Un- and underemployment is one of the most pressing issues in low and middle income countries. At the same time, many of the available jobs are precarious and lack proper working conditions. The MENA region is particularly affected by un- and underemployment, caused by a structural shortage of job creation as well as labour market segmentations between public and private sector jobs with starkly different conditions. Labour market inclusion and access to decent work is especially difficult for particular population groups (e.g. women, youth, migrants), yet we still lack a proper evidence base.

As long as we lack a widely agreed-on measurement on the quality of employment, it is not clear what exactly constitutes the often-postulated ‘decent work’. Equally, accessible evidence on the availability and quality of employment and skill interventions is key.

The German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) invites you to a public lecture event focussing on measuring the quality of employment and mapping evaluations of employment interventions. Two excellent speakers will share their insights drawn from evidence collected in different world regions, with particular reference to lessons to be drawn from and for MENA countries.

• Kirsten Sehnbruch (London School of Economics, UK): Quality of Employment Deprivation. Measurement and Implications
• Howard White (Global Development Network, India): Evidence and Gap Map of the Youth Futures Foundation