Relevance to Theme:
The workshops seeks to get to the heart of one crucial aspect of digital inclusion: what the future of work looks like for vulnerable populations, particularly, women with low-digital skills in the Global South.
Increased Internet connectivity and lower workforce costs have allowed companies to outsource a growing number of jobs to destinations across the Global South either through traditional BPO models or through online, freelancing platforms. In low and middle income countries, remote and platform-mediated work is usually perceived as a good chance to overcome pervasive unemployment and derive new sources of income for qualified populations.
Securing work, however, remains challenging for many, particularly for women.
On the one hand, required skill sets means that new work opportunities are beyond the reach of populations with lower levels of digital literacy, and oftentimes, with limited access to Internet connectivity. Additional challenges are faced by historically marginalized groups, such as low-income women.
Even for those able to take advantage of job creation, working conditions are often dire. In the case of talent platforms, for example, many spend a considerable number of unpaid hours looking and bidding for work. New platform users have a hard time securing their first gigs. Achieving liveable wages and dignified working conditions seems particularly difficult for a considerable proportion of the platform users.
Overall, vulnerable populations --low-income women in particular-- are at the risk of being further marginalized if unable to reap the benefits of the digital economy and the new and transforming nature of the jobs of the future.
The workshop seeks to discuss: (a) what gap exists between skills needed and workforce qualifications in the Global South; (b) what strategies can be set in place to close that gap, and ensure that women with low digital skills are better equipped to take advantage of new and transforming work opportunities; and (c) debate what policy and private sector compromises are needed for ensuring that the jobs of the future offer decent and sustainable livelihoods for women and populations at the margins.
Relevance to Internet Governance:
The Internet offers a wealth of opportunities to users, but it can also be a great magnifier of existing inequalities if efforts are not set in place to ensure the inclusion of marginalized communities.
Research has highlighted that low-income women and girls in developing countries not only tend to have less access to the Internet, they are also lagging behind in terms of digital skills. With the imminent transformation of the landscape brought about by automatization and the data revolution, considering the implications for low-income women in the Global South becomes a particularly relevant policy discussion for governments and private sector in particular.
Much debate has centered around opportunities of the future of work for the Global South, but what is often neglected is that emerging opportunities cater to a digitally-able workforce. Further debate is needed to understand: a) what it takes to vulnerable populations, such as low-income women, with lower digital skills to be brought up to speed and not left behind and b) how online platform workers may improve their working conditions and (c) what it takes to make online work accessible to vulnerable populations.