Transparent Informality: The Ma(s)king of Professionals in Childcare Service Platforms

Abstract

The advent of digital care platforms has been observed to give rise to a new regime of visibility, which facilitates the standardization of informal work while maintaining its precarious conditions. While these apparently opposing processes are often viewed as a trade-off between professionalization and informalization, this paper aims to shed light on their mutual interdependence. The article analyzes the case of Babysits, a global digital platform offering childcare services, focusing on the Italian context. Through in-depth interviews with platform workers and managers, the study shows that while the platform encourages workers to present themselves as professionals, it does not facilitate the formalization of their working conditions. In fact, the visibility of workers is decoupled from the construction of actual pathways of professionalization. Overall, the article confirms that, despite the construction of a ‘client-oriented professional discourse’, digital care platforms remain embedded in the informal market and contribute to its expansion beyond traditional proximity networks.