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Reproducing global inequalities in the online labour market: valuing capital in the design field
File(s)
0950017020942447.pdf (134.03 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Demirel, Pelin
Nemkova, Ekaterina
Taylor, Rebecca
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Millions of freelancers work on digital platforms in the online labour market (OLM). The OLM’s capacity to both undermine and reproduce labour inequalities is a theme in contemporary platform economy debates. What is less well understood is how processes of social (re)production take place in practice for diverse freelancers on global platforms. Drawing on a study of freelance designers, we use Bourdieu’s notions of capital and field to explore the specific ‘rules of the game’ and the symbolic valuing of skills and identities that secure legitimacy and advantage in the OLM. We contribute to contemporary debates by illuminating the power of Global North actors to shape freelancer positions and hierarchies in the online design field. The ‘cost advantages’ of Global South workers are counterbalanced by the symbolic legitimising of specific cultural and social practices (specifically in relation to language) and the devaluing of others.
Date Issued
2021-10-01
Date Acceptance
2020-06-15
Citation
Work, Employment and Society, 2021, 35 (5), pp.914-930
URI
URL
DOI
ISSN
0950-0170
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
914
End Page
930
Journal / Book Title
Work, Employment and Society
Volume
35
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2020. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017020942447
Subjects
Social Sciences
Economics
Industrial Relations & Labor
Sociology
Business & Economics
cultural and symbolic capital
designers
fields
freelancers
online labour market (OLM)
platforms
GIG ECONOMY
WORK
NETWORKS
Industrial Relations
1402 Applied Economics
1503 Business and Management
1608 Sociology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-09-12