wow-inequalities/03-supplementary_data/terms_of_reference-key_terms.md
2023-09-27 09:41:56 +02:00

8.7 KiB

Terms of Reference

  • attention to root causes of inequalities of work
    • drivers and determinants across all dimensions
  • addressing both distribution and redistribution
    • seen as the most innovative one (?)
  • fundamental principles and rights in intl labor standards
  • social dialogue and tripartism
  • interconnectedness, integration and monitoring
  • country-specific approaches

the assignment will:

  • explain what inequalities in the world of work are
  • why they should be addressed
  • what is added value of ILO doing so

with target groups:

  • ILO staff & constitutents
  • external stakeholders & partners

objectives:

  • general: support position of ILO as key actor in ongoing debates and initiatives of multilateral system on poverty and inequalities
  • 1: improve understanding of what inequalities in the world of work are
    • root causes
    • their linkages
    • how they feed into outcomes
  • 2: identify evidence-based policy responses to prevent and reduce inequalities in the world of work
    • minimizing of inequalities
    • reducing the outcomes of inequalities

dates:

  • Sep 30:
    • draft detailed outline for conceptual framework
    • chapter indication
    • definition of inequalities in world of work, drivers and determinants
  • Oct 30:
    • annotated bibliography identifying effective and evidence-based policy responses to adress inequality in world of work
    • annotated bibl will inform dev of conceptual framework
    • presentation to task force to gather inputs and views from diff departments

Working Strategy

Identifying root causes of LM inequalities

  • a fundamental typology of inequalities within the LM and beyond the labor market is necessary
    • as ILO recognizes inequalities generate feedback cycles
      • within a life cycle and inter-generationally (through inequalities of outcomes)
    • to understand inequalities in the world of work, those beyond should not be a black box
      • gender/socio-demographic/pre-existing inequalities
      • put very simply:
        • it might make sense for a mother to move away from a job to a space with better educational access for her child and the resulting issue should concern both
          • access to better education in the original region
          • the impact of better job availability or active labour market policies in the new region
  • for each form of work to understand the primary inequalities in the LM
    • we need to understand how pre-existing inequalities feed into them as independent variables
    • often this will take the form of e.g. socio-demographic inequalities reflecting income inequalities
    • but not always, and that is the locating of the root causes I would see as primary goal for the first part of the review

Identifying evidence-based policy responses which address these inequalities

  • if we manage to break open the black box of root causes in this way
    • for vertical but especially for horizontal inequalities
  • it should make it easier to analyze the impacts of policies removing inequalities for
    • the causes they help reduce the effect of
    • the impact on labour market inequalities itself
    • and the effects on resulting equality/inequalities of opportunity

Conceptual definitions

labour

'nature of work'

work

worlds of work

inequality in work

forms of work

paid employment work own-use production work unpaid work care work volunteer work unpaid trainee work

labor market outcomes

employment unemployment underemployment labour force participation self-employment/informality labour productivity skills wages/earnings hours worked job security social protection coverage labour mobility

socio-demographic categories

gender ethnicity race age disability

types of inequalities (in worlds of work)

general characteristics of inequality:

  • 'pre-world of work' inequalities; starting well before individuals enter world of work
    • unequal opportunities to healthcare, literacy, quality education
    • often borne from poverty, gender, family background, lack of legal status/identity
    • others often born with many advantages that give easy opportunistic access to build human capital
  • inequality of opportunities !== inequality of outcome
    • often, today's inequalities affect future (generations') opportunities
    • high levels of current inequality = reduction in future social mobility
    • conversely, (some?) focus should be put on equality of outcome today to ensure equality of opportunity tomorrow
  • while focusing on these intra-country horizontal inequalities, inter-country inequalities (esp income inequality, but predisposing other as well) should not be neglected
  • distinction between:
    • vertical inequality
      • between all households in a country
    • horizontal inequality
      • betweek different groups
      • disparities in employment outcomes, labour rights, opportunities between groups depending on gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, health status, disability or other characteristics

forms of inequality:

  • access to essential services (health, education, housing)
  • income inequality
  • access to means of subsistence (esp related to employment)
  • gender inequality (part of horizontal, being one of the 'greatest forms of inequality today')
    • results in gender-based violence, harassment, domestic violence, unpaid care work
    • especially girls often facing unequal opportunities and 'persistent gender stereotypes in their access to education and health services and in other aspects of life' [13, ILC]
    • in most regions wome over-represented among poorest and under-represented among richest people (esp in SoutAs;EastAs;Pacific regions)
      • born primarily from unequal access to quality education, inequalities and injustices in labour market participation, gender earnings gaps
      • often also results in children being exposed to severe health and food deprivation and differences in control over assets (capital/land)
      • recently exacerbated by COVID-19 reversing equality progress through increased women's/men's paid/unpaid/care work inequalities
  • girls/boys from ethnic minorities, indigenous, tribal populations, remote rural areas often facing barriers accessing quality education & essential services
    • indigenous people account for 6% of world pop but 19% of extreme poor
    • stark contrast between migrant workers' high labour force participation rates and large proportion of low-income households
  • spatial inequalities (rural/urban; small/large cities; richt/poor regions)
    • contributes to overall more fractures/unequal societies
  • intersectional inequalities (made possible to highlight by vert/horiz inequality split)
  • unequal distribution of work & labour income
    • among workforce among most important determinants of inequality
    • unemployment: forecloses income prospects; highest rate in young people
    • underemployment:
      • low wages make meeting basic needs impossible (esp. food, healthcare, education, decent housing)
      • including differentiation time-related underemployment (would like to work more paid hours); potential labour force (would like to work but not actively searching or not available for work); creates (way) higher numbers than purely unemployment numbers - especially in LIC
    • recently, (COVID-19) women, young people, less educated, low earners less likely to keep their jobs

types of policies

  • income:
    • difference between primary distribution ('market income', through property and employment) and secondary distribution ('disposable income', through taxes and transfers), and tertiary distribution (public services)
    • tax and transfers redistributing incomes towards greater equality in disposable income
      • extent of redistribution limited by small fiscal resources (e.g. through informal labour predominance)
    • policies to reduce income difference between urban/rural, ethnic minorities/majority one of main drivers of reduced income inequality (LAC region)

Summary draft

  • pre-world of work characteristics already taking huge influence on labour market and related equality of outcomes
    • inequality in access to essential services (health, education, housing)
    • inequality in access to means of subsistence (esp related to employment)
  • income inequality huge driver of resulting inequalities, in turn already influenced by characteristics, additionally:
    • spatial inequality
    • gender inequality
    • employment inequality:
      • unemployment: forecloses income prospects; highest rate in young people
      • underemployment: low wages make meeting basic needs impossible (esp. food, healthcare, education, decent housing)
        • split into time-related underemployment and potential labour force