从算法到机会：让求职平台成为女性经济赋能引擎

Making

jobplatforms

work

for

women

Aguide

for

practitionersandresearchersPub

lic

DisclosureAuthorizedPub

lic

DisclosureAuthorizedPub

lic

DisclosureAuthorizedPub

lic

DisclosureAuthorizedGut

AdinGenderInnovation

LabTHEWORLD

BANKIBRD

.

IDAWORLD

BANK

GROUPOCTOBER

2025Making

jobplatforms

workfor

women

Aguide

for

practitionersandresearchersOCTOBER2025Gut

AdinGEnderInnovation

LabTHEWORLD

BANKIBRD

.

IDAWORLD

BANKGROUPPhoto:ShutterstockRecommendation5:LeveragePlatformAccesstoEncourageEmployerstoConsider

Female

Jobseekers

·31

Recommendation6:ProvideReliableBig-PictureInformationabouttheMarket

on

the

Platform

to

Manage

Jobseekers’

Expectations

·34

Recommendation7:UseMatchingAlgorithmstoHelpJobseekersandEmployers

Find

Good

Matches,

but

Examine

and

Address

Potential

Bias

·40

Recommendation8:OfferSkillsTrainingOpportunities,LeveragingPlatform

Data

on

What

Skills

Are

in

Demand

·45

Recommendation

9:

Offer

Skill

Signaling

and

Certification

·48

References

53

Appendix

·58·

A.1.1:

Platforms

and

Policy

Practitioners

Interviewed

·59·

A.1.2:

Academics

Interviewed

·59·

A.1.3:

Additional

Details

on

Interventions

·60Acknowledgements

·

4

Executive

Summary

·5·

Key

Recommendations

for

platforms

·6Introduction

·9 Methodology11Recommendation1:BridgetheGenderedDigitalDividethroughAccessible

Design

·12

Recommendation2:BalanceScreeningforInterestwithJobseekerEffortRequired

to

Sign

Up

and

Apply

for

Jobs

·19

Recommendation3:RobustlyAddressPrivacyandSafetyConcernsforJobseekers

24Recommendation4:PromptEmployerstoSpecifyInformationThatMatters

for

Women

in

Job

Postings

·28ContentsTableofAcknowledgmentsThisreportwaspreparedbyateam

of

authorsfromthe

SouthAsiaGenderInnovationLab(SAR

GIL),

led

by

KateVybornyandNikita

Kohli,withmajorcontributionsfromPulkitAggarwal.TheteamappreciatesadditionalcontributionsfromHijabWaheedand

OsamaSafeer.TheauthorswouldliketothankChristianMeyerandSumanaHusainfordetailedfeedbackonthedraft.Theteamthanksthe

Document

EditingServiceteamforeditingandVitoRaimondiforthedesignofthereport.Theteamis

gratefultothejobsplatformpractitionersandresearcherswho

participated

ininterviewsandinthe2024workshoponInclusiveJobsPlatforms

organizedbySARGIL.Wegratefullyacknowledgethesupportfrom

theUmbrellaFacilityforGender

Equality,in

partnershipwiththeGates

Foundation.forwomenandotherunderrepresented

groups.Itfocusesonthe

main

barriersthey

face,

how

platformsoperate,and

practicalstepsto

make

platforms

moreinclusive.The

findingsdrawoninterviews

with

platformleadersandresearchers,academicstudies,

and

real-worldexamples,

highlightingconcretestrategiestoimprovewomen’s

engagementandsuccesson

platforms.Basedonthisevidence,the

reportoutlines

nine

recommendationsfor

platformstobetterengagewomenand

marginalizedjobseekersandexpandtheiraccesstowork

opportunities.his

reportexamines

howjob

platforms

cancreate

betterworkopportunitiesExecutive

SummaryTBridge

the

gendered

digital

divide

through

accessible

designGendergapsinaccesstotechnologyanddigitalliteracypersist.Platformscanleveragealternativewaysofreachingjobseekers,includinglower-techinterfacessuchasUnstructuredSupplementary

