Academic Study Finds a Gender Gap in Earnings of Uber Drivers

An interesting study by economists at the University of Chicago and Stanford University, finds that men working for the ride-sharing platform Uber earn about 7 percent more per hour than women Uber drives.

It was thought that jobs in what the authors called the “Gig Economy” would produce greater opportunities for women because these jobs offer flexible work hours. But in examining data from nearly 2 million ride share drivers the authors show that women do not earn as much per hour as men.

The study identified three factors that contributed to the gender wage gap:

1. More experience using the Uber platform.

2. Differences in where men and women would make themselves available for riders and the time of day they would work.

3. The willingness of men to drive faster and thus complete more trips.

The study, “The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence From Over a Million Rideshare Drivers,” may be downloaded by clicking here.