mbers of the creative class, a strata of work specifically associated with freelance industries, such as knowledge workers, technologists, professional writers, artists, entertainers, and media workers.[8]
The total number of freelancers in UK is also inexact, however figures from the Office of National Statistics show that people working mainly at or from home rose from 9.2% in 2001 to 10.7% in 2011.[9] It has been estimated that there are approximately 1.7 million freelancers in the UK,[10] however.
Freelancing is a gendered form of work.[1] The 2012 Freelance Industry Report estimates that more than 71% of freelancers are women between the ages of 30-50. Surveys of other specific areas of freelancing have similar trends. Demographic research on Amazon Mechanical Turk reveals that the majority of North American Mechanical Turk workers are women[11] Catherine McKercher's research on journalism as a profession has showcased that while media organizations are still male dominated, the reverse is true for freelance journalists and editors, whose ranks are mainly women.[12]
Benefits
Freelancers do not list one singular reason for freelancing, the perceived benefits differ by gender, industry, and lifestyle. For instance, the 2012 Freelance Industry Report reported that men and women freelance for different reasons. Female survey respondents indicated that they prefer the scheduling freedom and flexibility that freelancing offers, while male survey respondents indicated they f