ServiceData(USSD)orInteractiveVoiceRecording-basedphonecallstoreachjobseekerswhodonothavesmartphoneaccess.Platformsthatcombinedigitaltoolswithin-personengagement,such

aspartneringwithTechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining(TVET)institutesorleveragingjobseekers’socialnetworks,aremoreeffectiveinreachingwomenandlow-socioeconomicstatusjobseekers.Balance

screeningfor

interest

withjobseeker

effortrequired

to

signup

and

applyforjobsLongformsandhigh

digital

literacydemandscanexcludewomenandmarginalizedjobseekerswhomayhavelowerdigitalaccessand

literacy.

Platformscanreducethese

barriers

by

auto-generatingCVs,usingchatbotsforstep-by-stepguidance,orlettingjobseekerssignalinterestquicklywith

abuttonorshort

messagewhilestillfilteringforseriouscandidates.Robustly

addressprivacy

and

safety

concernsforjobseekersConcernsaboutdataprivacyandsafetydeterwomenfromengagingwithplatforms.Allowing

controloverpersonalinformation

andestablishingtransparentcommunicationaboutdatausecan

fostertrust.1●Key

Recommendationsfor

platforms6

Makingjobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersandresearchers·

2●3|Promptemployerstospecifyinformationthat

matters

forwomenin

job

postingsWomenaremorelikelytoapplywhenjobadsclearlystatewages,

hours,andworkplaceconditions.Keyfeatureslikeflexibilityorremote

work,parentalleaveorchildcare,andsafetransportareofparticular

interesttomanyfemalejobseekers.Platformscanencourageemployers

topostthisinformationandenablefilteringofjobpostingsbasedonthesecriteria,helpingwomenfindrelevantjobopportunities.Requiring

employerstopostthesefeaturesmay

evenencouragesometoconsiderofferingthem,thusmakingtheirjobs

morefemale-friendly.65Leverageplatformaccess

to

encourage

employerstoconsiderfemale

jobseekersPlatformscanworkwithemployers

toensurefemaleapplicantsareconsideredandjobadspromoteequal

opportunity—for

instance,bydiscouraginggender-basedcriteria.Providereliable

big–picture

informationaboutthe

marketontheplatformtomanage

jobseekers’

expectationsJobseekersoftenhavemismatchedexpectationsaboutwagesandtheavailability

ofjobopportunities;researchhasshownthatinitialinteractionswithajobplatformcanleadtoexaggeratedexpectations.Platformscansharesimplelabormarketinsightssuchasaveragepay,competitionlevels,orpeeroutcomestohelpindividualsmakemoreinformedchoicesanddirecttheirsearcheffectively.7

Makingjobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersandresearchers4|Use

matchingalgorithms

tohelpjobseekersandemployersfindgood

matchesbutexamineandaddresspotential

biasManyplatformsareincorporatingAIintothealgorithmstheyusetomatchprospectiveapplicantswithemployers.Whilesuchautomation

canenhanceefficiencyandscalability,itrisksperpetuatingbiasesifnotdesignedandmonitoredeffectively.Stress-testingalgorithmsand

integratinghumanoversightarecrucialtomitigatetheserisks.Offer

skills

training

opportunities,

leveraging

platform

data

on

what

skillsare

in

demandBecauseplatformsarewellpositionedtoknowwhatskillsareinOffer

skill

signaling

and

certificationPlatformscanhelpjobseekerssignalskillsthroughassessmentsand

certifications,tailoredtospecificsectors.AIcanbeusedtomaketheassessmentprocessmorecost-effectiveandscalable.Thisisdemandbyemployers,theycanguidejobseekerstoinvestintraining

onskillsthataremostindemand—particularlyimportantforwomenin

settingswheretheyhaveagapinemployableskills.Platformscanalso

maketrainingmoreaccessiblebyofferingprerecorded,on-demand

modulesthatfitaroundwomen’shouseholdresponsibilities.particularlybeneficialforthosewithnon-traditionalworkexperience.

