China’s gig economy attracting more women as they seek financial independence amid slowing economy

China’s gig economy is not just a man’s world, with more than 30 per cent of working women keeping a side job to earn extra income, according to a survey by one of the country’s largest classified online marketplaces.

The trend among an increasing number of women to juggle more than one job comes as the world’s second largest economy grows at its slowest pace in three decades, and as once hot tech industries cool down after years of freewheeling boom times.

Women are looking for a bigger pay cheque to cover their personal living costs, including leisure and fashion, as well as family expenditures, 58.com said in the report published on Thursday, ahead of international women’s day on Friday.

More than 50 per cent of women clock in a total of over eight hours at their workplaces on an average day. More than half said they are financially independent while another 40 per cent claim to be self-sufficient on their existing income, according to the report.

While available part-time job options – for men and woman – range from driving for the Didi platform to being an Airbnb host, there is a growing trend of more female gig workers. Here are some interesting numbers to illustrate the trend:

Didi Chuxing