Technology, Employment and Wellbeing

In our seventh issue of the Technology, Employment, and Wellbeing blog, we would like draw your attention to way work is changing in the Global South. The articles in this issue offer a diverse and insightful perspective on digitalisation across various industries and national contexts.

The digital transformation in the Global South offers new opportunities for economic growth, improved access to global markets, enhanced innovation, and more inclusive development. However, many countries face numerous challenges, including limited infrastructure, digital inequality, policy gaps, cybersecurity risks, skill shortages, and uneven economic benefits. A recent ILO study has demonstrated that, despite the changes introduced by digital technologies in organizations and work conditions, the outcomes may not necessarily be conducive to meaningful development in low- and middle-income countries, suggesting that the opportunities created by digitalization do not significantly contribute to the local economy or foster productive structural transformation.

Against this background, the project -  Politics and the Future of Work in Middle-Income Countries (PolDigWork) at the University of Erfurt funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) explores the impact of digitalization on the future of work across three continent.

In the first article, using new survey data from Ghana, Evans Awuni discusses a web of challenges that could shape or shatter this transformation. It looks at how digital technologies are both empowering individuals and exacerbating inequalities.

The second article, Gift Mwonzora provides a snapshot of automotive and agricultural sectors in South Africa, providing concrete policy recommendations.

In the third article, Viddy Ranawijaya zooms in on media sentiments on the future of work in Indonesia, highlighting contrasting visions of transformative technologies that are changing the world of work.

In the fourth article, Achim Kemmerling summarises the discussion based on stakeholder input in Mexico. The findings of  this expert focus group discussing the challenges and opportunities brought by digital change were published by FES Mexico previously.

The last article by Andrew Crawford, focuses on digitalisation without automation in Cambodian garment factories, discussing examples of  digital payment systems, trans-continental worker-company communication platforms, garment tracking technologies and heat sensors.