Fordigitallydeliveredtrainings,platformscanalsocertifytrainingcompletion,allowingjobseekerstosignaltheirskillsandeffortcredibly

toemployers.Thisreportprovidesaroadmap

for

leveragingjob

platformsto

createinclusiveandequitablelabormarkets.Addressingthe

outlinedchallengesandinvestinginscalable,evidence-based

solutionswillempowerplatformstodrivemeaningfulchange.8●7●8

Makingjobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersandresearchers9|IntroductionWomen’semploymentoutcomescontinue

to

lag

behind

men’s,

bothintermsofparticipationandjobquality.Inmanylow-andmiddle-incomeeconomies,particularlyinSouthAsia,theMiddle

East,

and

NorthAfrica,theshareofwomenenteringthelaborforce

hasstagnatedordeclined(ILO2024).This

remainsthe

caseeventhoughwomen’seducationlevelshavebeen

risingsteadilyworldwide

(World

Bank

2023).Onereasonforthese

persistentgapsisthataccesstojobopportunitiesoftendependsoninformal

networksandpersonalconnections.

Network-basedhiringcandisadvantagewomen,

whomay

have

more

limitedsocialnetworksandrestricted

mobility

inmanysettings(Beaman,

Keleher,and

Magruder2018).Digital

platformsofferapotentialsolution

by

makingjobinformationmorewidely

available.Jobsearchthroughsuchplatformsis

afast-growingandincreasinglyprominent

channelthroughwhichjobseekersconnectwithemploymentopportunities

worldwide(Carranzaand

McKenzie2024).Jobplatformsallowemployerstopostvacancies,and,insomecases,jobseekerstomaintainrésumésandprofiles.

Byprovidingbetter

information

aboutavailablejobs,theycanhelpreducerelianceoninformal

networks

and

broadenaccesstoemployment.Recognizingthepotentialof

digitaltoolsforjobsearchandmatching,

manygovernments(withWorld

Bankfinancing

ortechnicalsupportsupport)havestarted

toincorporatedigitaljobsearchplatforms

intotheirlabormarket

policies

(Ezzat,

de

Lorenzo,andTovar2025).Governmentsmaybuildtheirowndigitaljob

platforms

orpartnerwithexistingonesto

provide

jobsearchsupport.9

Makingjobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersandresearchers|However,jobplatformsarenot

a

‘silver

bullet’forimprovingemploymentoutcomes.Engagementremains

low:areviewof

recent

researchshowsthatjobseekersindevelopingcountry

labormarketssubmitbetween0.03and3.33

jobapplicationsper

monthon

platforms,

withthevastmajoritysubmittingnoneat

all(Vyborny

et

al.

2024,Table

A3).Moreover,platformsdo

notalwaysworkwellforwomen,duetoa

rangeofbarriers.Theseincludelimitedaccesstotechnologyanddigitalliteracy,timeandmobilityconstraints,safetyandprivacyconcerns,andthetypesofinformationandpracticesemployersinclude

injobpostings.Atpresent,the

majorityofjobseekersandworkersonplatforms

indevelopingcountriesareeducatedandmale(ILO2020).

