UC Press Blog

It was barely a decade ago that many of us became enamored by the “gig” economy. Booking a room, ride, or restaurant took seconds and could be done at virtually any time or place.

COVID-19 has laid bare the enormous gap between the value that frontline workers bring to society and the low wages many earn in return.

Uber has released their safety report detailing thousands of incidents of sexual assault. But as Sociologist & Gig Economy Researcher Alexandrea J. Ravenelle says in her New York Times op-ed, the statistics in the report don’t tell the whole story.

Many assume that only younger people work in the gig economy. But according to Alexandrea J. Ravenelle, author of Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy, "about a quarter of those in the gig economy are closer to their forties, fifties, and even in their sixties." In a Y