The 23rd session of our Political Economy Teach-in Series, “Feminist Perspectives on the Platform Economy: Women Workers and Unionising” with Kruskaya Hidalgo, was held on May 28, 2025.

Kruskaya Hidalgo is a researcher, unionist and feminist activist. She is one of the founders of the Observatorio de Plataformas, a collective of artists, researchers, activists and digital platform workers who question working conditions and violations within platform economies, presenting alternatives for ethical work and consumption, so that “the algorithm does not control our humanity.” Through decolonial methodologies and the use of sensitive, poetic and embodied languages, Kruskaya explores the impact of platform economies on the bodies and lives of women, especially migrant and racialised women, constructing life stories and collective knowledge that challenge the coloniality of power-knowing-being.

The session explored how the restructuring of labour markets, driven by the growth of the platform economy, presents challenges that must be understood through a gendered lens. Automation and the opacity of algorithms in organising work disproportionately affect women, migrants, young people, and LGBTQIA+ communities. These changes threaten fundamental rights such as privacy, data protection, equality, non-discrimination, and occupational health and safety. Digital platform workers, particularly in on-demand delivery and ride-hailing, have been organising for years to demand the recognition of labour relationships. In Latin America, women have been pioneers and leaders in many of these efforts. This session will explore the efforts of platform workers to organise and unionise, with a particular focus on care work in the platform economy.

Our South Feminist Political Economy Teach-in Series aims to strengthen intergenerational dialogue and build a cross-regional feminist constituency. The series covers various topics to interrogate and strengthen understanding of issues shaping conditions in the Global South.

We have curated a special reading list of resources on the topic of this session, available on our South Feminist Knowledge Hub. It is designed to deepen your understanding of the themes and inspire meaningful discussion – featuring powerful contributions from authors and thinkers across the Global South.