Understanding

howindividualsfrommarginalizedgroupsinteractwiththistechnologyiscrucialfor

designingplatformsthatexpandaccessto

employmentopportunities.Thisreportfocusesonone

potentialchanneltosupportwomen’semployment:

enhancingtheirengagementwithjobplatforms.Itaddressesthequestion:How

cangrowingjobplatformtechnologybeharnessedtoenhancelaborforceoutcomes

for

women—and

more

broadlyformarginalizedgroups?Thereportcontributestoa

growing

body

ofglobalworkonjobplatformsand

labor

marketoutcomesandbuildsontheSouth

AsiaGenderInnovationLab’s

(SAR

GIL’s)

broaderresearchprogram

on

improvingwomen’slaborforceparticipation.Ongoingprojectsinclude

reducinginformationalbarrierstojobsearchbyprovidinglabormarket

information

toyounggraduatesinIndiaviajobportals;expandingaccesstojobopportunitiesandtrainingfordomesticworkersinBangladeshthroughadigitalplatform;supportingrecentgraduatesoftechnical

educationprogramsin

Bangladeshwithjobsearchassistanceincludingjobplatformsign-up;andimplementingaseriesofinterventionsonjob

portalsinPakistan.Theseinterventionsincludetestingwhetherpublicizinggender-friendlyfeaturesofjobssuchasflexibleworkarrangements,supportforchildcare,

andsafetransportationcanreduceinformationasymmetriesandpromotewomen’semployment;usingacentralized

referenceverificationservicetohelpclose

gendergaps;andtestingwhetherfirmscanbeencouragedtoopen

adstowomen

andhowthisaffects

maleandfemalejobseekers.10Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchers|Thisprojectbringstogetherexpertisefromjobplatformpractitioners,academics,andpolicymakers

to

betterunderstandhowplatforms

can

improvelabormarketoutcomesforwomen,which

includesthefollowing:Expertinterviews:Sixteenplatformpractitionersandtenacademicsparticipatedinexpertinterviews,sharingtheirexperiencerunningorstudyingplatforms,identifying

barriers

toengagement,anddiscussingwhathas

workedindifferentcontexts.Literaturereview:Thereport

highlightskeyfindingsfromacademicresearchonjobseekerengagementwithplatformsand

theireffectsonemploymentoutcomes.Italsoincorporatesevidencefrom

policy

briefsandinstitutional

reportsthatdiscusstheevolvingroleof

platforms

in

labor

markets.Thescopeofthisproject

isasfollows:Platformfocus:

Theprimaryfocusisonplatformsthatallowemployerstopostadsandemployeestoapplyfortraditional

jobsthattakeplaceoffline

(suchasLinkedInor

M),incontrastto

freelanceorgigworkplatformswheretheworkconsistsofshort-term,defined

individualtasksonlineoroffline(suchas

UberorUpwork).

However,the

reviewof

evidenceincludessomematerial

related

togigworkandfreelanceplatformswhererelevant,particularlywhenthese

helpillustratehow

platformfeaturescansupportlaborforce

participationforwomenwhofacemobilityortimeconstraints.Together,thesechannels

accountforasignificantshareofglobal

jobsearchactivity.Recentestimatessuggestthatthenumberofworkersengagedingigwork

inthe

global

laborforce

ranges

from160.6

million

to438million(4.4to12.5

percent

of

the

globallaborforce)(Dattaetal.2023),while

over

675millionindividuals

(18.5

percentofthegloballaborforce)andover

20

million

companiesusetraditionaljobplatformsworldwide(Johnsonetal.2020).Regionalfocus:Expertinterviewsfocused

onplatformsoperating

inSouthAsiaandSub-SaharanAfrica.Theliteraturereviewcomplementstheseinterviewswithrelevantcasestudiesand

researchfromotherregions,including

high-income

settingswhererelevant.Sectoralfocus:Amongthesixteenplatformsreviewed,fourtargetwhite-

collarjobs,threefocusprimarilyonblue-collarwork,andtherestserveamix.Whilethecasestudiesandrecommendationsapplybroadly,particularattentionispaidto

features

thatmayenhanceengagement

among

women,low-SESindividuals,and

other

marginalizedjobseekers.Eachsectionofthereportsynthesizesinsightsfrominterviews,academicresearch,andpolicydocuments

relatedtoacoreaspectofthejobsearchprocess

andprovidesrecommendations

forplatformstosupportmore

inclusivepractices.Thereportconcludeswithsuggestionsforareasoffutureresearch.11Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchersMethodology|BridgetheGendered

Digital

DividethroughAccessibleDesign●1Accesstodigitaljobplatformstypicallydependsondigitalliteracy

andreliabletechnology—barriersthatdisproportionatelyaffectmarginalizedgroups.Thesebarriersareparticularlygendered.One

ofthemoreaccessibletypesoftechnologyisthe

mobile

phone;however,gendergapsinaccesstomobile

phones

persistglobally.InSouthAsia,thegendergapinphoneownershipstands

at

15percent,insmartphoneownershipat42percent,and

in

internetuseat41percent.InSub-SaharanAfrica,thepatternissimilar;the

gendergapinphoneownershipstandsat13

percent,

insmartphone

ownershipat28percent,andin

internet

useat36

percent

(GSMA2023).1

Figure1breaks

downthesegaps

bycountry.Source:Figure

1

from

GSMAMobile

Gender

GapReport(2023).

Ituses

data

from

the

GSMA

Consumer

Survey,2022.Base:

Totalpopulation

ages

18+.

Amobile

owneris

defined

as

aperson

whohas

sole

ormainuse

of

a

SIM

card(or

amobilephone

that

doesnotrequire

a

SIM)

anduses

it

at

least

once

amonth.Mobileinternetusers

donothave

topersonally

own

amobilephone.

The

gender

gapinmobile

ownership

andmobileinternet

userefers

tohowmuchlesslikely

a

womanisto

own

amobile(ortousemobile

internet)

than

aman.Maleandfemalemobileownershipandmobileinternetadoption,by

countryMOBILE

OWENERSHIP(%)MOBILEINTERNET

(%)EgyptEthiopiaGhanaKenyaNigeriaSenegalBangladeshIndiaIndonesiaPakistanGuatemalaMexico1

Inthisreport,thegendergapiscalculatedasthepercentageofthemalepopulationwhoownaphoneminusthepercentageofthefemalepopulationwhoownaphone,dividedbythepercentageofthemalepopulationwhoowna

phone.Figure1:

Gendergapinmobileownershipandinternetadoption12%57%26%34%38%20%43%40%15%38%14%4%2%27%7%6%5%13%20%11%10%35%9%2%13Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchersLATINAMERICA

ASIA

AFRICAWomenMenGENDER

GAPGENDER

GAP|offlineengagementtoreachand

retain

marginalizedusers.Findingthe

right

mixoftechnologyand‘live’humansupport

is

criticalforinclusion.

Platformstargetingunderservedgroupsmust

navigatehowtodeliverservicesefficientlywhile

remainingaccessibletouserswithlimiteddigitalskillsorconnectivity.Thisraisesthreekeyquestions:Whattypeoftechnologycanbestbalanceaccessibilityandfunctionality?Whatcombinationofautomatedand‘live’(inpersonortelephone)engagementis

mosteffectiveforreachingmarginalized

jobseekers?Andhowcanthisapproach

bedeliveredinacost-effectiveway?Theplatformsreviewed

inthis

report

used

avarietyoftechnologies:Evenamongthosewhoaccessanytechnology,womenmaybe

less

able

touseiteffectively(WEE-ConnectInitiative

2024;World

Bank2023c).

For

instance,

inPakistan,amongindividualswhohad

used

acomputerinthe

previousthree

months,

42percentofwomencould

perform

notasksoronlyonetaskoutof

ninetasks

assessedinasurvey(suchassendingemailsorcreatingpresentations)versus

just16percentof

men,

highlighting

agendergapindigitalskills

even

among

thosewithaccess(WorldBank

2024b).Toaddressthesebarriers,most

platforms

reviewedforthisreportincorporatedsomelevelofin-personsupport

alongside

digitaltools.Whiletechnologytypicallysupportsfunctionssuchasrecruitment,

CVcreation,interviews,andemployerscreening,theseservicesoftenrelyonSmartphoneApplications:Someplatformsrelied

entirely

onsmartphoneapps,

whileothersoffered

theminadditiontowebsites

.Launched

in2021by

President

Cyril

Ramaphosa,aspartofthePresidentialYouthEmploymentIntervention,SAYouth.mobi

is

a

multi-channel(inbound/outboundcalls,text,WhatsApp)platformthathelpsyoung,unemployedSouthAfricansfindworkbyconnectingthemthroughtheonlineplatformtoprivateandpublicsectoremployers.Figure2:Harambee/SA

