Policy Engagement

See workshop programme here

In May 2025, we organised Women’s Employment and Empowerment Workshop, sponsored by the ESRC Social Science Impact Accelerator grant. The aim of this event was to bring together researchers, policy experts, and practitioners to explore critical issues related to gender, labour markets, and inclusive development. The workshop featured a series of presentations on cutting-edge research on women's employment opportunities and challenges in low-income countries, a policy roundtable discussion, and networking opportunities during our closing reception. 

Topics included the asymmetric effect of salary transparency in job ads on male and female applicants in Pakistan, how remote work influences team composition and performance using data from Turkey, and how gender roles shape community resilience to weather shocks in Malawi and India. The presenters also explored interventions and structural factors influencing women’s empowerment, such as the role cash transfers and female role models in Kenya, intra-household bargaining and female labour supply in India, and the importance of the public sector in supporting female employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. The day concluded with a policy roundtable on overcoming barriers to women’s economic empowerment through both policy and academic insights. The panelists from government, development organizations, and philanthropy discussed actionable policy responses and the avenue for productive collaboration between academics and practitioners in shaping equitable development strategies. 

See our newly published policy brief here

The Uganda Climate Change Workshop, co-hosted by the International Growth Centre (IGC), key government institutions, and Royal Holloway University of London, brought together experts to address the pressing challenges of climate change and its far-reaching impacts on Uganda's economy. The discussions highlighted how sectors like agriculture, urbanization, and finance can become more resilient and sustainable in the face of climate disruptions.

Agriculture, as a cornerstone of Uganda's economy, has been severely affected by erratic rainfall and soil degradation. The workshop emphasized the adoption of climate-smart practices to improve productivity and sustainability. Similarly, sessions on urbanization focused on the need for better infrastructure to address socioeconomic disparities, with particular attention to how marginalized communities, especially women, are disproportionately affected by these issues.

The workshop also delved into "Green Finance and Carbon Markets," underscoring how investments in renewable energy not only support sustainable development but also provide job creation opportunities that could help bridge the wage gap, especially for women. With renewable energy and green jobs emerging as key drivers of economic growth, there is immense potential for the private sector to empower women and reduce gender disparities in employment.

By linking climate adaptation strategies to broader economic goals, the workshop painted a picture of how Uganda can transition towards a more equitable and resilient future. As the country strives to mitigate the impacts of climate change, there is an opportunity to address structural inequalities in both the public and private sectors—creating pathways for sustainable employment, closing the wage gap, and improving the quality of life for all, especially women in vulnerable communities. This interconnected approach makes it clear that addressing climate challenges is not only an environmental necessity but also a catalyst for social and economic transformation.

• We have presented our ongoing research on women's employment in Sub-Saharan Africa at the G²LM|LIC Policy Meeting: Boosting Women’s Labour Force Participation – Evidence from Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, organised by IZA

The online workshop assembled recent empirical evidence on possibilities to improve the position of women in the labour market and their access to it in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses policy solutions. The presentations focused on the benefits of education, social networks, entrepreneurship and the public and private sector. All evidence presented is based on projects funded via the G²LM|LIC programme. 

Our team members Ija Trapeznikova and Sidharth Rony went to Ghana in October 2022 to meet with policy makers and research users in Accra to better understand the context of public sector pay, recruitment policies, and working conditions. We presented our work and empirical findings for researchers at the International Growth Centre in Ghana (ICG-Ghana) and met with representatives from the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ghana Statistical Service, the Ministry of Finance, and the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD).