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

Anjali Anwar, Ira, Thomas, Michaelanne, Toyama, Kentaro, Hui, Julie·2022·Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
DOI 10.1145/3555134
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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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Metadata

Authors
Anjali Anwar, I., Thomas, M., Toyama, K., & Hui, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
  • University of Michigan (US)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2022-11-07
Volume
6
Issue
CSCW2
Pages
1-25
ISSN
2573-0142 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1145/3555134
OpenAlex
W4309620204
Cited by
20
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2
FWCI
5.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Locations
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Legal and Labor Studies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
Keywords
gig platforms, COVID-19 lockdown, platform work, travel restrictions, unpaid work, public value, India

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