7b. Employment and Good Work

Track chairs:

Pauline Deutz. Department of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Hull, United Kingdom. P.deutz@hull.ac.uk

Heather Rogers. Department of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Hull, United Kingdom. Heather.Rogers@hull.ac.uk

Goals and objectives of the track:

The Sustainable Development Goals 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. Their ability to overcome complexities is less certain, but this track seeks to explore the relationships between sustainable development initiatives (e.g., green economy, circular economy, bioeconomy, smart growth, degrowth, climate adaptation) and employment opportunities.

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. But where will these jobs be located, what type of jobs are they likely to be, and who will they employ ? What may be the impact on existing employment opportunities (both formal and informal)? And indeed from where will the necessary investment come to create employment opportunities? Significantly, the SDGs acknowledge that economic growth has often failed to produce shared prosperity. Contributions are invited which examine issues such as these from an interdisciplinary or indeed disciplinary perspective. Qualitative as well as quantitative analyses of shifting employment patterns and individuals' experience of them in both the Global North and South are warmly invited.

Potential themes and topics include but are not restricted to:

  • Distribution and types of employment in a green economy
  • 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
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