CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A new study has uncovered gender bias when it comes to rideshare drivers.
University of Norte Damn researchers said gender discrimination continues to plague organizations, including "gig economy" businesses, like Uber and Airbnb. Researchers said gig economy businesses offer temporary positions to independent workers while relying on consumer ratings and reviews as part of their advertising and marketing strategies.
But the system has its flaws; bias and discrimination can emerge as part of the review process, according to "How unbecoming of you: Online experiments uncovering gender biases in perceptions of ridesharing performance," forthcoming in the Journal of Business Ethics from Nathan Meikle, postdoctoral research and teaching associate, and Corey Angst, professor of information technology, analytics and operations at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
For the study, the team created an ostensibly new ride-sharing service called Agile Rides with a publicly available mock website to reinforce its legitimacy. University of Notre Dame researchers asked over 900 people what they say makes a good rider experience.
"In the online experiment, we examined participants' perceptions of the drivers," said Meikle, who specializes in social perception and its implications for organizations. "When driver performance was high-quality, participants rated female and male drivers equally. However, when driver performance was low-quality, participants rated female drivers significantly lower than male drivers."
The team suggests rideshare companies, such as Uber and Lyft, should consider implementing new algorithms to combat discrimination.
"If customers discriminate against female drivers, the female drivers may be dismissed from the platform, or at least punished financially, for performing equal quality work as men," Meikle said. "When employees' compensation and job security depend on the ratings of customers rather than on the ratings of managers, companies should examine whether customers are rating employees fairly and adjust the ratings accordingly."
