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Gig Platforms as Faux Infrastructure: A Case Study of Women Beauty Workers in India

Authors:

Ira Anjali Anwar,

Michaelanne Thomas,

Kentaro Toyama,

Julie HuiAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 6, Issue CSCW2

Article No.: 409, Pages 1 - 25

https://doi.org/10.1145/3555134

Published: 11 November 2022 Publication History

Abstract

In order to sustain everyday life in India during pandemic induced lockdowns, home service gig platforms materialized to provide essential services for urban society. As unemployment worsened, these gig platforms also emerged as key sources of paid work for gig workers, with some platforms promising an unusual degree of health and financial support for their gig workforce. Through semi-structured interviews, we examine how women beauty workers engaged with the infrastructural promise extended by home service gig platforms during the pandemic. While gig platforms promoted the potential of stable income and social security in the context of the Global South, we investigate the reality behind this image. We find that various breakdowns, from miscommunication around localized travel restrictions to limited platform helpline access, introduces day-to-day unpredictability for gig workers, hindering access to paid work as well as other platform extended benefits. We suggest that home service gig platforms actually serve as 'faux infrastructure,' in which the privatized logics work to enclose public value, while pushing the burden of access onto gig workers who must perform additional, often unpaid labors, in order to fill last-mile service gaps.

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Doggett OGram SJit SHarb BHarb HShafik MSoden RRatto M(2024)Digital Gig Work Under Unstable Energy Infrastructures: Invisible Workarounds and Alternative ImaginariesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869498:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
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Anjali Anwar IGarcia PHui J(2024)Entangled Independence: From Labor Rights to Gig "Empowerment" Under the Algorithmic GazeProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869168:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
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Index Terms

Gig Platforms as Faux Infrastructure: A Case Study of Women Beauty Workers in India
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 6, Issue CSCW2

CSCW

November 2022

8205 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3571154

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Published: 11 November 2022

Published in PACMHCI Volume 6, Issue CSCW2

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Cited By

Wani ASingh P(2025)Understanding the Role of Community Training Centers on Skill-Based Entrepreneurial Training Among Women in KashmirProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/37012159:1(1-14)Online publication date: 10-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3701215
Doggett OGram SJit SHarb BHarb HShafik MSoden RRatto M(2024)Digital Gig Work Under Unstable Energy Infrastructures: Invisible Workarounds and Alternative ImaginariesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869498:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3686949
Anjali Anwar IGarcia PHui J(2024)Entangled Independence: From Labor Rights to Gig "Empowerment" Under the Algorithmic GazeProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869168:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3686916
Liu YLiaqat AZhang XEspinosa MManjunatha AYang APapakyriakopoulos OMonroy-Hernández A(2024)Mapping the Landscape of Independent Food Delivery Platforms in the United StatesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373698:CSCW1(1-20)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637369
Dedema MRosenbaum H(2024)Socio‐technical issues in the platform‐mediated gig economyJournal of the Association for Information Science and Technology10.1002/asi.2486875:3(344-374)Online publication date: 8-Jan-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1002/asi.24868
Huber LPierce C(2023)Navigating the empty shell: the role of articulation work in platform structuresJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication10.1093/jcmc/zmad00428:4Online publication date: 29-Jun-2023
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad004

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