Blog

News

News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

Women wearing colorful clothes carry goods in baskets on their heads in a market in Accra, Ghana.

Gender norms and women's work: Reflecting on current evidence and policy opportunities

By
While the challenges women face in entering and remaining in the labor market are not new, they have worsened in the wake of the pandemic. One of the barriers to women’s economic empowerment and labor market participation is restrictive gender norms relating to the acceptability of women working...
A diverse group of co-workers mingle and work together in a common work space in Nairobi, Kenya

Policy and research to combat bias in the workplace

By
Rigorous research has shown that discriminatory practices are often embedded in the workplace. Many organizations have been developing tools and strategies to counter this type of bias for their employees. But how can we know which strategies are the most effective at combating bias in employment...
Four speakers are seated at a panel table at the front of a room.

Youth economic inclusion in Morocco: An evidence sharing seminar

By
  • Alexandra Diggs
  • Fatine Guedira
The Morocco Employment Lab hosted an evidence sharing seminar on youth economic inclusion last month. At the seminar, Dr. Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, and Skills in Morocco, reaffirmed that a key priority of the government is to foster youth economic inclusion...
Two women are pictured surrounded by colorful fabric scraps. One women is sitting at the desk working with a grey sewing machine, while the other woman is sitting behind her cross legged on the floor folding a scrape of brown fabric.

Evidence on soft skills and women’s labor market outcomes

By
Worldwide, nearly 7 percent of employed people live below the extreme poverty line (US$1.90 purchasing power parity per day). In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), about 147 million people were underemployed based on the number of hours they worked in 2019. Skills and vocational training...
Female worker with helmet and safety vest scanning a box in a factory

JOI Brazil’s first year promoting evidence generation and use within Brazilian labor markets

By
The Jobs and Opportunity Initiative in Brazil (JOI Brazil) celebrated one year of working to promote the generation and use of evidence within the Brazilian labor markets. The celebration of its first anniversary and the commemoration of the International Workers' Day helped the is an opportune time...
Headshot of Dr. Nkechi Owoo

African Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Nkechi Owoo

By
In this post we speak with Dr. Nkechi Owoo, a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana. Nkechi’s primary research interests relate to gender, health, demography, and poverty alleviation.
A group of workers in blue jumpsuits; one writing on whiteboard

How randomized evaluations build evidence to inform workforce program design, policy, and investment

By
J-PAL North America and WorkRise recently convened a panel to discuss sectoral employment training and the role of rigorous research in guiding the development of pathways to high-quality jobs. Here are four key takeaways.
Two female vendors sit in front of a shop.

The importance of evidence in promoting the economic agency of women in Central America and Mexico

By
Globally, women are less likely than men to participate in the labor market (47 percent vs. 72 percent, respectively, as of 2022). In some Latin American countries, such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, participation rates are less than 45 percent. This translates to countless missed...