This Short Note is part of a series building on the report Working without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work. flexibility of working hours and location associated with online gig work uniquely positions it as an avenue to boost female labor force participation, especially in regions with limited local job opportunities. This short note takes a deep dive into gender-based disparities in access to these new forms of work, especially asking whether there is a gender gap in hourly rates that online gig workers ask for and earn from online tasks. The analysis uses data from over 19,000 profiles on one of the largest English-language freelancing platforms. Data from one of the largest global freelancing platforms shows that women quote approximately 10 percent lower hourly rates than men, likely reflecting a difference in confidence.
This document outlines how Duolingo is utilizing AI to support education for refugees.
This paper assesses the reliability and validity of cognitive and socioemotional skills measures and investigates the correlation between schooling, skills acquisition, and labor earnings. The primary data from Pakistan incorporates two innovations related to measurement and sampling. On measurement, the paper develops and implements a battery of instruments intended to capture cognitive and socioemotional skills among young adults. On sampling, the paper uses a panel that follows respondents from their original rural locations in 2003 to their residences in 2018, a period over which 38 percent of the respondents left their native villages. In terms of their validity and reliability, our skills measures compare favorably to previous measurement attempts in low- and middle-income countries. The following are documented in the data: (a) more years of schooling are correlated with higher cognitive and socioemotional skills; (b) labor earnings are correlated with cognitive and socioemotional skills as well as years of schooling; and (c) the earnings-skills correlations depend on respondents’ migration status. The magnitudes of the correlations between schooling and skills on the one hand and earnings and skills on the other are consistent with a widespread concern that such skills are underproduced in the schooling system.
The ILO and Learning Lions are bridging the digital divide in remote areas by providing comprehensive digital skills training, mentorship and job opportunities to young people. This innovative program is transforming the lives of vulnerable communities, including refugees, and paving the way for an inclusive digital economy in Kenya.
This short report summarizes a Creative Economy Alliance (CEA) webinar hosted by the Cultural and Creative Industries global project (implemented by GIZ and the Goethe-Institut on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) Project. The webinar focused on using international cooperation to drive gender equality within the creative economy.
To better address gender inequalities and promote an inclusive environment, the supra-regional project, Cultural and Creative Industries, commissioned a gender analysis. It highlights gender-based differences in terms of the relative distribution of resources, opportunities, constraints and power in the Creative and Cultural Industries.
This report details the first Australian exploratory study with students and young people to understand their perceptions and use of Generative AI. The study includes insight from 576 young people aged 14 to 26 across High Schools, Universities, TAFE, Colleges, and in work.
The Jigeen Ñi Academie Musique (JAM) is a ground-breaking project in Senegal dedicated to the professional development of women. Along with practical music skills, the academy provides training in leadership and cultural entrepreneurship to enhance income and employment opportunities for women in the music industry.
This toolkit highlights World Bank Group (WBG) commitments relevant to women and girls with disabilities, examples of law and policy reform, and key barriers and solutions across several World Bank sectors, and it includes a checklist for Task Team Leaders (TTLs) to use throughout the project cycle. TTLs will benefit from the toolkit’s key questions and suggested indicators aimed to increase inclusion of women and girls with disabilities across WBG projects and a set of resources for additional support. It addresses measures to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of women with disabilities across several critical sectors for World Bank operations: education; employment and entrepreneurship; social protection; gender based violence; health; digital development; water and sanitation; transportation and urban planning; fragility, conflict, violence; and disaster risk management. It seeks to support WBG task teams in inclusive approaches to the design, implementation, and evaluation of all projects to better support women and girls with disabilities and address their intersectional needs.
This S4YE note examines women's participation in online gig work, contrasting their motivations with those of their male counterparts and outlining the typical profiles of male and female gig workers regarding age, education, working hours, and involvement in freelancing communities. It delves into how these workers identify themselves in relation to the platform or their clients and highlights the key benefits they seek from online gig platforms. The note also identifies critical skills crucial for success in this domain, suggesting potential areas for performance improvement. Finally, it summarizes the aspirations of both male and female online gig workers, offering insights into the industry's future trajectory.
This report estimates the size of the South African care economy through an analysis of the number of existing and potential future job opportunities in the sector. It also outlines the potential impact of investment into the care economy including economic impact, impact on beneficiaries, and impact on the young people who could access the job opportunities together with the broader societal impacts.
People with disabilities face serious barriers to finding employment. An artificial intelligence startup in Thailand is solving several problems at once by tapping this forgotten labor force.
This book shows agribusinesses how to develop more sustainable, resilient, and productive supply chains and the substantial impact of doing so on development. The book compiles innovative solutions and cutting-edge ideas to meet the challenges facing smallholders around the world. Chapter 10, "Youth Participation," was led by S4YE.
This Knowledge Brief shares lessons on how the World Bank’s Promoting Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Social Protection and Employment Programs project team in Haiti worked to enhance the identification of persons with disabilities and provide them with skills for service sector jobs. The Brief highlights the importance of focusing on demand-driven skills, working with mainstream training providers, and proactive outreach to employers.
This knowledge brief highlights the relevance and challenges of business incubation services for youth in rural areas. It showcases learnings from several projects implemented by the World Bank and GIZ and provides examples of design elements of business incubation services for youth in rural areas. These include 1) creating a network-based ecosystem for rural incubation, 2) promoting on-site incubation as opposed to co-working space, 3) guaranteeing access to markets by involving the private sector, 4) Screening entrepreneurs, 5) combining different types of financial sustainability models based on local conditions, and 6) promotion of pro-women incubation to address the "triple burden" faced by young women in rural areas.
This World Bank report draws on data from the most recent Nigeria General Household Survey to makes five critical contributions towards improving gender inclusion in Nigeria: (1) highlighting the gender gaps in labor force participation; (2) documenting the magnitude and drivers of the gender gaps in key economic sectors; (3) diving deep into three contextual constraints: land, livestock, and occupational segregation; (4) measuring the costs of the gender gaps; and (5) offering policy and programming recommendations of innovative options to close the gender gaps.
The study draws on youth and employer survey results to document the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people in Jordan and Palestine, with an emphasis on vulnerable youth including refugees in Jordan, youth in Gaza, and young women. Key topics include:
- Youth employment trajectories during the pandemic
- Youth interest in virtual freelancing jobs
- Employer hiring projections and demand for skills
- Promising sectors for youth employment during the COVID-19 recovery
This note focuses on the linguistic challenges many faces as they try to acclimate to life abroad when their native language is no longer dominant in their surroundings. From designing curricula around the needs of families to recognizing and accounting for dialects when sharing resources or providing services, this note takes an in-depth look at how to use #2GenImm approaches to help families overcome the language barrier.
This report outlines the great potential for feminist digital activism to catalyze transformative shifts in thinking and behavior. It analyzes how hashtag campaigns, organized groups and individual activists post-feminist content online to change attitudes, behavior, and influence policies and laws. Finally, the report considers how online and offline activism can bolster one another.
This S4YE Knowledge Brief presents emerging evidence of the scale of online gender-based violence in low- and middle-income countries and their impact on the participation of young women in digital sectors. It then outlines suggested policy responses and interventions.
