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/

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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.

While much of this podcast has focused on issues in the digital gig economy faced by informal workers, in this episode, I ask why household chores are considered as "women's work" and why this work is devalued.

Experts

Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad/FemLab

Anila Backer, University of Hyderabad

Show Notes

0.53. Challenging capitalist patriarchy and negotiating for women worker rights: Exploring the “right to sit” movement in Kerala, by Anila Backer: https://bit.ly/3JhOn3s

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

6.23. The gender wars of household chores: A feminist comic: https://bit.ly/3TRQIqV

17.19. Agency and servitude in platform labour: A feminist analysis of blended cultures, by Sai Amulya Komarraju, Payal Arora, Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/3VVeepl

21.05. ILO: Women do 4 times more unpaid care work than men in Asia and the Pacific: https://bit.ly/3xuRIJX

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.

According to the International Labour Organization, more than 2 billion people make their living in the informal economy. Of these 2 million workers, 740 million are women! More exposed to informal employment and in the most vulnerable situations. What does it mean to distinguish work and workers into 'formal' and 'informal'? And how does the digital gig and platform economy exacerbate issues of labor dignity?

Experts

Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad/FemLab

Sabina Dewan, JustJobs Network

Show Notes

0.27. Sabina Dewan: https://bit.ly/43XPY8n

0.53. Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/49DJVH0

1.19. FemLab.co: https://femlab.co/

1.25. FemLab symposium opening keynote: https://bit.ly/4b9PKgP

2.40. e-Shram portal: https://eshram.gov.in/

5.19. More than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population are in the informal economy; International Labour Organization Report, 2018: https://bit.ly/3PYuiTN

8.54. Work and place: The non-boundaries of women’s work, by Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/4d2e99M

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

11.47. Why loiter? Women and risk on Mumbai streets, by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, Shilpa Ranade

12.01. Behanbox: https://bit.ly/4cS1tCe

13.00. Agency and servitude in platform labour: A feminist analysis of blended cultures, by Sai Amulya Komarraju, Payal Arora, Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/3VVeepl

28.28. World employment and social outlook: The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work; International Labour Organization Report, 2021: https://bit.ly/3xuRAdr

38.01. Undoing unpaid work: Tackling time poverty is key to address gender inequality, by Sabina Dewan: https://bit.ly/3vOWUry

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.

Work, this big thing that fills our days and pays the bills, is woven into the very fabric of our lives. It's about how we contribute to the world around us and how it shapes our identities.

In this first episode, we're unpacking the essential question: What is work, especially in the digital age.

Experts

Aditi Surie, Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS)

Payal Arora, Utrecht University/FemLab

Show Notes

1.46. Aditi Surie: https://bit.ly/3TVfmGW

2.11. Platformization and informality: Pathways of change, Alteration, and transformation, edited by Aditi Surie and Ursula Huws: https://bit.ly/3U95gUm

2.19. Payal Arora: https://payalarora.com/

7.05. Work and place: The non-boundaries of women’s work, by Usha Raman: https://bit.ly/4d2e99M

15.30. Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana, by Keith Hart: https://bit.ly/3JjsfFP

17.19. NCEUS, National Commission for Enterprises in the Un-organised Sector: https://bit.ly/3vCzJ3P

18.40. The changing nature of work; World Development Report, 2019: https://bit.ly/3VVqF4C

23.12. The future of dishonourable work, by Payal Arora: https://bit.ly/3TTT3Br

23:14. Feminist Futures of Work: Reimagining Labour in the Digital Economy, edited by Payal Arora, Usha Raman, René König: https://bit.ly/3TRmswi

30.40. https://bit.ly/4d2e99M

32.46. Lady doctors: The untold stories of India’s first women in medicine, by Kavitha Rao

32.51. Lessons in chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus

32.50. When the kids grow up: Women’s employment and earnings across the family cycle, by Claudia Goldin, Sari Pekkala Kerr, Claudia Olivetti: https://bit.ly/3Ud6QVo

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.

What classifies as work? What does a workplace look like? Who is a worker?

FemWork is a podcast where we ask these and more questions; a podcast about a feminist approach to the future of work. FemWork is produced by Femlab, an initiative funded by IDRC (International Development Research Centre), and co-founded by Prof Usha Raman and Prof Payal Arora.

Know more about our project: https://femlab.co/