Gendering Platform Law. An introduction

Abstract

Even though the law of digital platforms has been a much-discussed topic in the past few years, academic studies have generally overlooked the gender approach to law and digital technologies. This is hardly surprising. Studies on gender, which have grown since the 60s, have remained a relatively separate field from law and the same can be said about many other disciplines. Legal scholars usually do not include gender in their studies, and the law of digital platforms and digital technologies makes no exception. Yet, a gender approach to the law of digital platforms is strongly needed, as it would help to unveil some of the most challenging aspects of the digital revolution. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue has gone the extra mile to propose studies on gendering platform law. The result is both international and multidisciplinary. The Issue gathers lawyers and scholars from a wide range of disciplines. Also it collects papers from scholars from different countries and organisation, such as the United Kingdom, Croatia, the European Union, Italy, Israel, the United States, Germany, India and China. Thanks to a very diverse background, each article touches upon different sectors of platform work and adopts a different perspective: from crowdwork to taxi rides and deliveries, from care work to reputational systems, from abortion to youtubers, among other subjects. By reading them together, it is remarkable to see that the issue of gendering platform work is significant and worth raising worldwide. The solutions proposed in the different articles are diverse and thought-provoking. They vary from suggesting amendments to specific laws to invoking policy or practical changes, emphasising the primary role of the state but also the importance of non-state actors.