Crisis de los cuidados y procesos de “uberización”: transformaciones del trabajo reproductivo en la economía de plataformas

Abstract

Care work constitutes a fundamental pillar for sustaining life and social well-being. However, in Spain it remains largely unpaid, invisible, and disproportionately assumed by women, reflecting deep-rooted gender inequalities in the organization of social reproduction. In recent years, processes of digitalization and the expansion of platform-based models have begun to transform the sector, reshaping the provision of care services and the conditions under which they are performed.

This article examines these transformations from a feminist economics and labour law perspective, with particular attention to their implications for working conditions, legal classification, and the reproduction of structural inequalities. It argues that, while digital platforms may contribute to the formalization and increased accessibility of care services, they also risk reinforcing precarious forms of work, characterized by the externalization of risks, weak labour protections, and asymmetrical power relations.

Against this backdrop, the paper critically assesses the adequacy of the current legal framework and highlights the limitations of existing regulatory responses in addressing the specificities of care work. It ultimately advocates for a structural reconfiguration of the sector, grounded in the full recognition of care as a social and economic activity, the strengthening of labour protections, and the central role of public policies in ensuring equitable and sustainable systems of care.