The G²LM|LIC and the STEG Programme are excited to announce that both programmes now invite submissions of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a joint call for research proposals. The call is motivated by the need for a better understanding of the changing nature of work and women’s involvement in this change, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.
The processes of structural transformation and economic growth involve a number of complex and interrelated shifts in the nature of work and the gender division of work. Although much research attention has focused on the sectoral dimensions of economic transformation – the movement of economic activity out of agriculture and into manufacturing and services – other dimensions of transformation are also important. Structures of employment change, with a broad movement away from self-employment and unpaid family labour towards wage work. Transformation also involves complex shifts in the locus of economic activity, from the home to the market, and from rural areas to urban centres. Typically, economic growth is also accompanied by changes in the types of firms that operate in an economy – movements from small and informal enterprises towards larger firms with more complex and professionalised management structures. All of these changes have strong gender dimensions – and potentially create differing impacts for women and men. Until recently, however, the gender dimensions of structural change have received little attention in the literature, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Policy makers need a better understanding of 21st-century drivers of employment to know how best to support people in low- and middle-income country contexts to prepare for and access productive forms of work. The aim is to strengthen their understanding of (1) how labour markets are likely to develop in the future, with a particular focus on how public and private investment may drive the expansion of particular sectors (e.g., clean energy, tourism, care, digital economy) and (2) policy and development choices to ensure that women can take advantage of new opportunities.
More specifically, enabling women to access higher-productivity work will require new ways of organising women’s – and men’s – labour. Historical evidence demonstrates that past examples of structural transformation (e.g., in Nigeria, India, Brazil) have had gendered effects, largely tied to women’s disproportionate unpaid care and domestic work, limiting their ability to seek higher-productivity employment opportunities. The next era of structural transformation will require policies and investments aimed at addressing the gendered division of labour, including by reducing and redistributing the time women spend doing care and domestic work, so people regardless of gender can sort according to their talents and skills, maximising productivity.
Research under this call will add new dimensions to ‘future of work’ conversations by considering gender-specific constraints and opportunities, including around (1) imminent demographic shifts as an opportunity for new job creation in the care sector, rather than just a liability to economies and (2) investment in the production of labour-saving technology and infrastructure as both a means of easing women’s supply side constraints and generating demand-side employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Topic Areas
We encourage expressions of interest (EOI) under a macro or a micro-focused stream. The macro stream will be managed by STEG and the micro-focused stream will be managed by G²LM|LIC. EOIs and applications must be submitted separately to each programme.
- Micro data: The focus should be on jobs and potential movement away from subsistence-level agricultural work and its implications for women’s employment and entrepreneurship using administrative micro data, such as tax records, labour force surveys, or other individual-level data. We are especially interested in:
- Demographic trends, including implications for the care economy and labour migration
- Impacts of climate adaptation and green economy transitions on jobs
- Advances in digital and communications technology, AI
This stream is managed by G²LM|LIC. The details of the available grants and application guidance can be found below.
- Macro model: Research on gender and structural transformation. Key focus should be on the macro modelling of legal barriers, social norms, and institutional arrangements (e.g., availability of markets for childcare) that limit women’s labour force participation, earnings and human capital accumulation. Potential broad research areas are in
- Demographic transitions and the potential for labour mobility
- Digital technologies
- Climate impacts and green transition
- Support to families
This stream is managed by STEG and information on the separate EOI and application process can be found here.
Micro Stream: Submission Process and Grant Set-Up
The submission process of the micro-focused stream follows a three-step procedure:
- We invite academic and policy scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa who have access or can have access to administrative micro data from Sub-Saharan Africa to submit an EOI by February 11, 2025 via this submission form. No proposal is needed in this first stage.
- Those scholars with a promising EOI will be matched with a global expert in their field.
- The matched pair will submit a joint proposal including a budget that will be evaluated by an evaluation committee.
We will not be able to consider EOIs received after the deadline. If invited, following a review of the EOI and the matchmaking process, full proposals should be submitted (applicants will be notified via email about this second deadline) using this template. Please find more information and details on the call and how to complete the proposal template here.
By promoting these partnerships, the initiative aims to leverage the local scholars’ knowledge and access to microdata and the international researchers’ methodological expertise and research experience, thereby empowering local researchers to apply advanced methods to analyse existing data and offer policy recommendations.
Grants will be paid out in Euros. The budget limit for this grant is 15,000€ (and up to €20,000 if a research backgrounder is produced). Grants will typically range between 8,000€ and 15,000€. These grants will fund research assistance, travel costs (such as a research stay of the local scholar at the matched partner’s institution), data (access) costs, data collection (if applicable, e.g., for a pilot), and (if necessary) teaching buyouts or personnel cost (if necessary, please provide justifications for why personnel costs are needed to be able to conduct this project).
The timeline for the funded projects will be up to 12 months.
Country Criteria
Please note that an important criterion for funding of proposals is the relevance to understanding the topics areas in Ethiopia, Kenya, or Nigeria. Projects with a particular focus on these countries will be prioritised. Proposals for projects outside these focus countries should make a clear case for the relevance of the research to policy in lower-income countries, and also justify why the research is feasible only in non-target countries.
Expected Output
Award holders will be required to produce one policy brief based on the work carried out in the project. A working paper can be another output stemming out of the project. Successful proposals which include, in addition to a policy brief, a background/synthesis paper on the three target countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria) will be awarded an additional €5,000.
- Policy briefs including a summary of existing trends/research results as well as actionable recommendations on women’s involvement in shifting labour forces.
- Research backgrounders on existing trends on women’s integration into structural economic transformations in Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria. General backgrounders serve to provide policymakers in the target countries with a comprehensive understanding of the driving factors behind economic transformation in the region and the key considerations for ensuring women benefit from current and anticipated trends. We have a specific interest in detailed descriptions of current labour market frictions or barriers affecting women – and also exploring the obstacles facing women as labour market opportunities change in the future.
- Working paper with the detailed analysis of the administrative data (being the basis for the policy brief)
Documents
Please see the below files and links for more detailed information about the Call and use the forms and template for your EOI/proposal: