VC International Scholarship: Women’s Labour Supply and Employment in the Global South

Outline

Cardiff University Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarships for Research Excellence offer seven eligible applicants the opportunity to join our Doctoral Academy community for three years on a full-time basis.

For further information, and information about eligibility and how to apply, please see the main Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship page: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/international/funding-and-fees/international-scholarships/vice-chancellors-international-scholarships-for-research-excellence

This project is based in Cardiff Business School. The successful candidate will be enrolled on the PhD in Economics from October 2020 (please note, funding cannot be deferred). Further details about the PhD Programme at the Business School can be found here: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/business-school/courses/postgraduate-research.

Women’s participation in the labour force varies remarkably across countries reflecting differences in economic development, among other factors (e.g. educational attainment, social norms, fertility rates, access to childcare). Therefore, it is not surprising that there is an extensive international literature that focuses on the relationship between female labour force participation and economic development (e.g. Goldin, 1995; Verick, 2014). However, a key concern is whether women are able to access good quality employment, in particular, in comparison to their male counterparts. In general, when women work, they tend to be employed in the informal sector, which does not provide the benefits of formal sector jobs including steady wages, job security and social protection (ILO, 2018). For instance, the majority of women employed in the Global South work in the unregulated informal economy (Chen and Moussié, 2017). This PhD aims to understand the nature of women’s employment in countries within the Global South, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the theme of Gender Equality in particular. By applying econometric methods to existing large scale representative microdata, it will explore the size and determinants of the gender gap in employment, formal employment and indicators of job quality such as pay.

What is funded

The Scholarship includes:

- tuition fees for 3 years only.

- annual stipend (in line with UKRI rates, currently at £15,285 for 2020/21) for three years

- your academic School will also contribute towards research costs.

The first quarterly stipend payment will be made shortly after your course commences.

The awards are available to support applicants to our full-time PhD programmes (excluding clinical courses).

They cannot be awarded to students undertaking research on a part-time or distance-learning basis and are not available for any other types of research degree. Continued eligibility for the Scholarship is dependent on satisfactory academic progress.

Eligibility

The ideal candidate will have a masters’ degree in Economics (or equivalent) and a strong interest in pursuing in-depth research in labour economics. Applicants with a strong first degree in Economics will also be considered.

How to Apply

You should apply for your chosen PhD programme via the University’s online application form. It is advisable that you make contact with your potential School and supervisory team beforehand.

To be considered for the scholarship, you must fulfil eligibility, ensure you complete the University’s application form and:

- attach an academic CV (guidance on creating an effective CV)

- ensure your personal statement gives a strong statement of your research interest, preparation and understanding of the research context and significance

- in the funding section, when asked “Are you self-funding your research?”, select “No, I am not self-funding my research” and indicate you are applying to the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship

To be eligible for the scholarship you must be a national of (or permanently domiciled in) a country in the ‘Least Developed’ or ‘Other Low Income’ categories on the 2020 OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list. Please see the main Scholarship page for further details.