Bias in Online Freelance Marketplaces

TLDR

Online freelancing marketplaces have rapidly expanded, offering workers a way to earn money outside traditional employment and potentially avoiding its social biases. The study investigates racial and gender bias in TaskRabbit and Fiverr and aims to spur further research on discrimination in online marketplaces. The authors analyzed 13,500 worker profiles from TaskRabbit and Fiverr, extracting gender, race, reviews, ratings, and search ranking positions. Both platforms show significant correlations between gender or race and worker evaluations, indicating potential bias that could limit employment opportunities.

Abstract

Online freelancing marketplaces have grown quickly in recent years. In theory, these sites offer workers the ability to earn money without the obligations and potential social biases associated with traditional employment frameworks. In this paper, we study whether two prominent online freelance marketplaces - TaskRabbit and Fiverr - are impacted by racial and gender bias. From these two platforms, we collect 13,500 worker profiles and gather information about workers' gender, race, customer reviews, ratings, and positions in search rankings. In both marketplaces, we find evidence of bias: we find that gender and race are significantly correlated with worker evaluations, which could harm the employment opportunities afforded to the workers. We hope that our study fuels more research on the presence and implications of discrimination in online environments.