The gig economy was once celebrated for offering flexibility that could benefit women. Yet, research shows that women tend to be disproportionately discriminated against, especially in male-dominated sectors like ride-hailing, food delivery, or courier services. As part of the more extensive research on the gendered working experience of female gig workers in Indonesia, this paper discusses the resistance action of female gig workers in the fight against their precarious working conditions.

While the gig economy's model was once predicted to render workers' organisation and resistance impossible, recent studies have highlighted the rise of protests by platform workers across the globe. In Indonesia, there has also been a similar rise in gig workers' resistance, coinciding with a decline in earnings and worsening working conditions. However, existing research predominantly focuses on male-dominated spaces, emphasising visible, public forms of resistance such as protests, demonstrations, and strikes. The question is, where are women gig workers in these collective actions and resistance movements?

This study draws from interviews with women gig workers in Indonesia. It finds that women gig workers are more reluctant to be involved in the public acts of resistance conventionally done by male gig workers, such as protests, demonstrations, or wildcat strikes. Several factors, including the male-dominated nature of gig worker communities, the lack of advocacy for gender-specific issues within the communities, and the burden of managing domestic responsibilities, shape this reluctance. However, women's disengagement from conventional resistance does not imply passivity. Instead, this study finds that they engage in subtle, individualised forms of resistance, best understood through Scott's (1990) concept of “hidden transcripts”—covert acts of defiance that remain unseen by those in power. These include ‘client poaching', ‘multi-app-ing' (working across multiple platforms), and gaming the platforms. 

This finding provides insights into the alternative type of resistance among women gig workers in Indonesia, paving the way for a deeper understanding of how collective action might work differently in different contexts and locations.