Solidarity Gaps: Why French Nannies Want Their Own Platform Cooperative

Abstract

This paper investigates the evolution of job search experiences among nannies in France in the context of digital transformation. Drawing on collective interviews with nannies organized through the nonprofit Gribouilli, the study examines how unpaid work has intensified and how traditional forms of social support—offered by children, colleagues, and former employers—are challenged on care labor platforms like Bébé Nounou. Using theories of solidarity, the digital divide, and reproductive labor, this research introduces the concept of solidarity gaps, revealing three key obstacles to mutual aid on care platforms: (1) the organizational complexity of mobilizing support networks, (2) communicational dissonance in crafting profiles and job ads, and (3) the uneven distribution of economic and social costs, which affect not only nannies but their socio-digital ecologies. These gaps expose the limits of techno-design in a sector historically shaped by gender, race, and class hierarchies. The study argues that while traditional labor platforms are structurally unfit to address these issues, platform cooperatives offer promising alternatives—yet often lack the investment ecosystem to implement it. It draws on Gribouilli’s cooperative initiative and global examples in nannycare like IMA Limpia and Homecare (SEWA), contributing to ongoing debates on solidarity tech and cooperative design.

Keywords: digital platforms, job search, platform cooperative, digital divide, solidarity, reproductive labor, domestic work, care