Aditi Surie

Senior Consultant - Academics & Research | asurie at iihs dot ac dot in

EDUCATION:
2011    MA, Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi
2009    BA, Sociology (Hons), Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, Delhi

 

Countries: India
States: Karnataka, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal
Cities: Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata
Languages: English, Hindi, French

Aditi Surie is a sociologist with training from the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics. Aditi’s research has been academic, policy-focused and action-oriented over the past seven years. She began her research career when she was granted a research fellowship by the European Commission in 2010. The short, multilingual research project yielded insights on differences in childcare infrastructure (creches) for neighbourhoods of varying socio-economic profile in Paris. This fellowship also gave Aditi the chance to construct European society as an object of inquiry as a Southern, Indian scholar, thus reversing the usual trajectory of research.



Continuing with the focus on urban issues, Aditi joined the SUBURBIN project at the Centre de Sciences Humaines de Delhi. The SUBURBIN project had, as its core research inquiry, the definition of urbanisation in India – normatively and in statistical measurement – with the aim to forefront the role of small towns in India’s urban transition. Aditi’s work under Dr Marie-Helene Zerah approached this from a study of the power and position of municipal councillors in small-towns in Delhi-NCR region. A gendered analysis of small town councillors from this work  led her to join the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) to do more focused gender and action-based research. Aditi worked on several projects at ICRW that were centered around women’s economic empowerment including women entrepreneurs and women workers in micro, small and medium enterprises.



Aditi’s current research investigates the nature and conditions of work in the life of urban residents bereft of state-sponsored work and social security. She is particularly focused on understanding how Silicon Valley tech companies, at the forefront of creating the ‘gig economy’ (like platforms of Uber and Ola cabs), impact Indian urban workers whose experiences do not rest easily with the Northern discourses associated with the gig economy.

Research Projects at IIHS

2016 – ongoingHungry Cities Partnership
2015 – 2016Karnataka Human Development Report
2015 – ongoingThe Nature of Employment in Platform Economy Companies in India
2015 –  2015The Impoverishment of Poverty (IIED)

Previous Teaching Experience

 Sep 12 – Feb13Young India Fellowship Program (now Ashoka University)
Courses: Governing the Indian Metropolis anchored by Sciences-Po; Sociology of the Environment taught by Dr. Amita Bhaviskar

Journal Articles

  • Surie, A. (2021). Coalitions of socio-technical infrastructure: Platforms as essential services. Communication, Culture and Critique, 14(3), 539-544. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcab044
  • Chowdhury, A. R., Surie, A., & Bhan, G. (2021). Breastfeeding knowledge and practices of working mothers in the informal economy in New Delhi: A formative study to explore new intervention pathways towards improved maternal and child health outcomes. Social Science & Medicine, 281, Article 114070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114070
  • Surie, A. (2020). On-demand platforms and pricing: How platforms can impact the informal urban economy, evidence from Bengaluru, India. Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 14(1), 83-100.
  • Horwood, C., Surie, A., Haskins, L., Luthuli, S., Hinton, R., Chowdhury, A., Rollins, N. (2020). Attitudes and perceptions about breastfeeding among female and male informal workers in India and South Africa. BMC Public Health 20, 875 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09013-9
  • Bhan, G., Surie, A., Horwood, C., Dobson, R., Alfers, L., Portela, A., & Rollins, N. (2020). Informal work and maternal and child health: A blind spot in public health and research. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 98(3), 219–221.
  • Surie, A., & Sharma, L. V. (2019). Climate change, Agrarian distress, and the role of digital labour markets: evidence from Bengaluru, Karnataka. Decision, 46(2), 127-138.
  • Surie, A., (2018, June 16). Are Ola and Uber Drivers Entrepreneurs or Exploited Workers?.  Economic & Political Weekly Engage. Retrieved from https://www.epw.in/engage/article/are-ola-and-uber-drivers-entrepreneurs-exploited-workers
  • Surie, A. (2017). Tech in work: organising informal work in India. Economic & Political Weekly, 52(20), 12-15.
  • Surie, A., & Koduganti, J. (2016). The emerging nature of work in platform economy companies in Bengaluru, India: Case of Uber and Ola cab drivers. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 5(3), 1-30.

 

