Behind the glossy screens and sleek interfaces of the digital economy lie harsh realities of exploitation and inequality. The lack of transparency in how digital platforms function lead to skewed power dynamics in favour of corporations and platforms, bringing forth concerns around data privacy, surveillance, and exploitation of workers and users. The rise of generative AI will also reshape the landscape of digital labour in ways we perhaps cannot currently imagine.

In the final episode, I’m exploring the titular question: How can we create a better future of work?

Experts

Payal Arora, Utrecht University/FemLab

Shaik Salauddin, Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU)

Jamil Wyne, Climate Technology & Investment Specialist

Show Notes

2.18. A feminist human–machine communication framework: Collectivizing by design for inclusive work futures, by Chinar Mehta, Payal Arora, Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/4apjNAZ

4.19. Shaik Salauddin: https://bit.ly/3Q3YnRH

4.28. Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT): https://bit.ly/3Ue9A4A

6.20. Social Security Code: https://bit.ly/3UcPec1 & Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines: https://bit.ly/3Uh6eOt

6.55. Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU): https://tgpwu.org/

12.35. Fair work, feminist design, and women’s labor collectives, by Payal Arora and Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/3xCA07v

13.03. Whisper networks and workarounds: Negotiating Urban Company’s interface, by Sai Amulya Komarraju: https://bit.ly/3w2ik4u. See also: Feminist design framework for envisioning gender-inclusive ride-hailing sector: Perspectives from India, by Pallavi Bansal, Payal Arora, Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/49CSu4Q

17.40. Entrepreneurs craft the future of collective artisanal economies in Bangladesh, by Upasana Bhattacharjee: https://bit.ly/49w5bi5

19.56. Jamil Wyne: https://www.jamilwyne.com/

27.33. Converging forces: Navigating climate change and the future of work in developing countries, by Jamil Wyne: https://bit.ly/4cZxDvt

29.50. 5 areas where VCs can play an outsized role in addressing climate change, by Jamil Wyne and Abrar Chaudhury: https://tcrn.ch/3vNO39H

45.01. From pessimism to promise: Lessons from the Global South on designing inclusive tech, by Payal Arora (forthcoming, 2024): https://bit.ly/3QL7ffy

Check out our open access book: Feminist Futures of Work: Reimagining Labour in the Digital Economy, edited by Payal Arora, Usha Raman, René König: https://bit.ly/3TRmswi

Know more about our IDRC-funded initiative: https://femlab.co/

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

In today's episode, we're talking about the transformative changes that have swept through Global South economies over the past decade. To better understand the evolving dynamics of the digital gig economy, we must understand how the rise of digital platforms has shifted the landscape of informal work.

Experts

Isha Bhallamudi, University of California (Irvine)

Sonakshi Agarwal, Labour and Digital Economy Researcher

Show Notes

1.19. Isha Bhallamudi: https://www.ishabhallamudi.com/

1.39. Sonakshi Agarwal: https://bit.ly/3UdXkkz

31.40. Centering Rights in the Platform Workplace, by Shreeja Sen, Sreyan Chatterjee, Sonakshi Agarwal, and Amoha Sharma: https://bit.ly/4dpRIvn

33.33. Decent Work vis-a-vis Workers’ Data Rights and Social Security Concerns in an Algorithmified Workplace, by Shreeja Sen, Sreyan Chatterjee, Sonakshi Agarwal: https://bit.ly/3Q1hmMV

34.48. Proposed Digital India Act, 2023: https://bit.ly/3JeawQr

35.20. Inputs to the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023, by Sreyan Chatterjee, Shreeja Sen, Nandini Chami: https://bit.ly/3Uf2M6P

36.38. Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT): https://bit.ly/3Ue9A4A

36.43. All India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU): https://bit.ly/3VSCE2P

38.18. Uber BV and others (Appellants) v Aslam and others (Respondents): https://bit.ly/3vFDe9H

41.02. EU Platform Directive: https://bit.ly/3xzaAri

41.33. The Case for Femwork: Feminist Design Principles in Tech and Tech-Enabled Work, by Payal Arora and Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/3TVUj7p

43.06. Financial matters & motives: Insights into the various lives of gig workers; Gig Pulse Report, 2023: https://bit.ly/3TYnYwu

44.39. Namma yatri: https://nammayatri.in/

48.01. Gig Economy Project – Is sub-contracting becoming the new normal in the platform economy? https://bit.ly/3TNDT0I

48.48. Rapido pilots cab ride hailing and hyper local delivery: https://bit.ly/3TRWjgV

52.44. Centring Rights in the Platform Workplace, by Shreeja Sen, Sreyan Chatterjee, Sonakshi Agarwal, and Amoha Sharma: https://bit.ly/3VTq0AI

Check out our open access book: Feminist Futures of Work: Reimagining Labour in the Digital Economy, edited by Payal Arora, Usha Raman, René König: https://bit.ly/3TRmswi

Know more about our IDRC-funded initiative: https://femlab.co/

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

In this episode, we’ll look into workform and workplace considerations, recognising the myriad places—the home, the street, the homes of others—where informal workers engage in labour. And how this affects workers’ identities and perceptions.

Experts

Karishma Mehrotra, Independent Journalist

Salonie Muralidhara Hiriyur, SEWA

Poulami Seal, Georgia State University

Kondam Nikhil Reddy, Ohio University

Show Notes

1.04. Feminist Futures of Work: Reimagining Labour in the Digital Economy, edited by Payal Arora, Usha Raman, René König: https://bit.ly/3TRmswi

1.33. Karishma Mehrotra: https://www.karishmamehrotra.com/

1.57. We asked dozens of Indian gig workers about their future. They see none, by Karishma Mehrotra: https://bit.ly/4cNzx2p

3.28. Human touch, by Karishma Mehrotra: https://bit.ly/3TU7hlW

8.43. Salonie Muralidhara Hiriyur: https://bit.ly/3vRgCDe

9.31. Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA): https://www.sewa.org/

11.06. SEWA Sangini Cooperative: https://bit.ly/3Uhdiux

11.09. SEWA Shaishav: https://bit.ly/4aV68S9

12.52. Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT): https://bit.ly/3Ue9A4A; All India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU): https://bit.ly/3VSCE2P

16.59. Government e Marketplace (GEM): https://gem.gov.in/

19.38. Poulami Seal: https://bit.ly/3WoPmXt; Kondam Nikhil Reddy: https://bit.ly/4a3HD4r

Check out our open access book: Feminist Futures of Work: Reimagining Labour in the Digital Economy, edited by Payal Arora, Usha Raman, René König: https://bit.ly/3TRmswi

Know more about our IDRC-funded initiative: https://femlab.co/

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.