This policy briefing examines the expansion of the digital economy and its implications for women in the Global South. Focusing on processes of platformisation and data extractivism, the publication questions narratives that equate women’s empowerment with access to digital technologies alone. The text explores how the growing concentration of power among transnational technology corporations intersects with existing inequalities and contributes to new forms of digital colonisation, reshaping labour, livelihoods, and economic participation.

The document examines the impacts of automation, platform-based labour, and digital microwork, with particular attention to women engaged in informal work and peasant agriculture. It discusses how the increasing commodification of data and the expansion of digital platforms affect local economies and supply chains, while also addressing debates on cross-border data flows and trade governance. The briefing further examines how women’s economic participation is invoked in international trade discussions, including within the World Trade Organization (WTO), and discusses proposals related to data sovereignty, collective data rights, and international accountability mechanisms for digital corporations as part of broader debates on global digital governance.