Databite No. 115: Carmen Rojas, Rachel Schneider, Tamara K. Nopper
Channel: Data & Society Research Institute
Date: 2018-12-11

Silicon Valley hopes to leverage data in order to disrupt the credit systems that many low-wage workers rely on. But at what cost?

Data & Society welcomes The Workers Lab Co-Founder and CEO Carmen Rojas; Entrepreneur and Author Rachel Schneider; and Professor, Researcher, and Activist Tamara K. Nopper to discuss the intersection of fintech and credit and benefit systems for low-wage workers with Data & Society Labor Engagement Lead Aiha Nguyen.

Rojas and Schneider both focus on the financial challenges facing precarious low-wage workers–including “gig” workers–and these workers might need different benefits than have traditionally been provided, like retirement. Nopper offers insight into the world of credit scoring and data, analyzing how fintech “innovation” intersects with race, class, and gender wealth gaps. Nguyen is an organizer who works to bridge research and practice, expanding understanding of technological systems’ impact on work. Together, they will discuss questions such as:

• How will current and projected income volatility in the gig economy change available workplace benefits?

• What role could fintech play on the future of work? Can workers be a part of shaping that future?

• What data will low-income working families need to give up in order to have access to capital–and will it be worth it?

This public event is the second in a fall conversation series at Data & Society on themes from Social Instabilities in Labor Futures, the new Data & Society research initiative that recently released the ethnographic report Beyond Disruption: How Tech Shapes Labor Across Domestic Work & Ridehailing.