Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates
How do low-skilled migrant workers navigate restrictive gig economies in illiberal host states of the Global South? Despite the growing gig economy, scholars have yet to examine the linkage between the politics of the gig economy and migrant resilience in illiberal host states in the Global South. U...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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McMaster University Library Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Global Labour Journal |
| Online Access: | https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/5878 |
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| _version_ | 1832574350186774528 |
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| author | Froilan Malit |
| author_facet | Froilan Malit |
| author_sort | Froilan Malit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | How do low-skilled migrant workers navigate restrictive gig economies in illiberal host states of the Global South? Despite the growing gig economy, scholars have yet to examine the linkage between the politics of the gig economy and migrant resilience in illiberal host states in the Global South. Using a single case study of freelance Filipina domestic workers in the UAE (N = 20), I argue that, despite facing legal and economic risks (penalties), freelance migrant workers have produced an informal freelancing visa system to contest the formal and hierarchical segmentation of the gig economy via three diverse strategies: co-optation, tapping and brokering. These evasive social coping strategies mirror their collective resistance against structural labour exploitation and reinforce their autonomous role in the social (re)production of community solidarity within informal gig economies. Overall, this study contributes to empirical and theoretical discourse on the politics of illiberal migration management and the gig economy by featuring female migrant freelancers’ complex social agency within illiberal gig economies in the Global South.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-096444193a7c4f018555008c2cbbfec5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1918-6711 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | McMaster University Library Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Labour Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-096444193a7c4f018555008c2cbbfec52025-02-01T14:00:04ZengMcMaster University Library PressGlobal Labour Journal1918-67112025-01-01161Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab EmiratesFroilan Malit0American University, Dubai, and GLMMHow do low-skilled migrant workers navigate restrictive gig economies in illiberal host states of the Global South? Despite the growing gig economy, scholars have yet to examine the linkage between the politics of the gig economy and migrant resilience in illiberal host states in the Global South. Using a single case study of freelance Filipina domestic workers in the UAE (N = 20), I argue that, despite facing legal and economic risks (penalties), freelance migrant workers have produced an informal freelancing visa system to contest the formal and hierarchical segmentation of the gig economy via three diverse strategies: co-optation, tapping and brokering. These evasive social coping strategies mirror their collective resistance against structural labour exploitation and reinforce their autonomous role in the social (re)production of community solidarity within informal gig economies. Overall, this study contributes to empirical and theoretical discourse on the politics of illiberal migration management and the gig economy by featuring female migrant freelancers’ complex social agency within illiberal gig economies in the Global South. https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/5878 |
| spellingShingle | Froilan Malit Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates Global Labour Journal |
| title | Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_full | Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_fullStr | Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_short | Defying the “Illiberal” Gig Economy: Coping Strategies of Freelance Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates |
| title_sort | defying the illiberal gig economy coping strategies of freelance domestic workers in the united arab emirates |
| url | https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/5878 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT froilanmalit defyingtheilliberalgigeconomycopingstrategiesoffreelancedomesticworkersintheunitedarabemirates |