I have skin in the game of creating a fair and inclusive digital economy. Online work is how I make my living, and how I offer employment to others. I am working, with my colleagues, to build an inclusive team that genuinely draws on global talent and diverse backgrounds.
Sometimes it’s harder than it sounds, but we are making real progress.
My social enterprise in Lebanon, Jaleesa, existed to help women from economically vulnerable households to access work through an online platform. We found that enhancing people’s digital literacy – and even, seeding the idea that they could use an app to get work and earn money – helped our community to earn and manage their income online. In creating their online profiles, our sitters learned entrepreneurial skills that set them up for future work too.
Now I run AMS, a company that works with many excellent digital freelancers. We offer communications and strategy services to purpose driven organisations. Our services, such as social media management for charities, and a range of communications, copywriting and design services, are perfect for freelancers. We focus on working with purpose driven organisations. That helps me to hire great people, because our work is meaningful and the people we work with connect with it personally. It can be a challenge to meet both the budget of NGOs, and the earnings needs of freelancers (and keep something for the company to thrive) – but that’s another story.
This year we are diving even deeper into ethical digital livelihoods. In January we launched AMS Social Studio, a paid apprenticeship for diverse, young social media talent. We created this scheme because we wanted to help others up the ladder: as a team of experienced communications and strategy professionals, we felt it was our time to help create opportunities for the next generation. Our amazing first apprentices, Maria and Dorcas, are doing a fantastic job managing social media accounts for nonprofits and purpose driven organisations. They’re getting loads of guidance, coaching and mentoring from our experienced team. And we have some more great applicants in the pipeline who will join us as our capacity grows.
The global freelance economy and digital livelihoods
We are part of a much larger global trend. The global demand for online freelancing has been growing by 11% annually since 2018, and the global gig economy is expected to grow to $455 billion by 2023. This work is usually done without formal work arrangements, meaning that freelancers are engaged for specific projects and only paid for the work they deliver. With inconsistent pay, lack of regulatory control for employers and benefits for freelancers, this type of work is not viewed as ‘decent’. Yet, this holds significant promise for sustainable livelihoods for refugees and many underrepresented communities, particularly in the Global South.
I moderated a really interesting panel session asking how we could reconcile these two narratives be reconciled, at the Migration Summit 2023. I was lucky enough to share a platform with three phenomenal individuals who are steeped in the remote work environment:
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- Albert Azis-Clauson has built his career around the future of work, providing education and infrastructure to build a freelance business to hundreds of thousands globally through UnderPinned while building frameworks of best practice through the Association for the Future of Work.
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- Maria Prieto, an Employment and future of work specialist in the ILO’s Employment Policy Department. Her current work focuses mainly on the implementation of the ILO’s Youth Employment Action Plan 2020-30 as well as on the digital transformation in the context of national employment policies. Previously, Maria worked as a Specialist in the ILO’s Future of Work Initiative, where she provided technical support to the Global Commission on the Future of Work and to the work of the ILO on the subject.
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- Michelle Lee, who founded Young Tech Leaders of the Middle East (YTL) in 2020, a technology leadership program to empower refugee and conflict-affected youth from the Middle East to become effective leaders in tech. She is currently working toward her PhD in Sociology at Northwestern University, researching how technology is changing the economy and society, with a focus on displaced communities.
We were hosted by Lorraine Charles, founder and CEO of Na’amal. Na’amal partners with leading organisations to support refugees and other underrepresented communities through skills training, mentorship and remote work placement opportunities. I sit on the board of their Foundation and I can confirm that Lorraine’s passion for remote work equity is genuinely unparalleled, except perhaps by the other three panellists.
Watch the video below, or scroll down for a summary.
