The “Daily Digital”: (Re)imagining Technology in Home-Based Women’s Gig Work in Egypt.

Authors

  • Laila Mourad York University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v16i1.5880

Abstract

The gig economy is (re)shaping work and revolutionising the use of technology in everyday life. In Egypt, where more than 50 per cent of women’s enterprises are home-based, digital tools such as smartphones and social media are integral to managing informal labour practices. This paper challenges neoliberal development narratives by introducing the Daily Digital framework, a decolonial feminist lens that centres the relational and experiential dimensions of technology use. Unlike existing frameworks, it repositions the household as a site of innovation and economic agency, emphasising women’s creative strategies for (re)imagining technology and integrating it into their daily lives and work. Based on fieldwork conducted in Egypt in 2022 and 2023 with 25 home-based online food vendors, I demonstrate how women gig workers use their socially reproductive knowledges and relationalities to transform technology into a versatile tool for navigating and overcoming structural, material and social barriers, while (re)claiming and redefining their agency and mobility. This research contributes to feminist and decolonial scholarship by centring the lived experiences of women in informal economies and providing a new lens to theorise the intersections of technology, gender and labour. The Daily Digital framework offers valuable insights for (re)imagining gig work and advancing research and policy in the Global South.

Author Biography

Laila Mourad, York University

Laila Mourad is a PhD candidate at York University specializing in gender, labour, and international development through an interdisciplinary lens. Her research focuses on how women gig workers reimagine work, agency and economic justice in the digital age. Laila is the co-founder of the SWANA Feminist Collective, and outside of her academic pursuits, she trains and coaches in kickboxing. [Email: lmourad@yorku.ca]

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Published

2025-01-31