Millions of people freelance in the growing online gig economy, making it important to advance pay equity and support freelancers in earning their livelihoods online. Compared to offline employment, freelancing introduces at least two challenges that threaten freelancers’ ability to secure work and the equitability of the gig economy: 1) attracting job opportunities through online portfolios and 2) advancing gender equity in bill rate. First, freelancers must regularly update online portfolios, but lack convenient access to support networks for regular feedback to improve them. Online feedback exchange (OFE) systems could provide rapid, regular feedback, but little is known about supporting sensemaking in these systems, which theory predicts is influenced by domain expertise. Because both novices and experts freelance, it is critical to understand how expertise influences sensemaking. We also know little about collecting crowd feedback not just on individual projects, but entire portfolios of work. Besides improving portfolios, freelancers also set bill rates in online labor marketplaces. These marketplaces can advance gender pay equity by providing flexible work options and transparency in rates but may not realize their potential without considering the gender dynamics of rate-setting. Hence, I ask: 1) how might we design OFE systems that support sensemaking and portfolio-based feedback, and 2) how does gender influence pricing behavior in online labor marketplaces. To answer these questions, I present four original research studies that examine 1) the design of OFE systems to support sensemaking and portfolio-based feedback, and 2) the influence of gender and pricing strategies on rate-setting. This work extends computer-supported cooperative work research by showing the potential of sociotechnical systems to support freelancers’ portfolio improvement and pricing through the lenses of sensemaking, expertise, and gender. I also contribute design implications for sociotechnical systems and a novel OFE system for portfolio-based feedback.

Creator

• Foong, Eureka

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-b6zc-8m25

Subject

• Computer science
• Communication

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:15400
• etdadmin_upload_780786

Keyword

• equity
• gender
• human-computer interaction
• freelancing
• feedback
• online gig economy

Date created

• 2020-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright