Category: Blog
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Will e-commerce revive Bangladesh’s artisanal economy?
[By Upasana Bhattacharjee, Payal Arora and Usha Raman] How does a nation participate in the digital creative economy centered on individual entrepreneurship while acknowledging its legacy in collectives of women producing crafts? This column explores the experience of Bangladesh, where despite the digitization of the craft industry, digital participation remains limited to a small number…
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Globalized creative economies: rethinking local craft, provenance, and platform design
[By Laura Herman] Can you recognize your friends’ and family members’ hand gestures? People have distinctive gestures: maybe your friend clasps her hands when she’s nervous, your mom taps her fingers together when she’s excited, or your cousin wags two fingers when making an argument. Now, imagine local artisans who hand-make their wares. Their hand…
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Will EdTech go the way of the gig economy?
[By Aditi Surie and Krishna Akhil] The forced push towards digitization of schooling-related activities due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated growth of Indian education technology (EdTech) companies. The sector plugs into and supplements the legacy of after-school tutoring and extracurricular activities by building businesses that take these services online. 80% of…
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Collective brainstorming to imagine a feminist labour collective
[By Siddharth de Souza and Siddhi Gupta] In early July 2021, as a group at FemLab.Co, we explored how to think about the connections between feminism, feminist design, and labour collectives that emerged in our work as researchers, lawyers, activists and designers. As part of this exercise, we were interested in discussing the ways in…
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How a women’s organization in Kerala stood up for the right to sit
[By Anila Backer A P] It hasn’t always been easy for women to attain and enjoy their rights. When we look back into history, most of the fundamental human rights have been won by women by protesting, taking to the streets in strikes and boycotts and fighting in the courtrooms. This is particularly true for…
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Women in Digital – the organization that has trained thousands of female coders in Bangladesh
[By Jamil Wyne] Greater inclusion in the technology sector – specifically ensuring that women and other under-represented groups can find gainful employment within it and make meaningful contributions to the sector – is predicated on building computing capacity of these demographics. Teaching coding skills, and broadening individuals’ exposure to digital industries writ large is a…
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Ethical consumerism: Gig economy’s road ahead
[By Brinda Gupta] “PM Modi announces a 21-day nation-wide lockdown as COVID-19 toll touches 12” read the headlines of the Hindu newspaper on March 24th, 2020. Offices indefinitely closed, shops shut, and gatherings banned. People pushed into their homes, unknown of what will happen next. A mask, a sanitizer, and a six-foot distance became the…
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No Woman’s Land: Female Cab Drivers On Indian Roads
[By Pallavi Bansal] The traditional taxis have always remained heavily male-dominated, but female drivers have always posed a serious threat to the long-established ideas of patriarchy and masculinity. “If you are driving, I need to check my insurance,” “Will you be able to reverse the car? And what about parking? Do you need me to…
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The future of development innovation and finance is feminist
[By Ramona Liberoff] Over more than 25 years of working in innovation and impact, I came to two conclusions: the first is that our public and international finance system needed significant reform for a more just world. The second is that despite the welcome appearance of female leaders like Christine Lagarde and Kristalina Giorgieva, the…
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“The support has to come from home”: Evidence-based assessment of platform work in India
[By Sreelakshmi Ramachandran] When considering the strategies for India’s economic rebound, it is imprudent to overlook the potential of the wider digital economy, as this all-pervasive technology has altered urban landscapes and living in the last decade in the country. An explosive combination of cheap handsets, lowest data costs in the world and rapid advances…
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