Deck 13: Neoliberalism, Gender, and the Gig Economy in Canada

Question 1

What is neoliberalism?

A) A political and economic ideology that promotes the idea that the greatest way to improve humanity is to liberate individual entrepreneurial freedoms.
B) An approach to politics that favours socialist markets that are controlled by the state.
C) An economic and political strategy that supports anti-capitalism and entrepreneurial freedoms.
D) A political and economic ideology that is against the idea that entrepreneurial freedom improves humanity.
E) b and c are correct

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is not a characteristic or true of neoliberal practices?

A) They include the expansion of markets and competitive mindsets
B) They are vehemently opposed to government involvement in their lives
C) They advocate for individual entrepreneurial freedom as the most effective means of improving humanity
D) The emphasis on the value of the free market
E) None of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which one is not a characteristic of precarious work?

A) Lack of legal entitlements
B) Standardized working time
C) Uncertainty in the remuneration structure
D) Low pay
E) Lack of social benefits

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What were the characteristics of "New Deal" stylized institutions?

A) Weak social protections for the unemployed
B) Weak social safeguards for the poor
C) Low rates of union coverage
D) High levels of government regulation
E) Low unemployment rates

Question 5

In Canada, in the 1960s and 1970s, the standard employment relationship (SER) was made up of which of the following three pillars?

A) Standardized working time, impermanent employment, and employment with multiple employers
B) Employment with multiple employers, standardized working times, and permanent employment
C) Employment with a single employer, standardized working time, and permanent employment
D) Non-standardized working time, employment with a single employer, and impermanent employment
E) Impermanent employment, standardized working time, and employment with a single employer

Question 6

Which of the following led to precarious work?

A) Neoliberal policies with inflexible employment relationships
B) Globalization
C) Policies for standardized working times
D) Technology changes
E) b and d are correct

Question 7

In what way did precarious work threaten the three pillars of the standard employment relationship (SER)?

A) Self-employment differs from being employed with multiple employers
B) Part-time work infringes on standardized working time
C) Fixed-term agencies promote permanent employment
D) Permanent employment is encouraged by temp agencies
E) None of the above

Question 8

What change was brought about by neoliberal economic policies in many industrialized societies?

A) More flexible, short-term, and temporary employment contracts
B) Standard forms of employment comprising part-time contracts
C) Temporary contracts and casual work became more prevalent
D) Long-term and full-time employment contracts
E) Full-time and standardized forms of employment

Question 9

What is another term used for "gig economy"?

A) On-demand economy
B) Sharing economy or collaborating economy
C) 1099 economy
D) Crowd-working economy
E) All of the above

Question 10

What is contingent work comprised of?

A) Job security
B) Low-paying and typically full-time permanent work
C) Payment is on a piece work basis
D) Pay is measurable by the hours of work completed
E) a and d are correct

Question 11

Which one is not a category of the gig economy companies?

A) Crowd work platforms
B) International work platforms
C) Transportation platforms
D) Delivery/home task platforms
E) Online freelance platforms

Question 12

What is an example of remote gig work?

A) Food delivery
B) Staff manager
C) Software programming
D) Furniture manufacturer
E) None of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is not a dimension of control in terms of a worker's autonomy?

A) When the work is completed
B) The transfer of funds
C) The length of time the job lasts for
D) The challenges in accomplishing the job
E) b and c are correct

Question 14

What does a gig worker's level of autonomy depend on?

A) The level (high or low) of skill required for the job
B) The transfer of funds needed
C) When the work is set to be completed
D) The length of time the job lasts for
E) Whether the job is remote or local

Question 15

A job that provides workers with greater autonomy is often one that:

A) Involves more creative tasks
B) Requires higher levels of skill
C) Coincides with higher pay
D) Can be local or remote
E) All of the above

Question 16

What does gig work contribute to?

A) The growth of non-standard employment
B) The growth of secure employment
C) A growth in long-term employment
D) A growth in full-time employment
E) a and c are correct

Question 17

What is an example of the results of gig work for many gig workers?

A) Insecurity in employment
B) Insecurity in earnings
C) Loss of benefits
D) Unstable career paths
E) All of the above

Question 18

How does the misclassification of workers as "independent contractors" rather than employees benefit businesses?

A) They provide contractors with the protection of labour laws.
B) It offers tax advantages and alleviates requirements to pay minimum wage.
C) Companies bear most of the brunt in terms of worker liabilities.
D) They provide workers with employment legal rights.
E) All of the above

Question 19

What is an advantage of gig economy work for many women with demanding caregiving responsibilities?

A) The variety in creative tasks
B) The requirement of higher levels of skill
C) The flexibility and scheduling autonomy
D) Higher pay for fewer hours of work
E) Work can be done remotely

Question 20

How has the percentage of gig workers in Canada changed from 2005 - 2016?

A) It has decreased.
B) There has been a decrease in the share of gig workers aged 15 and older, from 8.5% to about 5.2%.
C) It has stayed the same.
D) There has been an increase in the share of gig workers aged 15 and older, from 5.5% to about 8.2%.
E) a and b are correct

Question 21

Data indicates that compared to men, _________.

