Research Intern - Mixed Gender Workplaces and Female Labour Participation - J-PAL South Asia

Start Date (Earliest): ASAP

Language Requirement: Hindi (preferred)

Length of Commitment: 1-3 months

Joining Location: Patna, Bihar

Name of the Project: Mixed Gender Workplaces and Female Labour Participation

Sector- Women’s Employment

About the Organization

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of 194 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL South Asia, based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, leads J-PAL’s work in the South Asia region. J-PAL South Asia conducts randomized evaluations, builds partnerships for evidence-informed policymaking, and helps partners scale up effective programs. Over more than ten years of existence, J-PAL South Asia has conducted 193 ongoing and completed randomized evaluations.

About the position

You will be working for Kailash Rajah, an Economics PhD student at MIT, on a field experiments identifying barriers to women’s employment in India. The project presents an excellent learning opportunity to work very closely with a PI on designing, implementing, and analysing data from a series of field experiments in India. The role also involves a large field component allowing you to gain experience designing surveys, collecting data, and monitoring teams.

The position is based in J-PAL SA’s Patna office.  

J-PAL South Asia is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, family status, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and other attributes protected by law. We strongly encourage people from marginalized communities to apply for this role.

Project Specific Details

In many conservative countries, including India, social norms limit the interaction of married women with men outside of their family. Such constraints on women’s mobility may make it difficult to participate in the labour market, particularly given most workplaces are mixed-gender. In this project, we test whether the presence of men in the workplace limits female labour force participation. We then conduct a series of follow-up experiments to understand the mechanisms that may be driving this. We hope the findings of this project will help to inform the design of future interventions and policies aimed at increasing women’s employment in India.

Important: Please complete this Google Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdahv4VSCqyayoahUuSp1TwDe6VdxigYNympWIAKYPhr-bVIQ/viewform) in addition to filing an application through the JPAL portal. We will only be reviewing applicants who have completed the Google Form. We are reviewing applicants on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible.

Key Responsibilities

The Research Intern will work closely with the Principal Investigator, Research Associates, Research Managers and other field staff to perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to:

Supporting the PI in designing and piloting the survey instruments for any future experiments

   Conducting piloting activities in neighbourhoods of Patna

   Helping to review and design survey questions

Intervention implementation and monitoring

   Liaising with and managing field staff who are conducting follow up     activities with survey participants.

   Helping to design and implement the research protocol

   Ensuring that the PI is well informed about all the activities in the       ground with respect to the implementation.

   Ensuring that the call centre, set-up as a part of the intervention, meets    all safety requirements as per the study protocols

   Ensuring quality data collected in the call-centres by conducting back-   checks and other data quality checks

   Data cleaning and processing

   Monitoring incoming data from the field

   Maintaining strong relationship with the partner organization

Any other task as assigned by the PIs

Desired Qualifications

• Resourceful, self-motivated and able to manage multiple tasks efficiently
• Experience managing or conducting data collection in the field
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English and Hindi
• Experience working with Stata and/or R strongly preferred
• Attention to detail and ability to stay organized
• Desire to learn and develop new skills
• Bachelor's/Master's degree in economics or related fields
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials

Note on Work Authorizations:

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.