Technology is revolutionizing the nature of the firm and the nature of work. In particular, the online space has opened up new opportunities for work, as it provides a new arena for buyers and sellers of goods and services to meet, even those who are far apart geographically. As more people get connected to the Internet, the online workplace is likely to grow even more. The aim of this body of work is to understand how this change is happening with a focus on how it affects people in the Global South. We focus in particular on understanding how marginalized groups (e.g. women, underemployed youth, etc.) are impacted, and designing policy solutions that are inclusive. More recently, we’ve been asking if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world of work. Our work currently focuses on the following areas:
Senior research managers Gayani Hurulle and Ayesha Zainudeen recently shared insights on the experience of women in India and Sri Lanka working remotely and flexibly during the pandemic at a jointly organised by LIRNEasia, the Centre for Policy Research (New Delhi) and the JustJobs Network at the 2022 Internet Research Conference (organised by the Centre for Internet and Society, CIS). LIRNEasia has been working with CPR and JJN over the last two and a half years on research on if and how digital platforms are empowering women with regards to work opportunities in India and Sri Lanka. The panel was moderated by Sabina Dewan (President and Executive Director, JJN) with panellists bringing in different perspectives and data. Devesh Taneja (Co-Founder, Vyre) started the discussion off with an overview of the platform ecosystem, business models and incentives. Gayani presented data on the gendered incidence and perceptions of remote work during COVID from our nationally representative surveys of the impacts of COVID in the two countries. Both Mukta Naik (Fellow, CPR) and Ayesha then brought in insights from our joint research Ecosystems of Engagement: Digital Platform and Women’s Work in Sri Lanka and India, with Mukta speaking about empowerment impacts and Ayesha […]
Report by Vignesh Ilavarasan on the estimation of the potential for automation in the Indian economy, December 2019.
Ramathi Bandaranayake presented the following paper at the 3rd International Conference on Gender Research, held July 16 – 17 2020. The conference took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper discusses the findings of our qualitative research related to female online freelancers in India and Sri Lanka. Bandaranayake, R., Iqbal, T., Galpaya, H., Senanayake, L., & Perampalam, S. (2020). ‘Now we are Independent’: Female Online Freelancers in India and Sri Lanka. In K. Jones, C. Collins, M. Davies, M. Della Giust, & G. James. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Gender Research (pp. 40-47). Reading, UK: University of Reading. DOI: 10.34190/IGR.20.121
Helani Galpaya 24 Sep 2019 | CEPA Open Forum | Colombo, Sri Lanka
Presented by Helani Galpaya, Ayesha Zainudeen and Tharaka Amarasinghe on 22 May 2019 in Colombo, Sri Lanka
AfterAccess: ICT access and use in Asia and the Global South (Version 3.0)