ILO issues a call for research on Women and the Future of Work in Asia and the Pacific

http://www.ilo.org/asia/media-centre/news/WCMS_568665/lang--en/index.htm?shared_from=shr-tls

The ILO, sponsored by the Australian Government’s Department of Employment, has launched a call for research papers to examine the opportunities and challenges of the future at work for women.

As the ‘Future of Work’ is being discussed around the world, women continue to be the most under-utilised and potentially game-changing factor for fair and prosperous economic growth. Countries in the Asia and the Pacific region, whether high or low income, can no longer afford to lose out on the social and economic potential of gender equality. 

Recent research shows that if women’s participation was increased by 25% by 2025, US$5.8 trillion would be added to the global economy, US$1.5 trillion to government revenues, in addition to the non-monetary benefits to the welfare of women and their families (ILO, 2017). 

A recent report by the International Labour Office (ILO) and Gallup1 confirmed that the majority of women and men worldwide would prefer that women work in paid jobs and find it acceptable for women to have paid work outside of the home. Why then does female labour force participation still lag behind that of males in all countries of the region? To examine the opportunities and challenges of the future at work for women, the ILO, sponsored by the Australian Government’s Department of Employment, is launching a call for sound research to inform this debate. 

The selected research papers submitted as a result of this Call will serve as the basis for discussion at a regional ‘Women and the Future of Work in the Asia Pacific’ Conference to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in early 2018. The resulting evidence and discussion on where best to invest efforts and resources to promote women’s full participation in the future of work will be summarized in a Conference report, which will be submitted to the global ‘Women at Work’ and the ‘Future of Work’ ILO Centenary Initiatives that will culminate in the 2019 International Labour Conference. 

Themes

• Enabling an environment for better quality jobs and gender equality in the changing world of work
• Strengthening women’s visibility, voice and representation for the future of work
• Accelerating women in business management and entrepreneurship through supply chains

Submission deadline (proposals): 15 September 2017

Notification of acceptance: 8 October 2017

Submission deadline (full paper): 22 December 2017

Proposal assessment criteria A Technical Advisory Group, consisting of experts and specialists on the topic of women in the world of work, will assess proposals against the following criterion: 

1. how does the proposal contribute to evidence-based policy recommendations that governments, ILO social partners, private sector and civil society organizations can use to accelerate the closure of critical gender gaps to maximise women’s full and productive contributions to the changing, and challenging world of work over the medium to long term (5-10 years). 
2. sound methodology and feasible scope given the proposed time frame. 
3. qualifications of author(s) based on attached CV. 

Additional details:

Preference will be given to researchers and authors from the Asia and the Pacific region, however the call is open to institutions from other regions; similarly a preference will be for studies focusing on the Asia and Pacific region. 

• A proposal can focus on new research, or to extending existing relevant research, so long as it relates directly to evidence-based policy recommendations for women in the future of work. 
• Papers can be local/provincial, national, cross-country or regional in scope. Country case studies and analysis of successful in-country programmes can also be included. 
• Proposals that address specific groups, such as women with disabilities or indigenous women, are also welcome.

Submissions must contain: 

• Full paper title. 
• Clear identification of the relevant theme/topic (1-3).
• Short introductive summary (approximately 500 words).
• One paragraph argument regarding the paper’s relevance.
• Short summary of research methodology to be used, including data sets, original research, qualitative work etc.
• Short summary of the expected main findings and conclusions.
• Full name, affiliation, address, phone/fax/e-mail of one author for all correspondence.
• Recent C.V. of principal author.
• For all other authors, full name, affiliation and e-mail. 

Please submit a maximum 2 page proposal at BANGKOK@ilo.org