The Soenario Kolopaking Team from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has won first place in the National Student Scientific Article Competition at the Sociology Competition of Unesa (SOCIUS) 2025, organized by Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA). The competition ran from June 10 to August 3, 2025, and was participated in by eight universities from across Indonesia.
The Soenario Kolopaking Team consists of Nurima Setianingrum and Afkaar Nabil Falah. Under the guidance of Gregorius Ragil Wibawanto, M.A., the team successfully presented their scientific paper titled “The Public Between the State and the Market: The Struggle of Female Online Ojek Drivers in Layered and Persistent Vulnerability.”
This research highlights the experiences of female motorcycle ride-hailing drivers in Yogyakarta who face multiple forms of vulnerability, ranging from economic pressure, road safety risks, and social stigma, to harassment and the double burden of being both the family breadwinner and household caretaker. Using a qualitative approach through participant observation and in-depth interviews, the team revealed how these female workers are often “caught” between minimal state protection and the exploitative logic of the market. Nevertheless, they have built solidarity through communities such as Srikandi and KGMP, which serve as alternative public spaces for mutual support.
“We hope this research serves as a reminder that digitally based work does not automatically liberate everyone. Behind technological sophistication and motivational slogans lie stories of struggle, uncertainty, and neglected rights. We also hope this study can be a reference for the government and platform companies to start designing fairer and more inclusive policies for vulnerable groups—especially women working in the informal digital sector—because in reality, they work not to enrich themselves, but simply to survive another day,” the Soenario Team stated.
This achievement underscores the role of sociological research as a means of social advocacy. The Soenario Kolopaking Team hopes that their findings can serve as a reference for governments and platform companies in formulating policies that are fairer and more supportive of vulnerable workers, particularly women in the informal digital sector.