The Ford Foundation recently conducted an exploration of the changing nature of work globally. Some of the main findings which emerged from this two year project were captured via the publication of a recent report – Quality Work Worldwide – which advanced a number of overlapping strategies for improving protections against labour exploitation and vulnerability, and for enabling workers to more effectively participate in shaping their terms of employment. The report also identified a number of foundational challenges which were undermining the quality of work globally: 1) lack of accountability from companies, 2) global governance gaps, 3) limited action from national governments, and 4) insufficient power and voice for workers.
The round table that starts today expands upon the main findings of this report. While the report provides an important starting point, many additional conversations need to take place in order to advance our understanding of both underlying challenges and potential alternatives. Working together with the Future of Work team at the Ford Foundation, we have invited 12 leading experts to share their thoughts regarding how and why work has changed, and what types of strategies and approaches need to be introduced or expanded in order to effectively promote quality work globally. Some of the participants in the round table are representatives of organisations who participated in the original project. Others are new voices who expand the conversation further. Their responses are explicitly their own, and the support of the Ford Foundation for this project does not represent tacit endorsement for what is being said.
Each of the participants in the round table has provided answers to five key questions regarding the changing nature of work. These questions have been designed to be open ended, since we wanted to give round table participants an opportunity to take the conversation in different directions. We did not want to point towards specific conclusions. The answers given were recorded via individual interviews, which were then transcribed and edited for clarity. Over the course of this week we will publish each of the answers given to individual questions, starting with question one today and ending with the last question on Friday. Once this phase of the round table has concluded, we will circulate a call for additional submissions. We will also be going back to our contributors to get their thoughts on the responses given by other participants.
