The intersection of gender and platform labour: women delivery workers in Turkey

This research focuses on the experiences of women couriers in Turkey who work via digital labour platforms, providing a variety of services such as food delivery, last-mile grocery delivery and parcel delivery. Delivery remains a male-dominated industry in Turkey, and women’s work in this sector is embedded within the broader patriarchal and (majority) Islamic-cultural context. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women couriers, and presenting an analysis of the “inclusivity discourse” put forth by some of the platforms, we explore women’s strategies of survival and occupational belonging in a seemingly newly emergent, but male-dominated sector. Additionally, the study explores women courier’s accounts on social media (such as Instagram and TikTok) to study alternative visibilities women enact for this work to carve out a space for themselves in this male-dominated sector online. We aim to understand and show how different forms of digital labour intersect and dissect from one another, and how different modes of visibilities and invisibilities are needed for women workers to enter a male-dominated sector in a patriarchal social context.

The student will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conduct a comprehensive literature review on gender and platform work, identifying key theoretical debates, empirical studies, and research gaps.
• Collect and organise a comprehensive review of digital labour platform policies for women’s inclusion, including anti-discrimination policies, anti-harassment policies, and emergency helplines, among others, in both global North and global South contexts.

• The student will work closely with two experts on platform economy, gaining mentorship, feedback, and exposure to collaborative research processes in an academic environment. they will also be able to learn systematic research techniques for researching platform policies and conducting a literature review, as well as analytical organisation skills for organising research findings.
• Depending on The quality of research outcomes, there may be opportunities to contribute to publications in relevant journals, book chapters or conference proceedings.
• The student will be able to keep a record of research findings to utilise in their own research in The future, should they wish.

• Strong research skills, including The ability to conduct detailed literature reviews, critically analyse and synthesize theoretical frameworks, and construct well-organized arguments based on existing research.
• Knowledge of other Global majority languages would be desirable.
• Knowledge of platform work, digital labour, gender studies, and Global South contexts is desirable.
• Knowledge of Turkish, Kurdish and/or Arabic would be desirable.

The student will be encouraged to share the experience of their internship in a blog post, to be published on their University’s student blog, as well as on LinkedIn for wider engagement. The researchers of the study will support them in the writing process of the blog, including reviewing drafts.

1. Please send your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your interest and suitability to the project supervisor(s). Please contact the project supervisor(s) in advance of submitting the application with any questions.

2. If selected by the project supervisor:

• LISS DTP students must then complete the LISS DTP Placement /Internship Application form. This ensures that there is approval of PhD supervisor, and the necessary information is obtained to extend funding (for DTP1 students) or confirm placement requirement fulfilled (for DTP2 students), and to fulfil ESRC reporting obligations. LISS DTP approval must be given before the RA internship can commence.
• Other ESRC-funded DTP students should follow the internship application processes from their home DTP.

Please note for LISS DTP students:

• Research Assistant Internships must not be undertaken with the student’s current supervisor and/or home department.
• DTP1 students (those whose funding commenced before Oct24): a maximum of 4 Research Assistant internships will be funded. These will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 4 DTP1 places are filled, we will inform PIs that only DTP2 students are eligible for the Research Assistant internships. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DTP1 PLACES HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED.
• DTP2 students (those whose funding commenced from Oct24): are required to complete a 3-month placement, which is funded through their studentship. No limits to number that can be funded.
• Reports: at the conclusion of the internship, the student will be required to complete an internship report, which will include a question for the internship host to feedback on the internship.

Contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk with any questions.