Category: Blog
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Is feminist design a solution to platform workers’ problems?
[By Pallavi Bansal] Imagine a scenario in which you do not get shortlisted for a job interview – not because you are underqualified – but because the algorithms were trained on data sets that excluded or underrepresented your gender for that particular position. Similarly, you found out that you are consistently paid less than your colleagues
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Tilting towards equality: Can nudges improve gender inclusion?
[By Helen Smith and Sharmi Surianarain] In the fight for greater gender equality and inclusion, governments, NGOs and other stakeholders are increasingly recognising the power of nudges to change human behaviour. The results are promising. Ever heard the question: “Would you like fries with your burger?” or “Do you want to supersize that drink?” You’ve
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There’s little shine on these bangles for those who make them
[By Usha Raman] The touristic imagination of Hyderabad city is marked by a few dominant images: the aromatic and spicy biryani, the 15th century structure known as Charminar, the historic pearl trade, and the stone-studded bangles of Laad Bazaar. Even as many visitors to the city stop on their way to the airport to pick up
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Moving in reverse gear? Informalizing the construction sector in the ‘Smart City’ of Pune
[By Shweta Mahendra Chandrashekhar] With the nationwide lockdown being lifted in different parts of India, life for most of us seems to be limping back to normalcy. However, on my way to work, via one of the busiest roads of Pune, I find that life continues to be at a standstill. Women and men who had
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Coders’ dilemmas: The challenge of developing unbiased algorithms
[By Samarth Gupta] The 21st century has seen the rapid rise of algorithms to control, manage, analyze, and perform any number of operations on data and information. Some believe that decision-making processes can be significantly improved by delegating tasks to algorithms, thereby minimizing human cognitive biases. As Tobias Baer argues: “The rise of algorithms is
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Locked down but unlocked: How online retail may preserve Bangladesh’s Jamdani heritage craft
[By Rawshon Akhter and Mohammad Sahid Ullah] Haji Razzaque, an artisanal broker of around 50 years, shares his struggles of selling the products from Bangladesh’s Jamdani weavers, purveyors of a largely female-driven craft. He speaks of how, as a young boy, he would spend three to four hours every Friday morning at the Jamdani haat
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Not quite the death of distance: Challenging the resettlement utopia of Perumbakkam
[By Sunitha Don Bosco and Maartje van Eerd] “I have a house now, nice and shining new, but what am I supposed to do in it? Sit inside and admire the house all day? I cannot eat the house, can I? I have a stomach to fill. I cannot find a job here; I cannot
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Beyond access: Towards meaningful connectivity
[By Teddy Woodhouse and Chenai Chair] In addition to her full-time job as an invoicing agent with a community Wi-Fi service provider, Heny sells mangoes. Fortunately for her, she’s able to use the public Wi-Fi network at her work to post pictures and announce the latest shipments of new produce to would-be customers. Heny is
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When women’s employment equals family disgrace: A Case from Rural India
[By Renza Iqbal] Fariha, 19 years, belongs to a middle-class family. Though her family could afford to get her a smartphone, it was not deemed necessary. Fariha’s first smartphone was gifted to her by her husband. She sought her husband’s approval before installing WhatsApp on her phone. She had been married off soon after her
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The future of ‘dishonourable’ work
[By Payal Arora] I was a waitress for three and a half years at an Indian restaurant in San Francisco in the early 1990s. Having been brought up in a privileged family in Bangalore, the ‘waiting’ on people was a novel experience for me. I was excited though as it was my first job abroad
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