With support from the Permanent Mission of Germany, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, DAWN, and ITUC, IT for Change co-organized a formal CSW69 Side Event on "Gender Equality in the Platform Economy: Evolving a Policy Agenda for Beijing+30." The session took place on 10 March, 2025, from 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM EDT at the UN Conference Building, Conference Room A, New York. At the event, we launched our research report exploring the key challenges impeding progress toward feminist futures of work in the platform economy and key demands from feminist advocates in relation to a gender-equal digital transition.
Besides Anita Gurumurthy (IT for Change), speakers include Siobhán Vipond (ITUC), Cai Yiping (DAWN), Oliver Röpke (EESC) and Emanuela Pozzan, Senior Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Specialist at the International Labor Organization (ILO). The discussion was moderated by Katia Schnellecke (FES), with opening remarks by Inken Denker, Head of Division, Feminist Development Policy, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Speakers at the event explored how platformisation—despite its promises—has failed to create inclusive and empowering flexi-work opportunities for women. Instead, it has reinforced gender discrimination, deepened pay gaps, and exacerbated workplace insecurity. The session will highlight:
- Key challenges women face in platform work environments
- Techno-design reforms to counter gender discrimination
- Innovative policy solutions for gender-inclusive social protection and platform cooperatives
- International standard-setting for gender justice in digital labor markets
This discussion built on key findings from the policy report Pathways to Gender Equality in the Platform Economy, co-authored by FES, DAWN, and IT for Change. The report synthesizes insights from feminist scholar-practitioners, trade union representatives, and activists across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the EU, consolidated through online consultations in February 2025. At the Beijing+30 conjuncture, the session emphasized multi-scalar policy responses to counter the intensification of gendered precarity in the digital transition, focusing on techno-design reforms, social protection, and international labor standards to secure a feminist future of work. The discussion at the event brought up many concrete ideas on short-term and medium-term actions with respect to furthering the gender-just digital economies agenda at the Beijing+30 review and the upcoming International Labour Conference in July 2025.
Read the full report here.
We also co-organized an informal side event with APC, Women at the Table, and Pollicy on AI and Substantive Equality at the CSW NGO Forum, and were invited to speak at the ITU's informal side event on exploring synergies betweeing Beijing and WSIS implementation mechanisms for a feminist digital paradigm. At the ITU event, we were represented by our network partner Corina Rodriguez Enriquez from DAWN, a member organization of the Global Digital Justice Forum.