*The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

Increases in access to Internet have led to the emergence of a new world of work, with an important potential of gig work to contribute in significant ways to marginalized populations in the Global South, especially in contexts of high unemployment rates, informality, less secure forms of employment and limited opportunities.

Despite the potential benefits that can be derived from digital labor platforms as an alternative to find and perform income-generating activities, there are several barriers for populations of developing countries to take advantage of this global resource. In this context, the document characterizes digital workers of the Global South, with special attention to gender aspects and social inequalities; we also estimate the main determinants of entry decisions to digital labor markets (by gender), as well as the main determinants that explain pay gaps between men and women (gender pay gap) and between women that participate and women that do not participate in the digital labor market.