Filtering the Invisible: A Feminist HCI Perspective on Informal Infra-structuring in Gig Labor

Paper Title

Filtering the Invisible: A Feminist HCI Perspective on Informal Infra-structuring in Gig Labor

Publication Info

• Topic area: Feminist HCI analysis of informal infrastructures in gig labor.
• Keywords: feminist HCI, gig work, algorithmic management, informal infrastructures, care ethics, mutual aid, worker resistance, platform design, transparency, consent.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Gig workers face opaque algorithmic systems that create information asymmetries, precarity, and safety risks. Existing research often frames worker resistance as adversarial or economically motivated, overlooking relational and gendered dimensions.
• Significance: Understanding how gig workers navigate and resist these systems is critical to designing platforms that support fairness, transparency, and worker well-being.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies document gig worker resistance through tools and communities but focus on economic optimization or adversarial tactics. This paper addresses the gap by applying a feminist HCI lens to explore care, consent, and relational labor in gig work.

Solution

• Proposed approach: The study investigates Avalon, a third-party batch-filtering app for Instacart shoppers, and its affiliated Telegram community as examples of informal infrastructures that support worker agency and care.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical insights from a mixed-methods study of Instacart shoppers using third-party tools and peer networks.
  2. Theoretical extension of feminist HCI concepts to gig labor, framing resistance as care and infrastructuring.
  3. Design implications for worker-centered platforms that prioritize transparency, consent, and mutual aid.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted a two-year mixed-methods study with a survey (N=178), interviews (N=20), and analysis of 51,764 Telegram messages.
  • Applied feminist HCI principles to analyze technological tactics, community practices, and ethical dimensions.
  • Developed themes of technological tactics, relational infrastructures, and resistance as care and refusal.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Avalon revealed hidden information (e.g., tip amounts, per-mile pay), enabling informed consent and safety configurations.
  • The Telegram community acted as a mutual aid network, providing mentoring, real-time troubleshooting, and emotional support.
  • Workers framed resistance as care for themselves and others, emphasizing dignity, safety, and collective refusal.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Avalon and the Telegram group addressed gaps in Instacart’s infrastructure, such as transparency, safety, and support, which the platform itself failed to provide.
  • These informal infrastructures redistributed knowledge, reduced stress, and empowered workers to assert agency.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Mixed-methods approach combining survey data, interviews, and digital ethnography provided a comprehensive understanding of worker practices.
  • Thematic analysis identified key patterns of technological and relational resistance, grounded in feminist theory.
• Limitations and future work:
  • The study focused on digitally connected workers, potentially excluding those without access to online communities.
  • Future research should explore exclusion dynamics, the role of race and class, and broader applicability across gig platforms.

Summary

This paper examines how Instacart shoppers use the Avalon app and a Telegram community to navigate algorithmic opacity and precarity. By applying a feminist HCI lens, it reframes resistance as care, consent, and infrastructuring, highlighting how workers co-create tools and norms that prioritize fairness, safety, and mutual aid. The findings suggest that platforms should learn from these informal infrastructures to design consentful, care-centered systems that address workers’ lived realities. This study contributes empirical insights, theoretical advancements, and actionable design recommendations for more equitable gig work.