While women take up white-collar freelance roles primarily to enable them to stay in the workforce, men choose independent roles to build their professional brand, according to research into work patterns carried out by the white-collar gig platform Flexing It. The skill architecture is different too. Technology has emerged as a major skill area for both. Skills like strategy and business development, as well as supply chain and logistics, have a significant supply of highly skilled male consultants. This is contrasted by the skills of HR and finance that female consultants bring in large proportions.