Mexico’s Gig Worker Reform Risks Institutionalizing Exclusion of Women Workers

ByMaría del Pilar Martínez

This article by María del Pilar Martínez originally appeared in the January 29, 2026 edition of El Economista.

Women’s collectives and civil society organizations presented the report Connected to Change, a study conducted while the Mexican Social Security Institute ( IMSS ) pilot program for digital platform workers was in effect. The report, released now that the labor reform has taken effect with some adjustments, highlights that, while the reform is historic, its implementation has not closed pre-existing gender gaps.

In a press conference, the specialists urged the correction of “critical knots” in public policy to prevent the new rules from reproducing the inequalities they seek to combat.

The diagnosis, built from workshops and testimonies, identifies four main barriers that disproportionately impact female workers, most of whom are mothers and the economic breadwinners of their households.

The first finding is the high exposure to violence and insecurity: “almost 7 out of 10 women have suffered harassment, physical and verbal violence and even death,” said Verónica Álvarez, a member of the Lady Drivers collective in Guadalajara.

Photo: Unión Nacional de Trabajadores por Aplicación

Added to this is the so-called Exclusion Factor, a discount that forces drivers and delivery workers to generate income far above the net target to access the minimum contribution floor to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). “This results not only in indirect exclusion in terms of full access to social security, but also, for example, in lower contributions once they do gain access to social security,” explained Néstor Génis, one of the analysts of the report.

“The lack of transparency in algorithmic management and the 30-day inactivity rules, which can mean the loss of the employment relationship during pregnancy or postpartum, are other factors that generate “indirect discrimination,” said Marianela Fernández of OXFAM .

Faced with these challenges, the organizations and spokespeople are proposing an immediate course of action, demanding that platform companies implement real protocols against violence, with effective sanctions and the guarantee that “reporting will not bring us algorithmic punishments,” in the words of Frida, a delivery worker from Hermandad Delivery.

They requested that federal authorities adjust or eliminate the exclusion factor thresholds and ensure that labor inspections incorporate a gender perspective into the digital realm to audit algorithmic management. They also asked the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) to develop clear guidelines on health insurance, publish gender-disaggregated data, and adapt childcare services to the non-traditional work schedules—evenings, nights, and weekends—of women in the sector.

Valentina Zendejas, Mexico’s representative at the Avina Foundation , emphasized that the work of the collectives, technical partners in the report’s development, is fundamental to ensuring that “implementation does not reproduce the inequalities it seeks to correct.” The final proposal is clear: to work with institutions and companies to ensure a dignified and safe future for women in the digital sector.