Mend the Gap in Economic Opportunities in Europe and Central Asia

The workshop aims to serve as a platform for evidence-based policy dialogue on strategies to foster women's economic empowerment, labor force participation, and entrepreneurship.

The workshop will feature a keynote lecture from Prof. Claudia Olivetti, George J. Records 1956 Professor of Economics, Dartmouth University, USA.

Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special issue of LABOUR: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations.

Early-career researchers are encouraged to apply.

Themes

We welcome empirical papers on key constraints to women’s labor market participation and on effective policies to address them, with relevance for the economies of Europe and Central Asia. Topics of special interest include (but are not limited to!):

• Impact of Policy Interventions on Gender Equality in the Labor Market
• Technology and Gender Disparity in the Labor Market
• Education and Skill Development for Gender Inclusion
• Economic Impacts of Gender Inequality in the Labor Market
• Intersectionality and the Labor Market
• Female Leadership and Entrepreneurship
• Gender and Labor Migration
• The Impact of Demographic Shift on Labor Force Participation
• Gender Data Gaps and Use of Artificial Intelligence

Format of the Abstract

We invite submissions of extended abstracts of max two (2) pages that will include the objectives, the research question, a brief description of the methodology and preliminary findings.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions should be made in .doc, .docx or .pdf file formats
• The subject line should include the text “MEND THE GAP 2025 Submission: [NAME OF CORRESPONDING AUTHOR, PAPER TITLE]”
• The body of the email should clearly indicate the names of the authors, and have the contact information of the corresponding author

Please submit your paper to: mendthegapworkshop@worldbank.org 

There is scope for limited funding for selected participants, with priority given to graduate students.

Kathleen Beegle - Lead Economist, World Bank

Gero Carletto - Senior Manager, World Bank

Pedro Carneiro - Professor, Department of Economics, UCL

Paul Devereux - Professor, School of Economics and Geary Institute, UCD

Anna Fruttero - Senior Economist, World Bank

Michael Lokshin - Lead Economist, World Bank

Juna Miluka - Professor, University of New York Tirana

Franco Peracchi - Professor, EIEF

Paola Profeta - Professor, Bocconi University