Flexible working in freelance self-employment during COVID-19: gender differences and comparisons with wage-and-salaried employees

Abstract Solo self-employment or freelance work offers greater flexibility and autonomy over the timing and conditions of work than wage-and-salaried employment. This flexibility is known to be gendered as women take up greater shares of part-time self-employment than their male counterparts. This form of employment facilitates working from home for caring and family reasons. In 2020, COVID-19 and subsequent containment measures drastically accelerated moves towards flexible working, particularly remote and hybrid working, in the waged sector. Labour Force Survey data from Ireland show that flexible working factors are less strongly associated with self-employment for women after 2020, reflecting narrowing of gaps between self-employed and wage-and-salaried workers during this period. While some levelling is evident, gender gaps in flexible working among the solo self-employed remain robust to broader changes. The results point to the continued relevance of, and desire for more flexible and autonomous working conditions among the working mother demographic and that these factors may be a motivator into self-employment or freelance work.