Books/ Book Chapters

  • Surie, A. (2023). Marketplace models and business strategies: Prioritising women’s work in the platform economy. In S. Dewan & K. Sanyal (Eds.), Empowerment or exploitation? global perspectives on women’s work in the platform economy (pp. 82-95). Just Jobs Network. https://www. justjobsnetwork.org/files/empowerment-orexploitation-global-perspectives-on-womenswork-in-the-platform-economy_may-2023.pdf
  • Surie, A., & Huws, U. (2023). Platformization and informality: Pathways of change, alteration, and transformation. In A. Surie & U. Huws (Eds.), Platformization and Informality (pp. 1–12). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11462-5_1
  • Surie, A., Goswami, A., Arakali, A., Revi, A., Ravindranath, D., Bhan, G., Anand, G., Balakrishnan, K., Kapoor, N., Sami, N., Vasanth, P., Anand, S., Smitha, M. B., Viswanath, S., Baberwal, S., Mitra, S., Batikar, T., & John, V. (2023). Towards a new urban practice: The urban fellows programme 2016-2022. Indian Institute for Human Settlements. https://doi.org/10.24943/9788195847303
  • Kumar, A. K. A., & Surie, A. (2023). Teachers in India and EdTech: A new part of the gig economy?. In P. Arora, U. Raman, & R. König (Eds.), Feminist futures of work: Reimagining labour in the digital economy.  Amsterdam University Press.
  • Surie, A., & Kumar, A. K. A. (2022). Gender out of focus: methodological reflections on work in India’s platform economy.  In Global Perspectives on Women, Work, and Digital Labour Platforms (pp. 73-80). Digital Future Society.
  • Surie, A., & Zerah, M-H. (2017). Purdah and politics: Women’s participation in local governance. In E. Denis & M-H. Zérah (Eds.), Subaltern urbanisation in India: an introduction to the dynamics of ordinary towns (pp. 397-420). New Delhi: Springer.

 

Other Writing

  • Surie, A., Zainudeen, A., Jayasinghe, G.,  Samaratunga, I.,  Kumar, A. K. A., Naik, M., Seth, P., Bandaranayake, R., de Silva, R., Dewan, S., Roy, S. N.,  & Amarasinghe, T. (2022). Ecosystems of engagement: Digital platforms and women’s work in Sri Lanka and India. International Development Research Centre.
  • Surie, A., & Tandon, A. (2023, April 20). Blinkit protests: For gig workers, there is no income security – and little legal recourse. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/blinkit-protests-for-gig-workers-there-is-no-income-security-8567205/
  • Surie, A. (2023, May 17). Rajasthan’s move spells some hope for gig workers. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rajasthans-move-spells-some-hope-for-gig-workers/article66858299.ece
  • Surie, A. (2023, April 20). Blinkit protests: For gig workers, there is no income security – and little legal recourse. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/blinkit-protests-for-gig-workers-there-is-no-income-security-8567205/
  • Surie, A. (2022, April 09). What forces us to look at food delivery platforms’ powers differently. Economictimes.com. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/what-forces-us-to-look-at-food-delivery-platforms-powers-differently/articleshow/90734596.cms
  • Ravindranath, D., Chowdhury, A. R., Surie, A., & Bhan, G. (2021). Effects of social protection for women in informal work on maternal and child health outcomes: A systematic Literature Review. Indian Institute for Human Settlements.
  • Surie, A. (2020, October 8). Gig work and its skewed terms. The Hindu.
  • Surie, A. (2020, August 17). Pandemic exposure: ‘Platform’ infrastructure in public use in India. Compas Coronavirus and Mobility Forum.
  • Surie, A. (2020, March 25). Services at our doorstep. The Hindu.
  • Surie, A. (2019, November 12). The future of work. The Hindu.
  • Chowdhury, A. R., & Surie, A. (2018, September 4). To work or breastfeed: tough choice sets back women in India’s informal economy. Indiaspend. Retrieved from http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/to-work-or-breastfeed-tough-choice-sets-back-women-in-indias-informal-economy-25276
  • Surie, A. (2018, June 8). In the driver’s seat. Himal Southasian. Retrieved from http://himalmag.com/on-the-drivers-seat-uber-ola-india-strike/
  • Surie, A., & Neha S. (2017). The urban food system of Bangalore, India. Cape Town, South Africa: Hungry Cities Partnership, University of Cape Town.
  • Surie, A (2017, August 10). Working on the App-based Model. The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/working-on-the-app-based-model/article19458973.ece
  • Surie, A. (2016, April 28). Where Are the Women in Make in India’s Vision? The Mint Retrieved from http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/x1NJqQiCdx8bQrxE95ju6N/Where-are-the-women-in-Make-In-Indias-vision.html
  • Surie, A. (2014, November 11). The Indian Uber driver The Indian Express Retrieved from http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/the-indian-uber-driver-2774392/
  • Surie, A. Koduganti, J. (2017, July 13). Nature of Platform Economy Work in India. Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, KA, India.
  • Surie, A. (2016, August). The Emerging Nature of Work in Platforms. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA, USA. August 20-23, 2016.
  • Surie, A. Koduganti, J. (2016, September 19) Work on Platforms in India. British Sociological Association: Work, Employment and Society Annual Meeting. University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
  • Surie, A., & Koduganti, J. (2016, June). Emerging nature of work in platform economy companies in India. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Precarious Work and Vulnerable Workers, ADAPT (Association for International and Comparative Studies in Labour Law and Industrial Relations) and Middlesex University Business School, London.
  • Surie, A. (2014, April). Women councilors in Haryana’s small towns. Paper presented at the SUBURBIN project conference, India International Center, New Delhi.
  • Surie, A. (2014, December). Gender and Governance: Reflections from fieldwork. Paper presented at the Lassnet Conference, University of Perridiniya, Sri Lanka.
  • Surie, A. (2011, October). Re-Gendering Rape Law: a discursive reading of law commission reports. Paper presented at the National Queer Conference, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
  • Surie, A. (2011, March). Pas de Bèbes à la Consigne – an indirect investigation into childcare, India International Center, New Delhi, India.