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.