Youth14Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchers|InteractiveVoiceResponse

(IVR):IVRsystemsuseautomatedvoicemenus

tohelp

callers

getinformationormakerequests

.Callers

caninteract

with

thesesystems(whichuseprerecordedmessages)usingtheir

voice(shortphrasesorwords)orby

pressingbuttonsontheirphone’skeypad

.UnstructuredSupplementaryServiceData(USSD):USSD

uses

charactersonamobile

keypadto

foster

real-time

interaction

basedontheoptionsselected

.Figure3:

JobTalashFigure4:

Exampleof

USSDSMS:A

few

platforms

used

SMS

toconnectjobseekers

withvacancies

.15Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchersSource:Figure3fromNon-RepudiationforVoIPCommunicationinUMTSandLTENetworks-Scientific

Figureon

ResearchGate.|Table1:

JobPlatformTechnologyTypeofTechnologyTechnologyAccessSkillRequired

fromJobseekerStrengthsWeaknessesWebsitesRequiresaccess

tothe

internetRequiresbasiccomputer

ormobileweb

page

literacyAllowfor

richerinformation

andprofilebuildingforjobseekers,moredetailsinvacancies

postedAccesstocomputers

andtheinternetisexpensive;marginalizedpopulationsexcludedCan

build

manyfeatures(suchasnetworking,learning)

onwebsiteSmartphoneapplicationsRequiresaccess

to

a

smartphone

withstableinternetRequiresfamiliaritywithsmartphoneusage

and

appsEasilyaccessiblefor

those

withsmartphonesRequiresaccessto

steady

phoneinternet;not

cheap

inallsettingsMorefrequentinteractionpossibleSMSRequiresaccess

toa

basic

phoneRequiresminimal

digitalskillsand

literacyCheaperandeasier

toaccessSMSsget

lostamong

spamLimitedinformation

canbe

collected

andconveyedUSSDRequiresaccess

toa

basic

phoneRequiresminimal

digitalskillsand

literacyInstantinteractions

(unlike‘blast’SMS)for

searching

orapplying

for

jobsLimitedinformation

canbe

collected

andconveyedCan

be

expensive

toset

up

and

monitorIVRRequiresaccess

toa

basic

phoneRequiresbasicphone

useAllowsinteractions

over

phoneforgroups

who

cannotreadLimitedinformation

canbe

collected

andconveyedCan

be

expensive

toset

up

and

monitorIn-personinteractionNotechnologyneededNoskills

neededEasier

to

reach

low-

incomejobseekersExpensive;noteasily

scalableMakesplatformsaccessibletothose

withlimited

digital

skillsFosterstrustintheplatform;

more

personalized16Making

jobplatformsworkforwomen:aguideforpractitionersand

researchersTable1summarizesthetypesoftechnologyusereportedby

platforms

reviewed.|CaseStudy:

Yuvasampark

IndiaChakravortyetal.(2023)supportedjobseekersinrural

Indiatosign

upwith

a

governmentjobplatform,Yuvasampark,

inanefforttohelpthem

during

economic

recoveryfromtheCOVID-19pandemic.Unfortunately,theresultsoftheexperimentshowednoimprovement

inlabormarketoutcomes;theresearchers

foundinfollowupsurveysthat

keybarriersincludedacumbersometheregistrationandlog-inprocess,

aswell

as

auserinterfacethatwas

diffi