A) women earn less through gig work in Canada
B) women require higher levels of skill
C) women are have more flexibility in scheduling autonomy
D) women have higher pay in the long term
E) women can best work remotely

Question 22

People enter gig work in Canada _________.

A) looking for more creative skilled work
B) after a decline in non-gig work income
C) to get higher pay in the short-term
D) to be able to work remotely
E) All of the above

Question 23

What group of gig workers has increased in visibility during the pandemic?

A) Sofware developers
B) Technical support staff
C) Food delivery workers
D) Dog walkers
E) Digital marketers

Question 24

Which one of the following is not an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on gig workers?

A) There has been an uptake in payouts and tips.
B) There has been an increase in concern about health and safety.
C) There have been greater health benefits for food delivery workers that are required to wait in cramped restaurants.
D) There has been a lack of financial assistance to those workers who become infected.
E) None of the above

Question 25

In what way has the pandemic affected the gig economy?

A) It looks to be supporting the industry's on-demand delivery segment.
B) Many gig economy businesses are increasing their scope thanks to attractive public-private collaborations.
C) There has been a significant decrease in demand for delivery services.
D) Gig workers no longer have to work multiple jobs during the pandemic.
E) a and b are correct

Question 26

Work in the gig economy is given as an example of a highly insecure form of flexible employment.

Question 27

The state's responsibility is to ensure and uphold institutional structures that are consistent with similar standards.

Question 28

Precarious work is described as a remunerated job that is marked by unstable working hours but that is high-paying.

Question 29

The "New Deal" styled institutions included weak social safeguards for the unemployed and low percentages of union coverage.

Question 30

The 1980s saw a shift away from New Deal-style institutions and toward neoliberalism. The standard employment relationship (SER) was reduced as a result of this shift, and the individual contract was reinstated.

Question 31

The rise of precarious work is rarely linked to the implementation of neoliberal policies.

Question 32

Precarious jobs usually follow a social gradient, with women and other disadvantaged groups occupying the majority of them.

Question 33

Non-traditional types of employment offer a flexible arrangement and can be helpful to some women, partly due to their increasing care obligations; yet these arrangements often make it difficult to manage work-life balance.

Question 34

The gig economy is a non-digital version of the pre-middle-of-the-twentieth-century economy, which was characterized by predictable employment arrangements.

Question 35

Contingent work is essentially an employment contract with little job security in which remuneration is based on measurable tasks accomplished rather than by the hour.

Question 36

The cloud-based gig economy is created by platforms that manage interactions between buyers and sellers through apps, whereas platform-based gig work is online, virtual, or borderless in nature.

Question 37

Gig work gives you more control over the content and scheduling of your job.

Question 38

Gig workers' levels of autonomy vary depending on whether the job requires a low-skilled or high-skilled worker.

Question 39

Low-skilled gig jobs include creative tasks, such as software coding, which provide workers with greater autonomy.

Question 40

Higher-paying gig work usually requires a higher level of ability.

Question 41

The gig economy is governed by platforms that show little transparency in how employment is distributed.

Question 42

The platform determines the wages of jobs using algorithms that are accessible to workers.

Question 43

Workers on some gig work platforms must choose to either accept or refuse the work, without knowing their wages.

Question 44

Gig economy work is part of a larger trend of standard employment arrangements that are becoming more prevalent.

Question 45

In the gig economy, workers are frequently misclassified as "independent contractors" rather than employees. Independent contractors make up the majority of gig workers.

Question 46

Some women prefer gig employment because it gives them more autonomy than past jobs, allowing them to better regulate their work schedules and combine them with caregiving obligations.

Question 47

According to the data, women are disproportionately represented in gig economy forms of employment in Canada, hence the gendered implications of gig economy work are highly important.

Question 48

There is a clear definition as to what constitutes gig work in Canada.

Question 49

Men who work in the gig economy see a higher increase in earnings than women, and they continue to earn more than women even after five years.

Question 50

When someone is laid off or quits a job, they frequently turn to gig employment.

Question 51

What was the period before the appearance of neoliberalism like in Canada? What is referred to as the standard employment relationship (SER)? What was the transition from SER to neoliberalism like?

Question 52

What are the ways in which Howcroft and Bergvall-Kåreborn (2019) suggest that control takes place? How do algorithm softwares work to affect forms of control and provide quality assurance of products and/or services?

Question 53

How does the digital gig economy affect the gender gap? What are the two possible mechanisms at play related to this?

Question 54

How would you describe the gig economy? What are some positive and negative aspects of it?

Question 55

What is the "autonomy paradox"? How is gig work connected to the notion of flexibility? What are the benefits of flexibility and what do they depend on?

Question 56

What are the apparent benefits for women with respect to flexibility in the gig economy? How does this perpetuate gender bias?

Question 57

What was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gig work in Canada? What are the two ways described by van Doorn, Mos, and Bosma (2020) about how the pandemic affected gig work?

Question 58

What is the effect the gig economy has on women? Think of women you know (real or fictional) who work under this structure. What are the benefits and or drawbacks they experience?

Question 59

What do you think about the Foodora example? In what other ways do you think the government should support workers in the gig economy?

Question 60

How would do you feel about working in the gig economy? What would you like to see change in the gig economy? What benefits would you like to see if you worked under that structure?