Author Archives: Isha Bhallamudi

Isha Bhallamudi recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University, and holds a PhD in Sociology from UC Irvine. Her research examines how new forms of digital labour are transforming the present and future of work, especially for women workers in the Global South. She has previously worked as a UX Research Intern at Google and co-authored reports on gender, development, and technology for UNICEF and UN Women.
isha.b@uci.edu
Workers are holding placards in a rally in India. One of them reads saying "ensure decent living wage."

Series Introduction: The Politics of Writing About Platform Workers’ Organizing

Isha Bhallamudi, Anushree Gupta November 4, 2025
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We are a group of scholars and researchers who work with gig and platform worker unions in India in various capacities. We form the India chapter of the Labor Tech Research Network collective, and have been meeting regularly from across the globe to share cross-sectoral organizing strategies, track the political landscape around gig & platform unions, and discuss research and reflections from our place-based engagements. Our work sits at the critical intersection of scholarship and activism. It involves amplifying workers’ voices, supporting unionisation efforts, and supporting workers in their struggles to lead more dignified and just working lives. Our discussions have inspired us to put together this blog series on the politics of writing about platform workers’ organizing. (read more...)

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Pictured some female school students, seemingly in Indian public school uniform, in blue colored clothes. The girl in front is holding up a paper and looking to her left.

Girls, Gadgets, and Gatekeepers: What is Ethical Feminist Fieldwork When Working with Children?

Isha Bhallamudi April 15, 2021

There is no Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent body in India. The ethics of research are left to the purview of researchers, their supervisors, and departments. Therefore, as an international PhD student, I first encountered the IRB when planning my MA project at UC Irvine, where I investigated the intersectional effects of gender and class within the family, and how they shape differential access to mobile phones for adolescents in urban India. (read more...)

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