7b. The Future of Employment and Good Work

Track Chairs

  • Heather Rogers. Department of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Hull, UK. 
    heather.rogers@hull.ac.uk
  • Pauline Deutz. Department of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Hull, UK. 
    P.deutz@hull.ac.uk

Goals and Objectives of the Track

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and rhetoric surrounding them indicate that the UN and national governments are acquiring an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the complexities involved in achieving sustainable development; however, their ability to overcome complexities is less certain. Following on from the calls for green jobs arising from the Rio+20 summit, the SDGs see job creation as a route to poverty diminution; however, significantly, they also acknowledge that economic growth has often failed to produce shared prosperity.

In the past year, we have witnessed government measures to supress the covid-19 pandemic lead to regional job loss, economic uncertainty, alongside, in many cases, unprecedented levels of additional funding and support. Employment has for many drastically changed in nature, with heavy reliance on communications technology, and the mass disruption or collapse of certain industries and roles. Meanwhile, persistent and underlying issues of structural and institutional racism and exclusion are being uncovered, raising timely questions about diversity and inclusion in the workforce. In this time of upheaval and transition, it is more important than ever to consider the future of employment. What skills are needed, and how will they be acquired? Where will jobs be located, and who will they employ? How will existing employment be effected (both formal and informal)? From where will the necessary investment come from to create employment opportunities? In order to explore these topics, contributions are invited which examine issues such as these from both inter- or single-disciplinary perspectives. Qualitative as well as quantitative analyses of shifting employment patterns and individuals’ experience of them in both the Global North and South are invited.

Potential themes and topics include, but are not restricted to:

  • Good work as a dimension of wellbeing
  • Accessing the skills for the future
  • Challenges of flexible employment
  • Job security and mobility
  • Relationship between the formal and informal economy
  • Gender implications of economic shifts
  • Diversity and inclusion in employment
  • Distribution and types of employment in a green economy
  • Social safety nets and universal basic income strategies
  • Re-skilling and skilled worker immigration
  • Funding mechanisms and job creation policy

Length and content of the proposed abstract to the track

Each proposed abstract (in connection to one of the areas pointed out above), within 300 and 500 words (including everything):

  1. shall be best organized (without headlines) along usual structures (e.g. intro/method/findings or results/ discussion/conclusions)
  2. does not need to, but can include references
  3. shall provide in a final section
    a. to which SDG(s) and SDG-target(s) their proposed abstract especially relate to (e.g. “SDG+Target: 14.1.”).
    b. a brief indication how the proposed contribution relates to the topic of the Conference (“ACCELERATING PROGRESS TOWARDS SDG’s IN TIMES OF CRISIS”).

Submission

Please submit your abstract by visiting the abstract submission system (you will be required to setup an account first) at

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/login?redirect=/stages/2332/submitter

Extended deadline for abstracts: 15 February 2021

PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER A PARTICIPATION IN OUR PHD-WORKSHOP! https://2021.isdrsconferences.org/phd-workshop/