Motives and Perceptions in Platform Work

The regulation of platform work is the subject of increasing debate, yet the interplay between gender inequalities and social protection remains insufficiently addressed. Self-employed platform workers frequently lack access to key state protection mechanisms – such as pension or health insurance – while non-state protection strategies depend heavily on income levels and are shaped by individual attitudes towards state institutions. This article examines gendered effects within the platform economy and their consequences for social protection. Drawing on a doing gender perspective, the analysis demonstrates that platform work is neither uniform nor gender-neutral, but embedded in highly segmented sectors with distinct labour logics. Based on 28 interviews across domestic and care work, IT freelancing and content creation, both sectoral and gender-specific differences become apparent. In domestic and care work, workers face structural devaluation, low earning potential and inadequate protection, compounded by gendered dimensions of social security that constrain private protection options. IT freelancers typically earn high incomes and develop comprehensive private protection strategies, yet women in this sector encounter specific challenges related to parenthood and maternity. Content creators operate in an ambivalent environment characterized by autonomy, precarity and gendered risks of visibility. The findings reveal that doing gender – sometimes explicitly, sometimes subtly – shapes perceptions of work, the construction of occupational roles and the development of protection practices. Gender interacts in complex ways with sector-specific demands, life phases and societal expectations. The article argues that existing regulatory approaches fail to adequately address key deficits and advocates for gender-sensitive and sector-specific policy measures that recognize the differing circumstances and risks of self-employed platform workers.